Founded in 1991, Hedgerow provides an enchanting and profoundly respectful environment where children can discover and grow together. Our program is inspired by Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Waldorf, and Nature-based approaches.
We believe children deserve a space that feels both familiar and exciting, specially created for their unique journey of discovery.
Our spaces are designed to invoke a sense of inspiration through natural beauty. From our organic garden to our expansive art studio, every area is thoughtfully crafted to encourage exploration and creativity.
Children enjoy our bountiful fruit trees, spacious grassy areas, and a beautiful library with over 5,000 books.
Hedgerow parents and teachers facilitate and follow the lead of young learners and explorers by providing the time, materials and attention needed to fulfill their unique interests and further their explorations. The large, edible and organic garden is meant to be explored, dug up and filled with mud and puddles. There are bountiful fruit trees to climb and an expansive grassy area with room to run, play games and to challenge oneself to physical feats of daring.
Designed by an architect and several well-known LA artists, the art studio is the physical heart of our program. It was built with the intent to create a sense of freedom of expression and collaboration and to grant full creative license to young artists. When given rich and intriguing materials children need very little instruction nor limits on their inventive explorations. Hedgerow’s indoor spaces provide plenty of room for block building, imaginative play and spacious areas for singing, dancing and meeting as a group.
Hedgerow was founded by Beth Collier in her Santa Monica home as a small playgroup to provide a cohort of families the space and time to learn together with their toddlers. It quickly evolved into a preschool, summer camp and enrichment programs for children of all ages. The intention was always to keep it an intimate program where young children could find both a familiar feeling of home and an exciting sense of place created especially for them.
The program expanded to include multiple community projects with parents and families contributing in various ways. Over the years, two beautiful art studios were built across two separate sites, enhancing the creative spaces available to children. The program continued to evolve while maintaining its intimate, home-like atmosphere.
At our current location, we've created a thriving environment with over 50 fruit trees, including jujube, tangerine, persimmon, fig, avocado, pomegranate, apple, guava, cara cara orange and banana. Our custom-designed library now houses over 5,000 curated books, thanks to the generous support of many families. The program continues to provide an enchanting and profoundly respectful environment for children to discover and grow together.