When Jennifer Kidd opened the Village Montessori school last September, she was acting on a desire to offer something that she felt did not exist in Little Rock—providing a natural, spontaneous, hands-on way of learning.

Ever since her five-year-old son, Griffin, was born, Jennifer had aspirations to start a montessori school. Her cousin in Oregon, who started a montessori school there, provided a constant sounding board for Jennifer and her ideas.

Last February, Jennifer and several parents on the PTO of their children’s school decided to move forward with the idea. “Everything fell into place, there were no hurdles. Everything went smoothly,” Jennifer says. “It was February of 2013 when we all said, ‘hey, let’s do this,’ and we opened Sept. 3.

Currently, the school offers two classes, one for children 18 months to three years old, and another for the 3-6 age group.

Jennifer said the school follows the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) concept and adds an element of design. “There’s math, science, art, all the components, but we also have critical thinking, creativity and free association,” she says.

The Montessori way of teaching tackles the big picture before working into the intricacies. “People don’t think of kids between 18 and 24 months and 2-4 years of age doing things for themselves the way montessori kids can,” Jennifer says. “It’s because of the freedom that is offered. Teachers are more like guides and facilitators.”

While there are only two classes on campus now, Jennifer has big plans for the school. Including the beginning of another class, Baby Village, in July for kids 6-18 months old. The school will also be offering a 6-9 year old, possibly 6-12, class in the fall. In the end, Jennifer wants the school to be open to kids from 18 months to 18 years.

“We want to give them a broad, open world view,” she says. “We want them to grow up and be interested in the world, not just their own backyard.”

Jennifer’s future dreams mirror her hopes to provide kids with a cultural experience through school. Those dreams include partnering with non-profits like Heifer International to offer children an overseas-experience, partnering with a school in a foreign country and having weekly meetings via Internet to provide students with a different culture, and offering multiple foreign languages to students.

All her ideas for the future, which also include securing the school’s own building, give Jennifer excitement. She admits her board and PTO bring her back down to reality, but she still wants the Village Montessori to have a deep impact on the kids.

“I want it to be life-altering,” she says. “When you get kids that young and say ‘anything in the world is possible,’ imagine how different that experience is from sitting in rows and regurgitating something they have been read. My hope is that even if it is for a short period of time, we provide the most wide open lens to view the world and allow the students to find, and decide, their place.”