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.
In the Anishinaabe 13 Moon System, February is called Suckerfish Moon. Suckerfish Moon is the 13th moon, a time when the ice begins to loosen its hold on the lakes and rivers and the fish return to life beneath the thawing waters. It marks the quiet awakening of Mother Earth, a reminder that renewal begins beneath the surface long before we see it. In this class, participants will prepare a warming Tepary Bean, venison, and kale soup, a recipe inspired by the season’s return of movement and flow. The hearty beans and nourishing greens represent the first signs of vitality after winter’s stillness, while the light broth honors the clarity and renewal of the melting waters. Cedar and peppermint teas accompany the meal, offering grounding and balance for the body’s transition into spring. April shares teachings of the Suckerfish Moon, participants will explore how each dish becomes a story, a reflection of how the land provides exactly what we need, when we need it.
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
