Big Tree Little Preschool
A nature-oriented, play-based and screen-free preschool
Now enrolling ages 2–5 for full-day and part-week nature preschool.
Big Tree Little Preschool -
Where Curiosity Thrives
Nature-Based Learning
Big Tree is a nurturing, nature-infused community where children thrive. Nestled on five sprawling acres, our preschool embraces a child-driven, forest school philosophy blended with the Reggio Emilia approach to early education. For over 15 years, we’ve been guiding young learners to discover, explore, and grow in a setting that values curiosity, creativity, and respect for the natural world.
Young Preschool: Ages 2–3
The earliest start in a real nature program — little ones dig, splash, sing, and explore all five acres at their own pace, with potty-training support and all the patience in the world. Children who start at 2 grow up at Big Tree: same trees, same teachers, same friends, all the way to kindergarten.
Focus on Experiential Learning
Daily routines revolve around outdoor play, hands-on projects, and collaborative discovery, ensuring every child’s imagination and sense of wonder flourish. From watering gardens to balancing on logs, our students learn practical skills and develop confidence through supervised risk-taking—safely building resilience and problem-solving abilities in real-world contexts.
From our families. . .
We have been serving Vista and our surrounding community for over 15 years.
I can't really say enough good things about Big Tree, but I will close with my most important thought: the teachers. Ms. Rebecca, and all of her staff, are some of the warmest, kindest, and patient women I have met. You can tell they really are invested in making sure each child's individual needs are met, and that every parent's concerns and needs are heard and met as well. They are always very communicative and transparent, and are willing to do whatever they can to keep their students and families happy. It's a sweet gem of a place for children to spend their days growing. In fact, most days it is quite hard to convince my kids to come home, they are having such a blast!
We have such big love for Big Tree. My little one LOVES it here, and she is learning so much with the caring, experienced teachers and the wonderful, diverse group of kids. She is growing leaps and bounds socially, emotionally, and academically, and she is already learning so much about her connection to the larger world. The nature hikes, the special guest story & music time, the incredible outdoor play spaces, the dancing, the art, the yoga, the songs, the strong but flexible structure of the day and the rhythms of the week - seriously, it makes me want to go to preschool again. It means the world to me that my daughter absolutely loves this school. I know that this is the best educational foundation I could ever ask for.