THE GARDEN

SCHOOLS & STUDIOS

The first time I went to The Garden, I knew I had stumbled across a special kindergarten. It is rare to find a kindy with such a gorgeous campus, and that you immediately fall in love with upon seeing for the first time. But that is exactly what happened to me when I met The Garden.

Bali doesn’t have many big grassy areas for kids to run around, especially one so centrally located. The grounds at The Garden are a great size with more than enough space for all the kids to run free. They also have plenty of shade which the little ‘uns need in such a hot and sunny climate. There is a treehouse with a slide, and a tunnel with a grassy hill above it to climb up. A little orchard cave and a hidden sidewalk with plants growing on both sides complete the fairy tale. There are even chickens and rabbits!

With a place dedicated to creating big messes called The Mud Kitchen – really the name says it all – this kindy is heaven for active kids who love exploring. The garden also features an undercover stage where the end-of-year performances take place and a separate undercover dining area where the kids have lunch and snacks.

The classrooms are spacious but uncluttered. They all have gorgeous wooden tables and stools. Beautiful fabric rugs, lots of pillows, and a center rattan peacock-like chair or big sofa chair for the teacher create fun, open learning spaces. The interiors are beautiful and simple. You hardly see any plastic, and the shelving and cupboard space is designed to be kid-friendly and easy to reach.

The décor is kept to a minimum for a reason. As the year passes, more and more of the art produced by these budding Picassos is added to the walls. Walls become canvases as they are filled with the artworks, projects and crafts that the kids have created themselves.

The education is holistic, and most importantly, fun. The kids learn to grow their own vegetables, how to cook and help in the kitchen, they learn music, drama and plenty of arts and crafts. They learn how to work with their classmates, as well as how to direct their classmates.

Basically, it’s a dream kindy! The only thing you need is to live in Bali and have young kids to experience the awesomeness that The Garden has to offer! But if you don’t live in Bali and you are here on a holiday, they even offer a kid’s club (a supervised after school care) where you can drop your kidlets off for a few hours of fun and learning. If you time it right, they have full day holiday camps between terms with lots of activities for kids from 2 to 8 years old to enjoy!