“I feel so incredibly grateful for the past 2 amazing years of Little Mountain for my daughter. It has been such a dream experience for us. As an early childhood special educator, I can say that LMP is truly one of the most high-quality schools I have ever seen. I love that the children get to spend a lot of their day outside exploring and creating on the beautiful hobby farm and natural play scapes. Jen does an extraordinary job teaching social emotional lessons and then giving so many opportunities during naturalistic play and activities for the kids to practice these skills. My daughter still refers to her ‘calm down kit’ that the children made with sensory calming items, emotion pictures, and pics of different kinds of calming breathes that the kids thought of. Along with the social/emotional focus, the kids also work on academic skill building like letters and sounds, rhyming, fine motor, and engaging and fun science lessons. I have also loved the community feel of the school. The fun family events, holiday performances by the children, field trips, informative weekly newsletters, and the communication in general have all been amazing. My daughter is going to kindergarten soon, it’s going to be so sad to have to say goodbye to Little Mountain, but I know she is beyond ready for kindergarten thanks to this preschool. “
– Cory Byers / LMP Parent (2020-2022)
“Our family fully believes in the sentiment expressed by Fred Rogers, “Play is really the work of childhood.” When looking for a preschool for our twins we had a couple of top priorities – a school that would allow an abundance of time outdoors, and one with a focus on social and emotional skills, taught both through explicit lessons and PLAY! LMP checked these boxes for us. As an early childhood educator myself, I didn’t want preschool to feel too much like kindergarten. I wanted these magical years before entering kindergarten to be full of fun, play, and exploration, which is exactly what this year has been. They have ample opportunities to help in the garden, tend the chickens, create art, and direct their learning and play based on preference. All the while, my twins are also learning more letter names and sounds, improving on printing their names, developing critical thinking skills through scientific inquiry, and exploring sensory bins and experiences. Also, not to be understated is Jen’s focus on social emotional learning through an age appropriate curriculum. Because of my experience teaching in early elementary school, this was SO important to me, and something many other preschools lacked. Building empathy, problem solving skills, learning how to join a game, handle disappointment, and having a repertoire of calm down strategies may be, in my opinion, the most important and valuable skills for entering the school age years, and Jen covers them all. My only complaint is my kids will only have one year at LMP before kindergarten. It feels like a safe, little community bubble you just don’t want to leave!”
– Carol Bridgens / LMP Parent (2021-2022)
“I chose to bring my son to Little Mountain Preschool for 2 reasons, 1. Jen really focuses on emotional health and it was something i felt my son needed. 2. He connected with her right away. Halfway through the school year and i can my son had learned so much. Not only did he tell me some of the emotional stuff he learned (like how they made a calming kit and he still uses it), but he’s learning to count (higher than i could get him to count), he gave me a card where he spelled mom and wrote his name down (keeping that forever by the way). I love watching him grow and can tell he’s learning so much. You can tell the second you see Jen interact with children that she loves what she does. She’s caring, gives constant updates on your kids is doing, and actually cares. I am so happy i chose this preschool for my son. I drive 30 minutes out of my way to take him to school and pick him up and its totally worth it.”
– Kim Worley / LMP Parent (2021-2022)
“Choosing a preschool to leave our child at was one of the most difficult and stressful choices for us. We could not be happier or more secure in Little Mountain Preschool. Our son still gets excited to go to school and cannot wait to share things with his teachers and friends. This is because of the loving, social, and accepting environment Jen has cultivated. The day is structured, but child-led. They are tuned in to each child’s needs and focus on what is most beneficial for them. Our son has thrived in this setting and has only improved on his social emotional skills. Not only is he taught, but guided through learning how to make decisions for himself and the tools to work through different situations. He has learned about so many topics by playing and taking part in things he wouldn’t have otherwise. The support for your child is second to none. Jen is always striving to educate herself in order to pass her knowledge on to children and families alike. We feel very fortunate to have had the chance to experience all that LMP has to offer. “
– Corinne Temple / LMP Parent (2020-2022)
“For the last three years we have had two children attend Little Mountain Preschool with one year of both attending together. I can say with full confidence that Little Mountain Preschool is such a gem because of the enriching, engaging, thoughtful and energetic environment that Ms. Jen has created! Her talents are so deep from years of teaching both preschool and elementary grades. Children in the preschool benefit from her past experience and constant professional development to ensure all kids are growing emotionally, academically, and come out of Little Mountain prepared for any kindergarten and beyond! I am a child of an educator and I 100% agree with the curriculum and culture of the program. The classroom is designed for play based learning which is very important for critical thinking skills, social/emotional learning and imagination. We are beyond happy with Little Mountain Preschool and recommend it so highly! “
– Sarah Smith LMP Parent (2019-2022)
“Our family is so excited about Little Mountain!! We have been lucky to be a part of the school as it has been growing and getting ready for the official opening. Our daughter is so excited about school, and has been loving every minute she gets to spend there. I’ve noticed her confidence, social skills and imagination grow. With numerous ways to play and learn not only the essential letters and numbers, they also get hands-on experience with gardening, music and endless artistic crafts. The Hills make a great team, and it shows in everything about Little Mountain. “
– Charlotte Miller / LMP Parent (2019-2020)
“We absolutely love Little Mountain and have felt very very lucky to have been able to send our littles here. We have loved that it’s true play based with themes every week that the play centers around. Jen is a true educator and we love that we feel secure and comfortable in the knowledge that she actually knows what she’s doing and does such a wonderful job teaching while playing. The kids get so many different experiences from STEM learning to theater to gardening to feeding chickens to social-emotional, it’s all around well balanced learning! We’ve also really loved that Jen communicates daily, sends pictures and updates of your child’s day and weekly check-in emails. It really means something to trust the person you leave your kids with and, after having our own two very different kids go through LMP, I absolutely plan to send our third there when she’s old enough! ”
– Sarah Davis / LMP Parent (2019-2022)
“I have worked at Little Mountain Preschool for about six months now, and it is the most inclusive and welcoming environment I have ever been a part of. Children are taught incredible problem solving and social emotional skills that are getting them more than ready for kindergarten. I couldn’t recommend LMP more if you’re looking for a play based and outdoor based space to send your kids! “-
– Sydney Hilton-Siegel / LMP Co-Teacher (2021- present )