Prairie Flower Children's Center
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Educational Philosophy
    • Our History
    • Cooperative Model
    • Statement on Anti-Bias Education
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Employment
    • Annual Reports & Strategic Plan
  • Preschool
    • Overview
    • Seasonal Festivals
    • Enrollment Process
    • Tuition & Fees
    • Summer Session 2025
  • School-Age
    • Poemtree Afterschool Program
    • School-Age Summer Camp
  • Toddlers
    • Parent-Child Club
  • Resources
    • Preschool Supply List
    • School Calendar
  • Support us
    • Giving
    • Volunteer

Nature-Based.

Play-Based.
​
Child-Led.

Registration is open for Summer 2025!

Enroll in Summer Preschool
Enroll in Summer Camps

Registration is open for the 2025-26 school year -
​with new sliding fee scale!

Enroll in Preschool
Enroll in After-School
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Prairie Flower is an independent, nonprofit nature-based early childhood education center in Ames, Iowa, that has been serving families for over 25 years. We offer a year-round co-op nature preschool program for children ages 3-6, an after-school program and summer camps for children ages 5-12, and a parent-child playgroup for children ages 14 months-3 years.

We strive to create a warm, nurturing environment where children spend as much of the day as possible outdoors, forming a connection with nature and learning through play. Our curriculum is largely child-led and holistically seeks to meet the needs of the whole child (physical, social, emotional and creative, in addition to cognitive).
​

Learn more

OUR MISSION

To provide learning experiences that strengthen connections to community & the natural world while nurturing the innate capacities for imagination & wonder and instilling a sense of unconditional belonging. 

OUR VALUES

  • Childhood
  • Imagination
  • Nature
  • Rhythm
  • Families​
  • Community
  • Gratitude
  • Simplicity
  • Creativity
  • ​Play

OUR VISION

To nurture in children their innate senses of wonder, curiosity and gratitude

To honor the freedom of unpressured and unhurried childhood as essential for healthy development and a healthy future

To protect the dream-like state of early childhood by always striving to create an atmosphere of well-being, harmony and warmth

To foster in children and adults their connection to and love for the natural world and its seasonal rhythms

To build a community in which children’s minds, bodies, and spirits are nurtured at each stage of their development, and where adults and families are strengthened by their involvement.

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Support Us!

We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and depend on fundraising to keep our tuition rates low. Learn about ways to donate, and also how to volunteer.

Join the Board!

Are you excited about Prairie Flower's mission and vision, and want to use your time and talents to contribute? We currently have three vacancies on the board of directors. Please see the board of directors page for more information on responsibilities and how to apply.

News & Events

Our location:
1517 Northwestern Ave, Ames, IA 50010
​Along CyRide Green #2 route (16th & Northwestern stop)

We're on the second floor inside Bethesda Lutheran Church. Enter via "Faith & Life" entrance.


Questions? Contact us:
(515)-292-4312

​[email protected]
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Educational Philosophy
    • Our History
    • Cooperative Model
    • Statement on Anti-Bias Education
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Employment
    • Annual Reports & Strategic Plan
  • Preschool
    • Overview
    • Seasonal Festivals
    • Enrollment Process
    • Tuition & Fees
    • Summer Session 2025
  • School-Age
    • Poemtree Afterschool Program
    • School-Age Summer Camp
  • Toddlers
    • Parent-Child Club
  • Resources
    • Preschool Supply List
    • School Calendar
  • Support us
    • Giving
    • Volunteer