Rose Garden shows youngsters life’s basics

By Samantha Murphy and Desiree Wiley

BengalNews Reporters

 Imagine spending the day outside under the warm sun listening to the birds chirp and bees buzz while you plant a garden. Afterwards, you return inside to finish kneading organic dough for your homemade pizza.

 As you enjoy the smells escaping your kitchen, you unwind by taking part in some arts and crafts. Maybe you’re thinking it would never happen, but for children at The Rose Garden Early Childhood Center, it is a daily routine.

 The Rose Garden sits cozy at 257 Lafayette Ave. and is occupied by 43 children, ranging from ages of 12 months to five years. Director of The Rose Garden, Judith Frizlen, says she was inspired to open the center after discovering the LifeWays model for learning. 

 Judith Frizlen, on the genesis of The Rose Garden:

In celebrating three years of success, Frizlen says providing such needed services is extremely fulfilling.

 The Rose Garden was modeled after the LifeWays childhood center, opened in 1998 by Waldorf kindergarten teacher Cynthia Aldinger in Wisconsin.

 As director of LifeWays North America, Aldinger provides families and teachers with training and support of the model’s principles and practices.

 LifeWays practices focus on engaging childhood development on all levels. Children are able to grow, learn and become comfortable in their skin in a homelike environment.

 The Rose Garden provides children with basic skills needed for daily function. Children experience movement through gardening, building, cleaning, cooking, drawing, playing outside and more.

 “It’s a language rich environment,” said Stephanie Neikirk-Epes, assistant director. “Our goal is to provide opportunities for a whole experience. The children like coming to school and doing things they enjoy.”

 Staff at the center provides close and continuous care with each child. Frizlen believes the homelike environment allows children to embrace their surroundings, making learning enjoyable.

 Lori Kostusiak, a pre-school teacher in the Sweet Pea room, has been with the center since its construction days.

 “I’ve been here since the opening of the Rose Garden, when our playground was still a mud pit and the school was a construction zone,” said Kostusiak.

 Kostusiak prides the center on its natural way of teaching, from playing with nature made toys to eating organic home cooked food and its emphasis on interaction.

 “Children are not built for sitting at desks,” said Kostusiak. “They are built for running, jumping and interacting with each other. That’s how they develop the basis and foundation for a healthy life.”

 With childhood obesity numbers at alarming highs, Frizlen believes teaching children the benefits of organic and wholesome eating is a great way to support a healthier lifestyle.

 “We’re promoting childhood health,” said Frizlen, “If you eat well and move around a lot you won’t be obese. We serve all organic grains and everything is made right here. We don’t serve anything out of a box.”

 While childhood health is of the utmost importance, there are many other reasons why the children of the Rose Garden Center eat organic.

 “It’s good for the environment,” said Frizlen. “By buying a 50 pound bag of organic oats, I’m not wasting packaging and, since we buy locally, we’re also supporting our local economy.”

 The Center not only practices green eating habits, but also promotes energy efficient building standards. The building, built in 1928, was home to several schools before it became vacant in 2004. Frizlen bought the building in 2009 and has made some significant improvements since then.

 “We still have some of the beautiful, old features but with some modern elements,” Frizlen said. “Because the building has a flat roof and we like to use green sensibilities in architecture, we have solar panels on the roof. All the electricity on the first floor is generated by them.”

 In addition to the solar panels, the Rose Garden Center also has a composter. The composter turns the kitchen waste into nutrient rich fertilizer, which they then use to feed their garden where they grow carrots, beets, parsley and tomatoes. They also have a rain basin, which collects rainwater and saves it for later use.

 As for the daycare’s location on the West Side, Frizlen couldn’t be happier.

 “It’s a great location,” she said. “We love it here. We have lovely neighbors and they’ve been so supportive. They’re happy too. It’s never good to have a vacant building in your neighborhood and our building is so full of life.”                                Edited by Kaitlin Riznyk