OUR FOUNDATION
built different, on purpose
Unlike large centers, Sprouts is owned and operated by the teachers who care for your child every day. Every decision comes from hands-on experience – not corporate administrators.
Our small preschool adapts entirely to each class. Their interests, abilities, and needs shape everything from curriculum to daily routines – each year, we refine our environment, materials, and even parts of our lunch menu to serve that specific group of children.
We embrace full days of independent, imaginative play. Our handcrafted outdoor environment invites discovery, risk-taking, and confidence-building through natural exploration. Loose parts play and creative expression aren’t extras – they’re essential.
Our small community creates deep connections where children learn problem-solving, empathy, and compromise through close, long-term friendships. These relationships extend beyond Sprouts into your neighborhood.
“You’re not just attending – you’re part of something meaningful.”
HOW WE OPERATE
sprouts is caity & ellen
Caity & Ellen do every task, make every decision, and build every relationship at Sprouts.
caity
co-owner • director • teacher
B.S. Early Childhood Education, UIUC • Special Education Endorsement • Continuing Higher Education in Language & Literacy and Horticulture
6 years Illinois public school kindergarten teacher • 5 years licensed group home daycare owner • licensed daycare center owner, director, and teacher since 2020
ellen
co-owner • director • teacher
B.S. Early Childhood Education, UIUC • Special Education Endorsement • Continuing Higher Education in Art
1 year Illinois public school teacher aide • 5 years licensed group home daycare owner • licensed daycare center owner, director, and teacher since 2020
You two are God’s gift to childcare. We love you both so much! Thank you for all you do for our boys, for loving on them, playing with them, and encouraging them. Thank you for being the best teachers ever!
– Sprouts Parent
READY TO MEET?
tours are part of our admission process
HOW WE GROW
at sprouts, we play
At Sprouts, play is the most important activity. Children do their best exploring, discovering, thinking, planning, and relationship-building through extended, uninterrupted free play time.
We provide the space to explore and investigate. Our daily rhythm encourages imagination through independence without adult interference. We create safe spaces for children to try new things, make mistakes, and solve problems. We help children learn to make attempts at challenges, persevere through frustration, then ask for help if they need it. We teach children to respect living things. We help children discover that we are all artists.
risky play
Confidence, grit, and resilience through small failures, challenges, and persistence.
- climbing & jumping
- running & spinning
- rough-housing with others
messy play
Tolerance, imagination, and joy in new sensory experiences and the freedom to fully partake in them.
- dirt, mud, rocks, & mulch
- water tables & sprinklers
- paint, glitter, glue, etc
outdoor play
A fondness for nature and the ability to entertain themselves with only what they find outside.
- summer heat
- winter chill
- rain, snow, wind, & fog
how we got here
we didn’t start from scratch
Our approach is rooted in Sōdatsu, Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and Forest Kindergarten. Five of the most respected traditions in early childhood education – filtered through ten years of real experience with real children in Champaign-Urbana.
ready to be part of something meaningful?
Sprouts was the perfect fit for my family. We value free playing, mixed-age friendships, trustful and loving caregivers, and nature and art in abundance – my kids had all of these during their time at Sprouts.
– Sprouts Parent
Both of our children have attended Sprouts for multiple years. I can say with complete confidence that Sprouts has helped our daughter to be Kindergarten ready.
– Sprouts Parent
Real relationships, lasting impact – it starts here.
sprouts.school 