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Growing Minds Collective
Where Play Meets Nature and Young Minds Grow Wildly Curious
A nature-based, mixed-age, licensed private early childhood education program nestled in the Brookside neighborhood of Norwalk, CT, inspired by three educational philosophies: Reggio Emilia, Waldorf & Montessori.
We provide play-based learning for children 6 weeks to 5 years old. NAEYC Recognized and currently pursuing NAEYC Accreditation, we are committed to creating a high-quality early childhood experience rooted in meaningful relationships, intentional learning, and the belief that children learn best through play, exploration, and connection.
Ready for a program where muddy boots are badges of honor?
Schedule a tour and see play-based, nature-rich learning in action. Spaces are limited to keep ratios low and curiosity high.
We collaborate with trusted, state-approved specialists to ensure every child’s growth is nurtured through our play-based, nature-rich approach. Each month you’ll receive a personalized newsletter that captures your child’s forest discoveries, mud-kitchen milestones, and the developmental strides they’re making while learning through play at Growing Minds Collective.
Monthly Tuition:
5 days/week = $2,250
4 days/week = $2,160
3 days/week = $1,944
2 days/week = $1,555
In nature
With a 1:4 ratio, a devoted teaching team, and a thoughtfully structured program, Growing Minds Collective goes beyond a traditional childcare setting—our play-based curriculum keeps children outdoors 60–70% every day - rain, snow, or shine!
Through play
Children learn best when doing, not just listening. Our curriculum turns every discovery—balancing on a log, building a stick fort, watching ants carry crumbs—into a spark for language, math, and problem-solving.
As a whole
Every day we spark growth by turning natural curiosities into learning adventures. Blending guided provocations with open-ended play, we give young minds room to explore, experiment, and flourish.
Two Classrooms.
One Shared Philosophy.
At Growing Minds Collective, we offer two thoughtfully designed learning environments: Infant Care and Toddler Care. Each classroom is intentionally structured around the developmental needs, interests, and emerging abilities of the children it serves.
While each environment offers its own rhythm, activities, and opportunities for discovery, both are grounded in our shared philosophy of play-based, nature-centered learning. Through meaningful relationships, hands-on exploration, and opportunities to develop independence, we create an environment where every child is supported in learning and growing at their own pace.
Our Space
Nestled in the peaceful Brookside neighborhood of Norwalk, Growing Minds Collective operates from a thoughtfully curated environment designed to support connection, exploration, and intentional learning.
Our space blends the warmth of a home with the structure of a high-quality early childhood program. Each area is purposefully designed — from inviting learning spaces and creative corners to cozy areas for rest — allowing children to move through their day with a sense of comfort, independence, and curiosity.
Outdoors, our fully fenced property offers a natural extension of the classroom. Children engage in daily outdoor experiences that support sensory exploration, gross motor development, and a deeper connection to the natural world.
Every detail of our environment is intentionally considered to foster joyful learning, meaningful relationships, and whole-child development — while preserving the close-knit, community feel that defines Growing Minds Collective.
Our Story
Rooted in childhood. Growing with intention.
Growing Minds Collective was founded by Jamie Torns, a mother of two, educator, entrepreneur, and lifelong advocate for children and families. GMC began as a small home-based program built around a simple belief: early childhood education could be more personal, more intentional, and more deeply connected to the way young children actually learn.
What started as a small program has grown into a thoughtfully designed, woman-led early childhood learning community serving children from infancy through the preschool years. As GMC has evolved, our commitment has remained the same—to create an environment where children are known as individuals, trusted as capable learners, and given the freedom, time, and space to learn through play, relationships, movement, nature, and hands-on discovery.
More Than Childcare
Growing Minds Collective is a private early childhood education program designed to bridge the warmth and familiarity of home with the intentionality, structure, and professionalism of a high-quality educational setting.
Our growing program continues to prioritize meaningful educator-child relationships. Our teachers are deeply engaged with children throughout the day—not simply supervising them, but observing, supporting, extending their thinking, and creating meaningful opportunities for growth. Even as GMC expands, we remain intentional about maintaining a small-group environment where children are known as individuals and educators have the time and space to respond to each child's interests, developmental needs, and emerging abilities.
Our nature-based, play-centered approach gives children opportunities to learn both indoors and outside, with experiences that encourage curiosity, independence, creativity, communication, problem-solving, and confidence.
Growing With Intention
GMC is entering an exciting new chapter as we transition from a Connecticut-licensed Family Child Care Home to a Connecticut-licensed Group Child Care Home.
This transition allows us to welcome up to 12 children on any given day while continuing to serve a flexible community of full- and part-time families. For us, growth is not about becoming bigger for the sake of becoming bigger. It is about creating more opportunities for children and families while protecting the small-group experience and close relationships that have always defined GMC.
What was once our family's home is not fully dedicated to the school, creating a space intentionally designed around our students.
The result is something we believe is truly special: a home that still feels like home, but has been intentionally transformed into an early childhood learning environment.
Our Commitment to Quality
Growing Minds Collective is proud to be recognized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the leading organization dedicated to advancing high-quality early learning for children from birth through age eight.
NAEYC Recognition reflects our commitment to foundational elements of quality early childhood education, including thoughtful learning environments, strong program policies, intentional teaching practices, meaningful family partnerships, and ongoing professional growth.
We are also continuing our journey toward NAEYC Accreditation, a rigorous process that asks programs to examine every aspect of their work and demonstrate a sustained commitment to high-quality early learning and continuous improvement.
For us, this work is not about a title or a credential. It is about constantly asking a simple question:
How can we make this experience better for the children and families who trust us with something incredibly important—their early years?
That question continues to shape everything we do.
Growing Minds Collective is still growing, still learning, and still evolving. But at the heart of it all remains the same belief that started it: children deserve an early childhood experience that is joyful, intentional, relationship-driven, and worthy of their earliest years.
Our Approach to Learning
Our philosophy is inspired by the work of Howard Gardner and his Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which recognizes that children learn and express understanding in many different ways.
At Growing Minds Collective, we believe meaningful learning begins with engagement, grows through connection, and deepens through exploration.
Engagement invites children into the experience. We create opportunities that spark curiosity, capture their attention, and encourage them to participate actively in their learning.
Connection gives learning meaning. Children learn through relationships—with their educators, peers, environment, and the ideas they encounter. These connections help children build confidence, develop communication and social-emotional skills, and make sense of the world around them.
Exploration allows children to take their learning further. Through play, movement, creativity, problem-solving, language, and connection to the natural world, children are encouraged to wonder, experiment, ask questions, and discover what they are capable of.
This approach reflects our belief that children are not passive recipients of information. They are active participants in their own learning. We intentionally create experiences that draw on a variety of strengths while giving each child opportunities to learn in ways that feel natural and meaningful to them.
At Growing Minds Collective, learning is never accidental. Every experience is designed with purpose—to spark curiosity, encourage independence, and support both academic and social-emotional development. We balance thoughtful structure with child-led exploration, creating an environment where children feel engaged, connected, and empowered to discover.
ADDRESS
2 Rampart Road
Norwalk, CT 06854
BUSINESS HOURS
Monday - Friday 7:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Closed for:
Professional Development Days
All Federal Holidays
Summer Break (1st week in August)
Winter Break (Christmas Eve to New Year's Day)
CONTACT
(203) 658-7309