Your School
At Stepping Stones, West Loop, we are Reggio-inspired and developmentally-focused. Surrounding children with a variety of enrichment, stimulating the senses, and supporting a passion for discovery. Our curriculum mindfully infuses structured lessons into a child-led, Reggio-inspired environment. Children flourish in an environment that is language-rich, dynamic but accessible, warm and loving. Teachers encourage children to challenge their skill set each day as they transition from novice to master again and again.
Rather than a traditional playground, the West Loop location utilizes the neighborhoods many spacious nature areas, allowing children to move freely, climb, and engage in active play in rain or shine!
We also bring nature inside the classroom, offering sensory-rich, creative experiences with clay, paint, loose parts, and natural materials, like collected sticks and pine cones. Outdoor learning is brought to life through regular walks and adventures to nearby parks, giving children the chance to explore seasonal changes, urban nature, and open-ended movement in the fresh air.
Our classrooms are designed to feel like a second home—filled with natural materials, soft lighting, and gentle rhythms that support comfort, curiosity, and calm.
Each day is guided by children’s interests and developmental stages, encouraging autonomy, discovery, and joyful learning.
Our Reggio-inspired school offers a full continuum of programs to support children from infancy through preschool. Each program is uniquely named and tailored to the developmental needs of the age group it serves, fostering a sense of identity, belonging, and purpose within the school community.
In our Ducklings classrooms, infants are cared for in a gentle, sensory-rich environment where routines are predictable, relationships are secure, and exploration is supported through music, soft materials, and simple toys. Individualized attention ensures babies feel safe, seen, and soothed.
The Goslings classrooms offers a plenty of space for our little ones that are pulling themselves up, standing, beginning to walk, and beginning to really move! We give them a dedicated classroom to begin sensory exploration with painting and texture exploration, as well as other activities that introduce gross-motor skills and confidence early on.
In the Tadpoles classroom, toddlers are encouraged to explore their independence while developing emerging language and motor skills. Through guided play, simple routines, and lots of music, movement, and sensory experiences, toddlers begin to build friendships, express themselves, and navigate their world with growing confidence.
This classroom bridges toddlerhood and preschool with activities that promote language development, self-help skills, and imaginative play. Children are guided in problem-solving and supported in building independence through a mix of group and solo learning experiences.
In our Bullfrogs program, children deepen their critical thinking and collaboration skills as they prepare for kindergarten. Teachers facilitate learning by observing children’s interests and building emergent curriculum, early literacy, and social-emotional learning around them. Project-based learning, storytelling, and outdoor exploration allow children to apply concepts, solve problems, and work as a team.
Cooking Up Confidence, One Recipe At A Time!
Kids Café is a hands-on cooking program where children explore new foods, build confidence, and develop essential life skills through fun, guided kitchen experiences.
Talk to your School Director today to learn more and enroll.
If you’re looking, you will notice several progressive methods and materials including Reggio Emilia, RIE, Waldorf, but mostly Reggio Emilia. If you’re not looking, you will still notice that care is our curriculum. We respect and focus on the “whole child” rooted in learning by doing and prioritizing exploration, problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaborative projects. Our teachers and care takers are co-learners alongside their students, encouraging curiosity through schema observation, prosocial relationships, and facilitating child-led and empowering learning environments.
Come visit the premier Reggio-inspired School brand in Chicago and discover how we nurture creativity, independence, and a love for learning in young children. Our Reggio-inspired approach fosters a supportive and engaging environment where every child can thrive. Stop by for a tour or give us a call to learn more about our programs and enrollment options. We look forward to welcoming you!
Brenda is the Assistant Director at the Portage Park location. She has been working in Early Childhood Education for 6 years after learning the principles of taking care of young minds. She had an early childhood educator always tell her, “You can help all young minds with the patience and understanding you have for the children”. This always stuck with her and it led her on her education journey.
Brenda earned an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education with hopes to expand her knowledge and continue her education towards a Bachelors Degree in Early Education and Administration. This foundation of knowledge helps Brenda grow her mentor voice, guiding her team in who they are and where they want to go. She will always work to create a safe and supportive working and learning environment for her entire community.
She has worked in many daycares in Chicago, but Stepping Stones opened a door to new early learning for her. A nature-based curriculum is not only outdoor learning; it is appreciating the world around us! As both a Lead Teacher and Assistant Director, she is in awe every day of the growth she has experienced since working with Stepping Stones colleagues, families, and students.
Brenda comes from a big family and they are always up to something! She loves to go out for walks in her neighborhood and explore new neighborhoods with her partner on car drives around Illinois. She absolutely loves to dance to all kinds of music with her nieces and nephew. As soon as the sun is out and the air is warm, she is swimming all weekend long and enjoying summer days.
I have been here for 7 years. I have had the opportunity to work with every age group and have grown very fond of the infant classroom. My favorite thing about working at Lily Pad is being able to create bonds with all the families. As well as being able to see every child’s journey and milestones throughout Lily Pad, and seeing them graduate. I am always up for trying new restaurants, as I am a big foodie! I love to travel any chance I get.
Stepping Stones was founded by Victoria Hilton in 2012 out of her own two-flat apartment on Wrightwood Ave. in Logan Square. As a long-time educator herself, she was not finding the care she was hoping to find for her own small children which inspired her to design a whimsical outdoor classroom and two classrooms welcoming families in search of joy, empowerment, and care that embraced outdoor learning. In Spring 2019, Stepping Stones opened a 7 classroom center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood and then shortly after moved the Logan Square home daycare community into a 4 classroom center during Summer 2020. Then in Winter 2023, Stepping Stones extended into a 3 classroom center in Portage Park.
In Spring 2025, Victoria entrusted Stepping Stones to Cadence Education – a company who shares Stepping Stones’ vision, values, and love for early childhood education. Stepping Stones is proudly part of Cadence Education’s Preparatory Schools to support and protect our non-traditional curriculum and open new doors for our team with ensured long-term success of everything Victoria built.
Meanwhile, in winter 2024, Cadence Education also added Lily Pad Nursery School to our family of Preparatory Schools. To build connection and support across all of our Chicago schools, in Spring 2026 a rebrand into Stepping Stones Nursery School began. We have embraced each other’s established community of learners with grace and warmth in a collective commitment to provide care and child-led early education to Chicago’s hard working families.
We want to learn about your experience with Stepping Stones Nursery School, West Loop. Please take a moment to share your experience with us and let us know how we are doing.
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