6. …while encouraging
outdoor play. By
visiting any
botanical garden or
arboretum in the
U.S. kids can
“check-in” via a
mobile app, and
receive 500 points
in the game.
17. Included is a
full range of
educator
“how to” videos,
online, and
offline
resources.
www.BloomersSchoolyard.org
18. Bloomers! is
much more than
gardens and
seeds. It’s a
world of
engagement
between
parents,
educators, and
students.
19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dhufFYVCFY
Testimonials:
“I am delighted with how
the children responded to
the Bloomers! Schoolyard
program. It shows me the
value of a curriculum
framework and the
assistance it can provide a
teacher.”
~Lori Davidson,
Executive Director,Alpert JCC,
Early Childhood Development Center
20. More Testimonials:
"It's amazing how much children love fruits and vegetables when they grow them themselves.This should be a part of every
school's healthy- program." ~Lourdes Padgett, Preschool Teacher, Alpert JCC Preschool.
“Bloomers has provided numerous experiences and opportunities for the children enrolled in the preschool program at
Long Beach City College and Learning Lab. Their overall design has been creative and unique, and developmentally
appropriate for 3-5 year old children. We continue to enjoy working with Bloomers, and plan to use them more in the
future.” Stacey Smith-Clark, Director, Long Beach City College Child Development Center & Learning Lab.
“I wanted to thank you again for letting our school be a part of the Bloomers! curriculum project. The children are really
enjoying growing the snow peas and reading the stories. They want to read all the stories all at once instead of one a week.
The know that at the end of each story Mr. Banyan hugs his tree house a little tighter and the next page says the end. They
have even started to notice the small Professor Sage picture that tells us to stop if they are not listening to the story- that
was a great addition to the books.
The other reason I am writing to you is that one of our preschoolers – Benjamin is really in love with the stories and the
Bloomers. He is a little “obsessed”- as mom calls it. He has starting drawing amazing pictures of all the characters and tells
all of our new teachers the whole story and who everyone is. He has made his own Bloomers books at home (17 volumes
right now) and wrote the stories from memory. I was wondering if there was any way that we could get his parents a
discount of the collection of printed stories. He wants his mom and dad to print out the whole stories in color so he can
read them again and again. I would love to scan and send you some of his art work of Bloomers if you want to see it. You
may have a future employee one day here.” ~ Jodi Morinaka, Child and Family Center Director, Part Time Lecturer, Child
Development and Family Studies, California State University
21. Bloomers! was founded in
2008 by
Cynthia Wylie
Ms. Wylie grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania which is where
she developed a love for all things green. She received her B.S. in
Agriculture and was subsequently awarded a full fellowship to
Georgetown University where she obtained a graduate degree in
Economics.
An early proponent of technology for early learners, her article,
Connecting Nature +Technology in the Classroom was recently
published in the CAEYC Connections Magazine, and she was one of
20 selected out of over 300 applicants to present at their 2013
conference. The Bloomers! online world was nominated for a 2011
Virtual Excellence Award by the Association of Virtual Worlds.
She has raised four children inVenice, California, but is still a part-
time farmer, planting blackberry bushes on the family farm, and
working to develop the perfect bottle of blackberry syrup.
22. Our Advisors:
Lourdes Padgett, Educational Director
• B.S. Childhood Development
• Early childhood educator for 12 years
• Nominated for L.A. County PreschoolTeacher of theYear
• Member of Long Beach Early Childhood Education Committee
• Passionate about gardening with her students
Lourdes was a teacher at Bloomers! first pilot program school. She
loved it so much that she joined the team!
Richard Cohen, Educational Advisor
Director Project ABC
• Ed.M. Harvard, Ph.D. Educational Psychology, UCLA
• Career spent at the intersection of ECE & Child Welfare
• Westside Children’s Center
• Head Start multiple cities director
• UCLA Laboratory School
