Welcome to our nest

Birdsong Play Garden

An outdoor play-based preschool and kindergarten for 18mo – 5yo located in west Davis. Mondays through Fridays 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM.

Now offering tours and accepting applications!
Currently enrolling full-time and part-time slots.
Limited space! Serving no more than eight children.
No potty training requirement.

Email us at info@birdsongplaygarden.com for more information and to schedule a tour.

Greet the Morning

Circle time with formed movement and songs

Arts and Culture

Daily storytelling, puppetry, and music

Outdoor Adventure

Nature exploration and observation

Afternoon Rest

Fallow time for body and soul

Imaginative Play

Free and unstructured creativity

Living in Rhythm

Celebrating the seasons and festivals

Bird's Eye View

Our shared study of Waldorf education is the foundation of Birdsong Play Garden. We impart the children’s days with rhythm, beauty, and wonder in order to cultivate these qualities within each of them. Additionally, Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) largely informs our work, as we patiently support the young child’s developing emotional life. We are eager to explore other approaches as we tend to the blossoming of those in our care. We also look forward to creating a culture of learning with the parents we work with, as ultimately, you are your child’s first teacher. Through shared efforts at home and school, we can weave a supportive nest in which the young child can thrive.

As our name suggests, we are a play-based program. This includes ample time outdoors, both in our backyard and in the adjacent wild spaces and greenbelt. This immersion in the elements contributes to the child’s social and sensory development through play. These efforts help to lay a foundation for the healthy embodiment of the young child.

Our Song

Between us we have nearly thirty years of experience working in education and with children. We have both worked with a wide age range including individuals with special needs. We initially met eight years ago on a diversified biodynamic farm in upstate New York when Steve brought his 4th grade class on an educational overnight program which Johanna was facilitating. For years we worked separately in education and childcare while providing consultation and support to one another. Now we are thrilled to be working together at Birdsong Play Garden, marrying our strengths to develop a loving nest in which your little songbirds can thrive.

Johanna has been nannying young children out of Waldorf philosophy for the last five years; prior to that she worked in farm-based experiential education for several years. She recently completed the prerequisites for nursing school. She is also training to become an anthroposophic nurse and rhythmical einreibung practitioner. Both of these specialties work out of a holistic view of the human being’s place within the cosmos, and this attention and interest in our connection to the earth also informs her work with young children.

Steve is an elementary and middle school teacher who has been working in accredited Waldorf schools since 2003. He earned his undergraduate degree from Goddard College and is a graduate of the West Coast Institute’s Waldorf teacher training in Vancouver, B.C. Steve is also a graduate of the full-time visual arts intensive at Free Columbia painting school in the Hudson Valley. Most recently he graduated the Davis Waldorf School 8th grade class of 2019, having been their lead teacher since 5th grade.

Our Nest

The atmosphere of our home has been carefully crafted with the young child in mind. Whereas we as adults have developed the capacity to withstand the abundant and sometimes harsh sensory experiences of daily life, the young child has yet to do so and is thus more sensitive. As such, we have selected natural materials to imbue the space with warmth, beauty, and coziness. This nourishing environment invites rich sensory experiences. We have chosen toys of natural materials, avoiding plastics due to their ecological burden and lack of warmth. Similarly, in order to protect the healthful development of the children’s senses, we avoid the use of electronic media during care.

Warm and Cozy inside

Backyard Fun

Sandbox

Water Play

Gardening

our garden gate Leads to the greenbelt

Cheerful Chirps

My family counts the day we met Johanna as one of the best and most serendipitous of our lives! For two-and-a-half wonderful years, she nurtured our twins, Seamus and Louise, from their first steps and words all the way through potty training and the start of preschool. And what wonderful children they became under her care! Each of those many marvelous days was filled with song, laughter, stories, magic, and wonder! Johanna possesses a true gift for this work—she lovingly guides children (and their parents!) as they become what they are called to be. I wish we could stop time entirely and live forever in those beautiful days!

Brendan White

I have known Johanna since she was 13 and began helping out with my three young children, two of whom have Down syndrome. Johanna was always responsible, quick on her feet with problem solving, and showed great initiative in navigating the different learning styles of my three children. She was a joy to work with and quickly became a valued member of our family support team for several years.

Peggy Mace

We had the privilege of Johanna caring for our two children, one and four years old. She is loving, thoughtful and creative in her approach. We deeply appreciate the way she structures the children’s days with rhythm, intentional communication, song and time in nature. She provides keen and generous insights into ways of enriching both the lives of the children she cares for, as well as their parents. Our children benefited greatly from her care and we definitely learned from her as well.

Marita Madeloni

I just wanted to say that Steve was my son’s teacher for several years. I’m happy to recommend Johanna and Steve for taking care of your children. They are good, nice dependable people!

Dan Ng

Steve and Johanna are wonderful people. Mr. Brannon taught my son in Waldorf middle school and is articulate, bright, full of energy, and an inspiration to his students. Johanna is a thoughtful and kind person who connects naturally with children.

Diana Cuomo