All Day Preschool operates twelve months a year and serves children 3-5 years of age.
This ECFE class is non-separating for parents and children birth to age 2.
Half Day Preschool offers options for 3 year olds to attend two mornings or afternoons per week or for 4 & 5 year olds to attend three mornings or afternoons per week.
Village Kids is a school-age childcare program that provides care before and after school and on non-school days for children in grades K-5 attending Wilshire Park Elementary School or who reside in St. Anthony-New Brighton School District.
Our early childhood camps and enrichment classes are specifically for children ages 2-6. However, some of our camps and classes are geared for ages 2-9 so siblings can attend together.
January marks the Spirit Moon, the 12th moon in the Anishinaabe 13 Moons calendar system. It is a time for reflection, renewal, and preparing our spirits for the year ahead. In this class, participants will prepare a meal of bison and wild rice meatballs with a blueberry reduction sauce called Wojapi, a dish that symbolizes strength, balance, and gratitude for what the Winter historically provided for the Ojibwe people. You’ll also enjoy cedar and mint teas, plant medicines that help clear the mind and ground the heart during the long Winter months. Throughout the evening, April shares cultural stories and insights about the 13 Moons Teachings, exploring how Indigenous foodways align with seasonal rhythms and holistic wellness. Participants will leave not only with new recipes, but with a deeper appreciation for food as medicine and as a living expression of relationship with the land, spirit and with one another.
April Smith is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She is also an
Indigenous Educator and Facilitator, an Herbalist from Cornell University, a Curriculum Designer, and her work is rooted in Ojibwe cultural education and nutrition, Indigenous Food Sovereignty, and community wellness. With over 16 years of experience designing and facilitating learning experiences for communities and organizations, April brings a unique approach that blends Anishinaabe foodways with modern wellness practices. Her work is grounded in reciprocity, sustainability, and respect for ancestral knowledge. She teaches that food is medicine and that every ingredient has a story, one that connects us all through shared humility and care for Mother Earth. April’s Indigenous Cooking Class Series runs from January 2026 through May 2026, featuring five seasonal classes that celebrate traditional Anishinaabe foods and share how the Anishinaabe people lived by the 13 Moon System. Cooking by the 13 Moons: Indigenous Seasons of Food Series invites participants to rediscover the relationship between food, culture, and the land, an experience that nourishes both body and spirit.
www.bearclandesignsllc.com
April Smith
