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Sunflower Preschool and Daycare

History of the School

Sunflower Preschool was founded by Carolyn Lochhead (1929-2007) in 1980. After raising her children, Carolyn went to college in order to realize her passion of educating young children. After working as a director of a local preschool for several years, Carolyn decided to start her own school in the late 1970s. Along with her husband George, Carolyn bought the property at 2400 Nelson Avenue, transforming the house into classrooms and the yard into a playground. Carolyn designed the playground and George built many of the swings and slides that are still in operation. The school opened in 1980, and was expanded to include the adjacent property in the late 1980s.

Carolyn served for many years as both the director of the school and as a teacher. Sunflower Preschool was Carolyn’s passion and her love can still be sensed in the homey feel of the classrooms, the backyard feel of the playground, a curriculum designed to teach the whole child, and the devotion of the staff. Carolyn’s devotion to the education of young children still permeates all aspects of the school.

Educational Philosophy

“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today”

Sunflower provides an educational setting which promotes the intellectual, social and physical growth of each child as a unique individual. Further, the dedicated staff of the school create a loving environment in which children:

Statement of Purpose by Carolyn Lochhead

In recent years, the field of child development has received much attention from educators and psychologists. Up until this time, the preschool years were regarded as merely a time of play—“real learning” took place when children started formal education at five or six years of age.

However, recent research has shown that the preschool years are a time of immense growth—both physically and intellectually. Channeling the young child’s unlimited potential into constructive and creative paths is crucial in these early years. And research has demonstrated that a good preschool program can play an essential role in nurturing the full development of each child and in providing him or her with the necessary skills to succeed in later schooling and ultimately in life itself.

While it is an awesome and challenging responsibility, it is the goal of the staff at Sunflower Preschool to provide a learning environment which will nurture and develop the capabilities of the young child—this is a most crucial time in his or her young life.

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2400 Nelson Avenue, Redondo Beach, CA 90278  ●  (310) 371-3731  ●  info@sunflower-preschool.com