By: Kam Lawrence

Hidden away underneath the pine trees, I discovered one of Big Bear’s well-kept secrets, Bear Valley Community Nursery School, Co-op in the Pines. This non-profit nursery school was established in Big Bear in 1963 and is run by parents. It is nestled amongst the shady pines of Big Bear Christian Center, where families grow together, learn cooperatively, and make friendships to last a lifetime. After participating in this amazing pre-school, I am astonished that there are still openings. Up until recent years, the school enjoyed full enrollment and a waiting list, but with the addition of some new pre-schools in our valley, attrition has increased.

Co-op in the Pines may be well known throughout our community as an exceptional school, but it’s also notorious for requiring “a lot of work.” Required parent involvement includes monthly meetings, parent participation days, and fundraising responsibilities. Perhaps this “work” has diverted some eligible families, but for our family, the “work” is a worthwhile investment in our child’s life. Believing that nursery school experiences build an important foundation for later learning, we are willing to put in the time.

With over six hundred Co-op graduates, you are bound to run into people in the community who have participated either as a parent or student. After talking to various Co-op Alumni, I noticed a trend. Most of these families have students who are or were on the high school honor roll, some of whom are also on their college honor roll. One parent told me that the last GATE (gifted and talented education) meeting she attended was two-thirds full of Co-op Alumni. A local middle school teacher commented that every child she discovered to be a Co-op graduate was also an excellent middle school student. Is this coincidence? Maybe. Is it because these children had parents who were involved in their education? More likely. Whatever the reason, the correlation is certainly worth noting.

Perhaps the true explanation lies in the fact that our co-op is made up of caring families with well-mannered, well-behaved children. A co-op provides a unique opportunity to get to know the parents of your child’s friends. As the friendships form between families, parents become vested in each other’s children. We feel a duty beyond our three-hour participation day to make sure our students are well cared for. When you drop off your child, it is with the assurance that she will be listened to, valued, and loved.

Co-op in the Pines is like no other pre-school. Where else can children tricycle through the forest and twirl on hand-made crazy swings as part of their school day? These are the childhood memories that will shape our little one’s lives, and just some of the rewards of our investment.

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Why choose Co-op? A few more reasons…

© Our ratio never exceeds one grown-up to five children.

© Parent involvement is key to children’s success throughout their school career, and Co-op is the only parent participation preschool in the Big Bear.

© Local teachers from kindergarten through high school love to have Co-op alumni in their classrooms because of their reputation for being great kids with involved families.

© Kindergarten is much more difficult now, and Co-op in the Pines preschool prepares our children to meet the challenges they will face their first year of “real school.”