The Giant Redwood

What it is named for

Roots and resilience

A redwood does not grow tall by being sheltered. It grows tall because its roots lock into the roots beside it, and a grove holds together what a single tree could not. That is the idea this centre is named for.

Mixed-age grove time each day, so older children teach younger ones
A long uninterrupted morning block instead of a fragmented schedule
Outdoor learning treated as curriculum, not as a break from it

Meet the director

Director — to be appointed

This centre is still choosing the person who will lead it. We would rather say that plainly than put a name here for the sake of it. If you have run a room, held a licence, or spent years doing this well and quietly, we would like to hear from you.

Talk to us about leading it

At a glance

The shape of it

Infant–PreK

Ages served

Planned capacity

Shift & gig

Schedule built for

In formation

Current status

Status, stated plainly. This centre is in formation. It is not open, it is not enrolling, and nothing on this page should be read as an offer of care or as a representation about a licence. The page exists so the people building the network can see what each centre is meant to be.

A day here

What your child’s day is shaped like

Nothing here is running yet. This is the day the centre is being built to have, written down so you can hold us to it.

Arriving

Slow starts. No child is hurried off a parent at the door; the morning begins when they are ready for it to.

The long morning

One unbroken block, not four short activities. Deep play needs time to get deep.

Grove time

Older and younger children together on purpose, because a four-year-old explaining something to a two-year-old learns it twice.

Outside

Every day, most weathers. Outdoors is where the curriculum happens, not the break from it.

Going home

You get told what actually happened, not that they “had a lovely day.”

A story for the name

The Smallest Tree in the Grove

There was once a very small redwood who was sure she had been planted in the wrong place.

All around her stood trees so tall that she could not see the tops of them, not even lying flat on her back in the needles. When the wind came, the big trees only sighed. When the wind came for her, she bent right over.

“I am going to blow away one day,” she told the oldest tree. “I am not holding on to anything.”

“Look down,” said the oldest tree.

So she looked down, into the dark under the moss, and there she saw it. Her small roots were not alone down there. They were tangled up with his roots, and with the roots of the tree beside him, and his neighbour’s too, all of them knitted together like fingers, holding on to one another in the dark where nobody could see.

“That is the secret,” said the oldest tree. “None of us is standing up by ourselves. Not one. We have been holding you since the day you arrived.”

The small tree stood a little straighter. The wind came again that night, and she bent — but she did not blow away, and she has not blown away since.

About ninety seconds out loud. Ours to tell, yours to borrow at bedtime.

Questions parents ask

Straight answers

When does it open?

There is no opening date, and we would rather say that than invent one. The chip at the top of this page says “in formation” for exactly that reason. If you want to be told when there is real news, email us and we will tell you.

Does it hold a licence?

No, and this page does not suggest otherwise. Nothing here is an offer of care. If and when there is one, its number will be printed on this page — and not a day before.

What ages?

It is being planned for infants through pre-kindergarten.

Can I look round?

Not yet — there is no building to look round. When there is, you will be able to stand in it before you decide anything, which is the only way to judge one of these.

How do I ask a question?

Email info@theopportunitytree.com. A person reads it.

Ask about The Giant Redwood