Sunflower Pre-School, Redondo Beach

Sunflower Preschool was founded by Carolyn Lochhead (1929-2007) in 1980. After raising her children, Carolyn went to college in order to realize her passion of educating young children. After working as a director of a local preschool for several years, Carolyn decided to start her own school in the late 1970s. Along with her husband George, Carolyn bought the property at 2400 Nelson Avenue, transforming the house into classrooms and the yard into a playground. Carolyn designed the playground and George built many of the swings and slides that are still in operation. The school opened in 1980, and was expanded to include the adjacent property in the late 1980s. Sunflower Preschool provides an educational setting which promotes the intellectual, social and physical growth of each child as a unique individual. Further, the dedicated staff of the school create a loving environment in which children: learn actively through investigation, experimentation and play, learn to be independent and to work co-operatively with others, learn to understand themselves and their emotions.