Dear Prairie Flower Community: Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Prairie Flower Children’s Center is closed from August 2020 through May 2021. This means we won’t be offering any of our regular programming during that time (preschool, parent-child group, after school clubs). We miss the community so much and look forward to a time when we can all be together again. 

UPDATE:  We will be offering our preschool program in Fall 2021, and will give first priority consideration to applications submitted by February 28th. To easily apply, go to the Enrollment/ Enrollment process tab at the top, and complete the preschool application, located under step 3 of the enrollment process. 
Contact Us:
2807 Duff Ave.
Ames, IA
prairieflowercc@gmail.com
(515) 292-4312
Welcome to Prairie Flower Children's Center!

Prairie Flower is a preschool and kindergarten inspired by the principles of Waldorf education and forest schools for children in Ames, Iowa, and the surrounding communities. We strive to create a warm, nurturing environment based on meaningful work, play and connection to the natural world and its seasons. Above all, we seek to honor unpressured childhood as a critical time for healthy development.

In addition to the preschool and kindergarten, we offer a parent-child playgroup for 1- to 3-year-olds; two outdoor nature clubs, one for 5-to 12-year-olds and another for 11-18-year-olds; and many seasonal community events, celebrations, and parent education programs. 

We invite you to explore our site and learn about our unique vision for early childhood education. Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

Support Us!

Prairie Flower Children's Center is managed by the Ames Waldorf Education Association, a non-profit  501(c)(3) organization with tax-exempt status in the United States.

As a small non-profit education center, we depend on fundraising to keep our tuition rates low. Your contribution helps make it feasible for families to experience the beauty and wonder of Prairie Flower's programming.

Statement on Antiracism

Prairie Flower Children’s Center is committed to being an anti-racist and anti-bias organization; we also recognize that racism, bias, and privilege are present in our community and in our school and we are working on identifying strategies and actions we must take to address these things in a real way (we will update the community with our action steps, and we welcome your ideas and thoughts). We will be reviewing all curriculum we offer for racist and biased propensities, particularly Waldorf education, as  we recognize that the founder of the Waldorf early childhood educational philosophy, Rudolf Steiner, put forth racist and sexist ideas as well. We offer our full support for the Black Lives Matter movement and for all movements working towards social justice, equality, and inclusion.  

We also recognize the incredible responsibilities that come with being early childhood educators and are committed to modelling empathetic, anti-racist, anti-bias behaviors--behaviors that celebrate differences and don’t shy away from them-- with knowledge that children aged 3-6 learn primarily through imitation. We know that each of us has a part to play in this, as we are the village for our children, and that it is our responsibility to do this work with love and hope as our strengths. We believe a better world is possible for all of us.