Prairie Flower Children's Center is a nature-based, love-centered and belonging-based early childhood education center serving children and families in Ames, Iowa, and surrounding communities. For more than 25 years, we have sought to nurture children’s innate senses of wonder, curiosity and gratitude, and to honor their vital need for an unpressured childhood where imagination, creativity and self-discovery can bloom.

At Prairie Flower, we are fiercely committed to protecting the simplicity and wonderment of early childhood. We believe all children have the inherent capacity and desire to learn through play, deep connection to nature and place and a curriculum that nurtures their minds, bodies and spirits.

We offer a range of early childhood programs, including a preschool and mixed-age kindergarten for children ages 3.5-6; afterschool programs for children ages 5-12; and a parent-child playgroup for children 18 months to 3 years old and their caregivers. We also hold several community festivals for families to strengthen ties and celebrate our shared connection to seasonal rhythms.