Our Story:
The Real Life Nursery School & Kindergarten is a family-owned and operated business, which began as a sdmmer day camp program in 1948.
Founded in 1957, the original Real Life Nursery School & Kindergarten was located on Ford Road in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and was owned and operated by Jim and Mary Ellen Fraser until 1980.
With Aaron Fraser ("Farmer Aaron") taking responsibility at the farm in 2017 and his sisters, Sara Maldonado and Robin Thomas, taking on more responsibilities at the school and farm as well, our family business is now in its third generation. It is a joy for our family to continue the legacy of providing quality child care and education in the Canton community.
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Today, hundreds of families in and around Canton, Michigan, have benefitted from child care and early education in a home-like atmosphere here at Real Life Nursery School and Kindergarten.
For quite some time, our family felt the need to expand our business to a year-round school. The surrounding development and access to sewer and water hookups made this dream a possibility. Ground was broken at the front of the farm property for the new Real Life Nursery School and Kindergarten in 2001.
Don and Mary Ann Fraser envisioned a state of the art facility that puts children and their families first, and the architects and builders made it a reality. The school opened on July 15, 2002, and was an immediate success as families throughout the Canton area recognized the value of our programs, facilities, unique outdoor experiences, and quality staff for their children's physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and social development.
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For years, our waiting list was so long that we realized we needed to add onto our school. In 2008, the second building was added, allowing for 4 more classrooms and an even larger activity area in the lower level.
After Jim's passing in 1986, Don and Mary Ann Fraser took over the Real Life Day Camp and Farm, operating school field trips, hayride parties, and the summer day camp.
In 1963, Jim Fraser (Farmer Don's father and Farmer Aaron's grandfather) purchased the land in Canton, Michigan, for the summer camp program.
It is our desire to make a significant difference in the lives of the children and families we serve through our year-round school and summer camp. We maintain strong commitment to this goal and a genuine desire to serve our community. We are proud of our heritage and will strive to continue to provide high-quality and culturally-sensitive child care services to families like yours.
We look forward to having you and your child join our family.
The Fraser Family
The original Real Life Nursery School and Kindergarten
Jim and Mary Ellen with schoolchildren
Farmer Don and Ms. Mary Ann
Our school and farm in Canton, MI
Four generations serving local families
Jim and Mary Ellen Fraser
Our Mission:
The mission of Real Life Nursery School and Kindergarten is to value and support children, their families, and our staff, and to develop a program that helps build strong, moral character and positive self-esteem while providing for the individual developmental differences of all children...
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...in a caring and Christian atmosphere where we create a safe and secure place for children to learn and grow.
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...where children are valued for their individual abilities, curiosities, and abilities to play.
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...where families are valued for their traditions, their commitment to work, their home, their community, and their dreams for their children.
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...where staff are valued for their vision, their love for children, their skills and knowledge, and their commitment to families.
Our Vision:
To provide our community with high-quality and culturally-sensitive child care services, and to ensure the individual needs of the children in our care are met through developmentally appropriate practices by our caring and nurturing staff.
Our Philosophy:
We believe in providing the kind of environment and influences that encourage all children to become creative, independent, responsible, self-directed adults who can make decisions for themselves.
We Believe:​​
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The home is the most important factor in a child’s development. We will always strive to support the family in order to promote the healthy development of children and parents.
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Each child has dignity and worth, and the family unit is important.
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Loving, trusting, and respecting each child makes that child capable of loving, trusting, and respecting others.
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Each child should be guided toward developing a positive self-image.
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It is important to meet each child’s needs for physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth.
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Children deserve a nurturing, safe, and happy environment that promotes their natural curiosity and desire to learn.
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Children deserve to have teachers who are capable and caring and whose values enable them to be excellent role models.
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Recognizing that children grow in predictable stages, we treat each child as an individual, working from the level each child has attained and moving forward a step at a time. We model a “love of learning,” by allowing children to experience their own stage of development and by helping them to feel success without pressure.
