Seedlings to Sunflowers describes itself as a high-quality, non-profit school and family center with a progressive approach to early education and child development. Since the founders believed that all roads lead back to how we value our children, they wanted to provide the best health and education plan possible for the children in their care.
Meghann Carrasco, executive director, and the professionals who work with her at the two campus locations for Seedlings to Sunflowers, still agree with the original premise: let’s help families to create happy, thriving kids.

S2S (as Seedlings to Sunflowers is tagged) is a twin hub of bubbly child activity located at 11 South Gorham Crossing and at 3 Gorham Industrial Parkway in Gorham. Our visit to the sites was designed to learn more about both the history and the evolution of the program.

The doors opened at the first location in June 2018 with room for 20 pre-K children and 70 spots for infants and toddlers. There were teachers, administrators, and a chef. The staff was steeped in early ed philosophy and eager to set up tidy, inviting classrooms.

Fast forward, and the present atmosphere is genuinely welcoming. The classrooms are cheery and colorful; kids are busy and smiling. S2S has expanded, and the program mission has grown. The Industrial Parkway site opened in October, 2023.

In 2024 the doors opened on Sunflower Community Playspace and Cafe, an inviting part of the same building and serving beverages and light snacks.

A recent Maine Community Foundation Community Building Grant of $10,000 will outfit a new community room that will offer children’s and parenting classes.

The principals envisioned teaching space of course, but simultaneously hoped to build raised-bed gardening stations so that littlies could dig in the soil. They initiated the additions of a seasonal butterfly release, a large greenhouse, a nature playgarden, and imaginary travel, currently, a cultural “visit” to Costa Rica and Australia.

Practically speaking, these teachers were and are also informed by holistic approaches to pre-K and early childhood education, and in that way their current curriculum is rich and creative. They saw the need for after-care coverage and set up a plan for monitoring the 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. hours for up to ten-year-olds.

They wanted both arts and science offerings and built in special guest educator visits, including monthly collaboration with Dance Studio of Maine and KindKid Music. Special educators include Sparks Ark, Tinker Bus, Maine Audubon and others. Add visits to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and from the UMaine Touch Tank, Dragon Fire Martial Arts, and Mad Science, and you have a slice of their adventurous and now-available content.

They are currently enrolling students at both of their school locations. At their Industrial Parkway location, there are two private pre-K classes (where there are currently nine spots available), in addition to the two public pre-K classes (where there are currently two spots available), and 2 preschool classrooms (where there are currently eleven 3-4 year old spots available). Their infant and toddler location at 11 South Gorham Crossing has three infant spots, four 1-2 year old spots, and ten 2-3 year old spots available.
There are options for 3, 4, and 5 days of care. Equitable access is supported by discounted tuition for low-income families. Additionally, Seedlings to Sunflowers maintains an optional healthy food plan which includes breakfast, two snacks and lunch.

For those parents who want to plan ahead, there is a summer camp for pre-K graduates and other options, with more information on year-round programs at the seedlingstosunflowers.org website.

For enrollment questions and to schedule a tour, Executive Director Meghann Carrasco is reachable at: meghann@seedlingstosunflowers.org. Marketing Coordinator Caitlin Diggles is available to discuss all aspects of the day-to-day S2S media operations at: caitlin@seedlingstosunflowers.org. Look for announcements on two upcoming open house events, one on Friday, Aug. 1 at 5 p.m., and one on Aug. 7 at 5 p.m., and note that S2S is on Facebook and Instagram.