Rituals and traditions give children something rare and powerful: a sense that the world is steady.
At Laurel Hill Preschool, a cooperative, play-based early childhood community, traditions aren’t about doing things because we always have. They exist because repeating meaningful experiences—year after year—creates continuity, belonging, and trust. For young children especially, these rhythms help mark time, anchor memory, and build an early understanding of community. Long after the details fade, what remains is the feeling: I was part of something that mattered.
For nearly 80 years, Laurel Hill has been a place where seasons are felt through the body, not just the calendar—where early childhood learning happens through movement, exploration, and shared experience.
Seasonal Traditions at Laurel Hill Preschool
In the fall, the ground disappears beneath pumpkins and gourds. They roll, stack, crack, and splinter. Children hammer nails into thick orange skins, paint them bright and strange, pry them open, and—eventually—smash them apart. It’s loud and physical and joyful. There’s no single “activity,” just an invitation to explore with hands, weight, and curiosity. Fall at Laurel Hill isn’t something we talk about; it’s something we do.
Winter arrives on the scent of pine. The Laurel Hill campus fills with evergreen trees, transforming familiar paths into something quieter and more magical. The air changes. The light changes. Children move through a forest that wasn’t there the week before, gathering branches, building worlds, and experiencing the holidays not as spectacle, but as atmosphere. When the season ends, many of those trees find a second life—planted in the sand, rooted back into the landscape as a reminder that celebration can leave something lasting behind.
✨ Join our Waiting List Now ✨. Take a Tour | How to apply
In spring, color takes over. For Holi, children arrive in white shirts that don’t stay white for long. Bright powders fill the air, landing everywhere—on clothes, on skin, on laughter. It’s a joyful, communal celebration of renewal and connection, experienced the way children understand best: fully, messily, and without hesitation.
Traditions That Live Beyond the Classroom
Some of Laurel Hill’s traditions are so old that their origins have faded, leaving only the ritual and its meaning. The annual Warthog is one of them. No one quite remembers how it got its name, but once a year, our December business meeting is replaced by a gathering that centers the adults that make this community possible. A boot is passed around the room, collecting contributions for the co-op’s staff—an unceremonious, deeply Laurel Hill way of saying we see you, and we value you. The details of its origins may be fuzzy, but the intention is unmistakable.
Traditions at Laurel Hill extend well beyond the school day. After hours, the community comes together seasonally. Events like the Welcome Picnic, Pancake Breakfast, Trike-A-Thon, Love Fest, and more turn weekends into moments of connection—inviting families to gather, celebrate, and belong.
The annual auction serves as both fundraiser and reunion—a place to support the school while reconnecting with the people who make it what it is. Another cherished tradition is the way the wider community shows up to keep our school going. This year, generous high-value donations from Foreign Cinema, Fiorella & Winnetu Oceanside Resort, Stone Gold Pottery and Peak Design reflect just how deeply Laurel Hill is supported beyond its gates.
Nearly eight decades in, Laurel Hill’s traditions continue to evolve. New ones emerge. Old ones take on new meaning. But the heart of them remains the same: they remind children—and adults—that this is a place where people show up for one another, year after year.
One day, today’s children will grow up. They may forget the names of things, or the order they happened in. But they’ll remember the feeling of hammering a pumpkin, walking through pine trees, wearing a shirt splashed with color, sitting at a long table with their community. And when they create traditions of their own, they’ll be carrying Laurel Hill with them—whether they know it or not.
That’s the quiet power of tradition. And it’s woven into the ground beneath our feet.
Learn More About Laurel Hill
We already have a waiting list for next year—a sign of how many San Francisco families want to be part of our cooperative preschool community. If you’re looking for a parent-participation preschool in the Inner Richmond / Laurel Heights area, we’d love to welcome your family too.
Cost & Commitment – Learn how our San Francisco co-op preschool model works, what parent participation at Laurel Hill Nursery School entails, and why families across the Richmond District, Laurel Heights, and the broader city find it meaningful and rewarding.
How to Apply – Explore our simple, step-by-step application process for Laurel Hill Nursery School, and learn how to join our interest list and waiting list for upcoming school years.