About

Garden Gate School seeks to enrich the lives of mid-Missouri children, their families, and communities. Garden Gate is inspired by the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, Alan Scott, Vivian Paley, John Dewey, Richard Louv, Karen Le Billon as well and others.  We believe in honoring early childhood as a time to imitate and explore through experience; engaging young imaginations through storytelling; attending to the rhythms, cycles, and patterns of nature in all we do; and providing families with opportunities to connect  joyfully with others. Our school has been in operation since 2007, inspiring families to simplify their lives and address their needs holistically.

By working with the child as a whole: hands, heart and head – we pay close attention to each child within a rhythmic structure of the days, weeks, and seasons.

Teachers create predictable activities in each day; lots of playtime outdoors, focused circle-times with seasonal poetry, music and movement, oral story-telling, and the constant presence of adults engaged in meaningful work. This play-oriented curriculum allows our children to come to the academics of school when they are ready and eager for it. We know children are built to learn and so offer them a rich environment to learn within. At the same time we build opportunities for families to work and create together. Our bounteous gardens invite parents to grow organic food and our wood-fired community bread oven allows us to cook and eat together.