Covenant Nursery School

With a rich history since 1954, Covenant Nursery School has successfully transitioned through the years to become the school we are today. In 1954, Lois Lloyd founded Covenant Nursery School with eight children and one classroom on the second floor of Covenant United Methodist Church located at Harrison and Hartrey in Northwest Evanston.

Tina has been the Executive Director of Covenant Nursery School for the last thirteen years. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Northwestern University and a Masters of Education, specializing in Early Childhood Education from the Erikson Institute (a graduate school specializing in child development) here in Chicago.

Covenant Nursery School utilizes a developmentally appropriate, play-based approach to guide the path to children's learning. We believe each child's uniqueness must be appreciated and nurtured. Reknowned German educator Friederich Froebel, who created the first "kindergarten" or "children's garden, " was an advocate of children creating their own learning.

Covenant Nursery School places great value on the importance of nature play and education. Today's children are living with epidemic childhood obesity, a prevalence of attention difficulties and greater stressors than ever before. In addition, children are now spending significantly less time outside than previous generations of children.

Covenant's cutting edge outdoor play space was created and designed with these new principles of playground design: instead of filling playgrounds with traditional, man-made equipment, more and more early childhood programs are transforming their outdoor landscapes into magical "playscapes".

These new play environments, inspired by the natural resources around us, include grassy hills, trees, plants, natural pieces that can be moved, paths, sculptures, sand and water, and lots more - all with an intriguing medley of colors, sounds, scents and textures.Unlike traditional playgrounds, natural play settings are flexible, providing opportunities to test new skills and continually recreate the space in imaginative ways.