Pea Pod Village is FANTASTIC! My son loves it so much, he will literally do anything I ask him to in the morning just so he can go to school. Put his socks on, brush his teeth, whatever. Lola, the director is very impressive. Warm, nurturing, and so organized and intelligent about how she runs the school. It has been a wonderfully nurturing place of blossoming for my son. He has been there for three years. The most striking features of the curriculum are the portfolios. Lola keeps impressive records of their creative processes. The photos they send weekly help parents to feel more connected and witness the joy in their lives at preschool. My son feels such a strong sense of belonging, this school really helped shape his confidence and identity. I would recommend Pea Pod Village to any family with young ones entering preschool. This school is a real gem.

-Mika Kakizaki

​

When we enrolled Samantha at Pea Pod Village, we were excited to see how the Reggio Emilia philosophy would enhance her experience. Looking back over the last two years, our expectations have been exceeded in every way. The ongoing documentation, through the weekly e-mail updates, photos, and portfolios, has helped us feel totally connected to Sammy's experience at school. It has been so fun to watch where the interests of the kids takes them on their educational journey. Lola and Jules have created an environment where the kids feel comfortable being themselves, but also are willing to explore ideas and activities. They also incorporate so many wonderful traditions that help model the students' behaviors. Samantha's manners at home and general respectfulness have made huge leaps because of the fun blessings, the special responsibilities they are given, and probably most impactful, the "calm breathing" exercises that help Sam self-correct when she is feeling anxious or angry. The nice balance of indoor and outdoor activities at Pea Pod Village have helped Sam to engage her adventurous spirit, as well as her quite creative side. She has made deep friendships with all of the other students. Although all of the above practices and philosophies have been amazing for Sam, the factor that has been most significant to her and us, is the love and caring both teachers have shown her through all of her best and worst moments. 

-Eric Danson and Mackenzie Lokan

​

My child calls Pea Pod Village "wonderific!" and is by far her favorite place to be. It is a home away from home; a warm, nurturing environment with caring, insightful teachers and best of all, delicious, nourishing food. My child loves to explore, so the Reggio Emilia program is perfect for supporting her with inquiry based projects. What is also wonderful and terrific as a parent is that I am able to holistically integrate our home and school time because of the documentation. Detailed observations, portfolios, and weekly emails with fantastic photos that relate the weekly activities help me to be apart of her experience, as well as clearly share her experiences with extended family. Top schools in the area are now integrating project based learning as the best approach for supporting innovation and learning for our changing times. With Pea Pod Village, we are off to a wonderific start of life long learning!
-Lauren Cutler

 

Our daughter had two negative school experiences prior to finding Pea Pod Village. We weren't sure if she was even ready for school - but after her first day with Lola we knew that we had found the perfect preschool for our daughter. The child led Reggio Emilia philosophy is EXACTLY what our daughter needed to thrive in school. Lola is an exceptional teacher; she is grounded, loving, calm and SO organized! We look forward to Lola's weekly updates and photos, it's really fantastic to have a detailed account of what our daughter is doing at school. We feel extremely lucky that our daughter got a spot at Pea Pod Village and that she gets to spend part of her young life with Lola as her teacher!

-Melissa Irish-Miller

​

Lola has done such a good job learning the specific interests an motivations of my son. She observes the motivations behind his behavior which helps me as a parent. I really like the Reggio Emilia philosophy of documentation because I get a weekly email summarizing the highlights of the school day and pictures!

-Annie Funk

​

Our family's experience with Pea Pod Village was wonderful. Both Lola and Jules are so loving and caring and offer such a sweet space for children to develop their own unique abilities and talents. The space is so sweet and cozy with a fun and whimsical outdoor space for the children to explore. We love the Reggio Emilia philosophy, and love that what the children learn and explore is documented the entire time with weekly emails and pictures. We feel so blessed that our son had the opportunity to learn from Lola and Jules in Pea Pod Village, and we will take our experience with us always. :)

-Kacie Flegal

​

Devin was in a Reggio Emilia school in Los Angeles, so I did a google search for an Ashland preschool school with the same philosophy. After checking out Pea Pod Village's website and corresponding with Lola via email, I had a really good hunch that Pea Pod Village would be the right fit for Devin.

