Growing Tree Legacy
The Growing Tree North is one of two family owned and operated locations in Nassau County. The Growing Tree North’s sister school, The Growing Tree Nursery School, was first established in 1979 by Joanne Miller M.S.ed (August 1937- March 2016) with the philosophy that in warm and nurturing environments, children learn and grow through play. Mrs. Miller began the school with only one classroom and acted as both the director and classroom teacher. The school quickly grew in quality and reputation, earning Mrs. Miller the National Association for Woman Business Owners First Prize Award in 1999. To meet the needs of working families, her husband, Lewis Miller, opened the Growing Tree North, an extended day program, in November of 2000.
Both schools have grown to provide the paramount early childhood experience for Long Island families. The Growing Tree schools provide young children aged 3 months to 6 years with the safest, cleanest, and warmest Nursery School experience families can find.
Today, Mr. and Mrs. Miller’s daughter, Dawn Friedman M.S.ed, proudly carries on the Growing Tree’s strong program, reputation and playful nurturing philosophy.
Infant Program
Our infant program runs from 3 months to 18 months
- Infants follow a daily schedule of stimulating experiences
- Families work with the school to create a personalized program that meets the unique needs of their child
- Infants have their own playground and indoor gym with soft surfacing and customized motor toys!
Toddler Program
Our Toddler Program runs from 18 months to 36 months
- Toddlers will develop social competency and learn to enhance their self-regulatory skills through a variety of structured activities
- Toddlers will be encouraged to discover the world around them through playful experiences
- Toddlers will start to become active members of their classroom, welcoming their day together, learning together, exploring together, and being responsible for cleaning up after play times and mealtimes
- Children will be engaged in morning circle time
- Students actually start learning letters! Zoo-phonics® uses animals drawn in the shapes of the letters for ease in memory. A related body movement is given for each letter. This concrete approach cements the sounds to the shapes of the letters.
Preschool Program
Ages 3-4
- In preschool, we focus on the development of empathic thinking, strengthening self-help & cooperation skills, as well as increasing the children’s involvement and level of responsibility for themselves
- Preschool children will now be responsible for classroom jobs. These daily jobs will help children to develop a sense of responsibility for themselves, their peers, and their classroom
- Our Preschool program uses a handwriting program based off of over twenty-five years of success with Handwriting Without Tears, a research-based handwriting program for preschoolers. This program uses music, movement, and multi-sensory manipulatives to teach core readiness skills including crayon grip, letter and number recognition, number and capital letter formation, and body awareness.
Pre-K Program
Ages 4-5
- Growing Tree North's Pre-Kindergarten program is of the highest quality: specifically designed to ensure our preschoolers are not only ready for kindergarten, but also successful in advancing grade levels
- Learning is everywhere in our Pre-Kindergarten classrooms. Children work in small groups, exploring high interest-activity centers such as, reading, block building, or handwriting & art. Each classroom has a strong sense of purpose, organization, and excitement as our highly qualified teachers ignite curiosity with high level questions
- Pre-Kindergarten children will be involved in a variety of month-long author studies! Author studies are a great way to purposefully enjoy literature while highlighting admired children’s authors and illustrators
- Using Reading A-Z, a leveled reading program used in nearly half of the school districts nationwide, our children begin in the early stages of reading learning fluency, phonological awareness, sight words, and vocabulary