Who are we?

We are your neighbors!

They say “It takes a village to raise a child.”

—African proverb

We are the village.

We are curious people with a passion for lifelong learning and a love of nature and the deep desire to help those around us  catch the spirit that brightens our lives…

We are gardeners.

The program took seed in a public garden in Thousand Oaks, California, the Conejo Valley Botanic Gardens and has flourished under the care of California Garden Clubs, Inc., the statewide federation of garden clubs in California representing over 20,000 California gardeners when the program was started. Since its inception in 2001, the program has spread to include people from all walks of life. Mentors from communities throughout California have enlisted to support the program. Leaders are being recruited, trained and equipped with the tools they need to ensure the next generation of children will grow to be healthy, well-educated and strong. Parents of children of every age are encouraged to take a proactive approach toward the education, health and the well-being of every child within their reach. The skills that people need to master  life are changing. Children need to discover the joy of learning, of simple curiosity, and of invention. They must experience new approaches to learning that are inquiry based, collaborative, and perhaps even virtual. To remain literate and maintain good health, children will need to learn every day for the rest of their lives. The people and programs of Kids Growing Strong aim to help children create their own foundation of skills, knowledge and inspiration; a launch pad that will rocket them on a path of discovery that will last a lifetime.

Our Educational Philosphy

We believe that children can best create meaning and make sense of their world experience in the real-world, encounters with material objects, through relationships between people, and exposure to new ideas and the ways of considering and expressing ideas. Based upon a respectful image of every child as capable and competent and a constructor of their own knowledge, Kids Growing Strong approaches each child as resourceful, curious, imaginative and inventive individual possessing a desire to interact and communicate with others. In the words of Chris Wink, founder of the Blue Man Group, “on a metaphorical level, the traditional model of education is that children are freight cars and the school is a grain silo. It fills each of the kids up and then moves them down the track.” The programs developed by Kids Growing Strong aim to help children create their own foundation of skills, knowledge and inspiration; a launch pad that will rocket them on a path of discovery that will last a lifetime.

The Core Kids Growing Strong Team

Maryanne Lucas, Founder & Executive Director Sue Bennett, Secretary/Treasurer, Administrative Coordinator Pamela Stoyka-Bishop, Website & Cloud Applications