​

At Pea Pod Village we watched in amazement as our son's confidence grew in the small group environment. He made his first "buddy" and often said at dinner time that Pea Pod was his favorite part of the day. He loved sharing yoga poses that he was learning and we all looked forward to Lola's email update at the end of the week. (If Devin saw me checking my phone... "Mom... are you reading the email from Lola!?!?") I loved that I didn't have to worry about snack and lunch, especially because the food is organic and non-gmo. I also appreciated Lola's communication. If I emailed a question, I  would receive a thoughtful, helpful and timely reply.  If I had a concern about Devin in the morning, I would get a text letting me know how things were going.

 

We loved Pea Pod Village! Our only regret is that Devin had just one year with Lola and Jules. We think Devin agrees because he's already making plans to go back. He woke up the other morning and said: When he is 13 he wants to go back to Pea Pod Village and help Lola teach!

-Kara Snider

​

Our son just completed his last year of preschool at Pea Pod Village before he moves on to Kindergarten and our family is all the more better for it. We enjoyed getting to know the other children and their families and deeply appreciated the loving wholesome environment that Lola and Jules have created. Looking forward to continuing the experience with our younger son next year!  

-Robin Kearns

​

We could not have imagined our son’s first school experience going as well as it did at Pea Pod. The environment at Pea Pod is so warm, welcoming and intimate due to the small class size. The weekly emails with photos and updates were a wonderful way for us to feel included in the preschool experience and we looked forward to getting them each week. Lola and Jules clearly put an enormous amount of time and energy into gathering our child’s portfolio as it is filled with thorough documentation of Lincoln's experience at Pea Pod through photos, artwork and writing. It will be something we treasure forever. We loved that Lola included yoga and mindfulness exercises into the school's daily routine and enjoyed learning the yoga poses-of-the-week from our son. To say that Lincoln’s first year of preschool was a success would be an understatement. Lincoln thrived at Pea Pod and we look forward to another year with Lola and Jules. 

-Rael Hodges

​

We felt like we struck gold when there was a spot available at Pea Pod Village for our daughter, Myia. During the two years of her enrollment she blossomed by not only becoming astoundingly more expressive, but also exponentially more exploratory with the world around her and within her imagination. We are an art-centered/creative household and the translation of her Pea Pod experience was apparent. We LOVED the beautiful, simplistic & creative environment, the outside play area and (especially) the ASTOUNDING teachers, Lola and Jules. The weekly emails and the portfolios will grow your heart - Lola so beautifully, thoughtfully and perfectly emphasized Myia's (and all the other student's) growth and individuality. We really got to know our daughter more through this experience and have treasured items to look back on as she continues to expand as a person. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

-Molly Ochoa

​

Pea Pod Village is such a sweet space for little ones. Our son spent three school years there, and enjoyed every minute of it. He really thrived in the structured daily schedule, which provided predictability and security. Although the schedule was structured, there was a ton of freedom in creative exploration. The school has a way of following the children’s lead into a direction with their creativity that Benen loved. It was amazing to witness the growth, friendships, and confidence he gained in those years.

-Christie Chiang

​

Pea Pod Village has been such a gift to our family! Our daughter, Mae, absolutely loved school. Through the guiding lens of the Reggio-Emilia philosophy, Lola has created a warm and nurturing environment that invites the children to explore new materials with their senses and see where student interest emerges. We believe this philosophy helps support each child’s innate curiosity and the group dynamic brings in each child’s individual experience and perspective. Mae was initially shy and much more of an observer in large group settings. However, at PPV, she quickly felt comfortable participating in group activities. The small group setting was a great perk of the school, as it allowed the children to become comfortable playing and working/exploring new topics with different partners each week. It was so much fun for Mae to bring home her portfolio of work during Winter Break and the end of the school year. She was so excited to show us her individual projects and explain what she was doing in each picture. The portfolio gave her an opportunity to take ownership of her work, process, and progress. We are very much looking forward to sending our younger daughter to PPV this coming school year. We would recommend Pea Pod Village to any family looking for a pre-school as it has been such a positive first school experience for our daughter. 

-Anita Phillips 

​