A Little School Built on Curiosity, Community, and Big Sunshine at Playful Learning
By Robin
The Dalles OR., Dec.10, 2025. On a quiet street in The Dalles, in a pair of century-old houses that now brim with art supplies, sunshine, and the happy chaos of young children, Playful Learning has created something unmistakably special. The warmth of the place is immediate: soft afternoon light, tiny cots arranged for nap time, and the sense of calm that settles only in spaces where children feel safe.
Outdoor time :)
Owner Eliza Hernandez built this school from the ground up — literally. What is now a bright, open preschool classroom was once a detached garage attached to a 120-year-old home. She first converted it as a space for her daughter. Later, she reshaped it into something bigger: a child-led early learning program rooted in curiosity, creativity, and a deep belief in community.
““I started this school for children to have a nurturing, holistic experience in their formative years,” she said, describing the school with affection. “It’s super cute. I love it.” She pointed out how much time children spend outdoors and how, on sunny days, “they are just begging to go.”
Inside, the environment is intentionally open. Soft rugs, natural materials, quiet corners for reading or drawing, and clusters of workspaces welcome children to explore. The space feels alive — but never overwhelming — shaped by the rhythm of the children rather than rigid rules.
Owner Eliza Hernandez
Both Playful Learning houses have 16 children. The classrooms sit side by side, each with its own teacher and identity but joined under the same philosophy. Eliza talked affectionately about the provider next door, saying, “This is Kendra… also my best friend, also the best person in the world.”
The two schools operate like siblings. Throughout the day, children roam between outdoor spaces and indoor rooms, returning to their own classrooms until the moment — around 2:30 — when both groups merge for enrichment. “At like 2:30 our classes combine and then we do enrichment,” Eliza explained. During those hours, the yard fills with bus drop-offs, after-school energy, and the larger mixed-age community that makes Playful Learning so unique.
The original classroom
The second classroom
A School Born From a Childcare Desert
Eliza’s decision to open Playful Learning was shaped by experience, motherhood, and a clear understanding of what local families were facing.
We do live in a childcare desert, and Playful Learning has grown and become a 5 star program recognized by the State of Oregon for Quality Recognition and Improvement System even during challenging times like COVID.
“We live in a childcare desert,” she said plainly.
She described how families began enrolling (10 years ago) even before the renovation was finished. “People came even when the walls weren’t done,” she said. The need was that strong, and the trust in her vision was that immediate.
When she opened the second classroom next door, she followed the same guiding thought: If I build it, they’ll come. And they did.
A Child-Led, Reggio-Inspired Approach
Much of Playful Learning’s calm and stability comes from the school’s Reggio inspired philosophy — something Eliza described with clarity and conviction. Rather than following a predetermined curriculum, teachers observe children closely and build learning experiences from what they see emerging.
Her description was simple but deeply felt: “It’s not like a strict curriculum… we learn with the children… listening… creating the curriculum based on their information and their knowledge.”
Projects often stretch across months. A construction unit brought families together with real tools. A music performance included both houses. Some explorations, she said, may even take a year to fully unfold.
“Hands-on,” she summarized, describing children in the sandbox with work clothes, exploring, testing ideas, and learning from each other.
This long-term, relationship-based approach means children don’t just arrive each day — they belong. After years in the program, many take on leadership roles naturally, becoming guides for new students and helping shape the culture for the next group of preschoolers.
“We’re learning sign language and Spanish,” Eliza noted, sharing how language learning threads gently into daily life.
Where Community Is the Curriculum
More than anything, Playful Learning is a community. Eliza emphasized this through the story of her own children: the friendships built at Playful Learning have lasted into their teen years.
She tells parents the same thing: at Playful Learning, the power is not just in the teachers — it’s in the group. “You’re really not buying me as a teacher or Kendra,” she said, “you’re really buying the community,” explaining that children “learn from peers way more than they learn from me.”
Families often ask her when to enroll — Is it too early? Should they wait? Should they stay home?
Eliza answers with something simple and tender: “Babies don’t keep.”
She encourages parents to cherish time at home while also recognizing that a quality preschool environment gives children something home cannot always replicate — practice engaging with the wide world, both the good and the challenging parts.
A Place Where Children Feel Safe, Seen, and Understood
The magic of Playful Learning is not flashy. It’s quiet. It’s steady. It’s in the way children drift confidently from one area to the next, in the gentle transitions, in the way older children place a reassuring hand on a younger one’s shoulder.
Eliza described this year’s group of preschoolers as her “golden year,” saying, “Most kids I’ve had for three years, they’re like family to each other, there’s unspoken language of love throughout our classroom and seen throughout the day.”
And in these two neighboring houses, filled with light, creativity, and the smell of fresh outdoor air drifting in through open doors, you can feel the environment she envisioned when she first began: child-led, play-rich, grounded in relationships, and as warm and steady as the sun that keeps the children asking, every day, to go outside.
Playful Learning is also one of the Preschool Promise sites in the Four Rivers’ region. Preschool Promise is free, full-day preschool for eligible families that’s paid by a grant through the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care . Not sure if you qualify? Maybe your income is close to the limit, or you're just not certain. Please reach out to Erica at Four Rivers Early Learning and Parenting Hub and she can review your situation with you. Many families are surprised to learn they qualify! Call/text 541-965-8319 or visit the Preschool Connection page: https://fourriversfamily.org/preschool-connection.
