About
Zaca Center Preschool offers a play-based curriculum that includes art, science, math, language development, music, movement, dramatic play, neighborhood walks, conversations, nature activities, story reading, cooking, and tending to classroom pets and a vegetable garden. Children take part in gardening experiences by growing, tending, and harvesting foods from the preschool garden, collecting insects, working in the garden, playing in mud kitchens, working in outdoor writing centers, playing in water, and using real tools to experiment with. The program also includes making juice using fresh fruits and vegetables and family events such as Teacher Meet and Greet, Parent Night, Beach Day, Trunk or Treat, Winterfest Craft Night, Muffins in the Morning, End of the Year Picnic, and Parent Teacher Conferences.
• Ages: 2–5 years old
• Schedule: Doors open Monday–Friday from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm with part-day, three-quarter day, and full-day schedule options
Zaca Center Preschool has been in operation since February 1996 and operates as a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to providing a play-based curriculum. The program uses an Outdoor Classroom where children spend a substantial portion of each day outdoors exploring, experimenting, and investigating the outdoor environment. The preschool serves families throughout the Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc, Santa Maria, and the Gaviota Coast and has participated in the Santa Barbara County Preschool Healthy Foods Initiative sponsored by the Orfaela Foundation. It serves two healthy snacks and a healthy lunch each day using fresh produce and cooked-from-scratch recipes and offers year-round pesticide-free gardening experiences.
The mission of Zaca Center Preschool is to serve preschool children and their families in a full inclusion, high quality educational environment, with an emphasis on an anti-biased curriculum and differences among people, and to provide a nurturing, secure, and supportive environment that offers children space and time. The program is a full inclusion program that supports the development of children with special needs by including them in classrooms and all daily activities. It maintains an open-door policy to parents and classroom volunteers.
Zaca Center Preschool is a Demonstration Site for the Outdoor Classroom Project and a Partner Site for the California Teaching Pyramid. It has been recognized as a “Green Care Provider” by the Green Care for Children Organization of Santa Barbara and practices using cleaning products free of harsh chemicals and irritants, recycling, composting, gardening, and water and energy conservation. Teachers and classroom staff model environmental stewardship by teaching recycling and composting and practicing water and energy conservation.
All staff were trained in the Collaborative on Social and Emotional Learning Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL), also referred to as CSEFEL, and have academic backgrounds in Early Childhood Education. The preschool is staffed by mature, loving, and responsible adults.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
• Ages: 2–5 years old
• Schedule: Doors open Monday–Friday from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm with part-day, three-quarter day, and full-day schedule options
Zaca Center Preschool has been in operation since February 1996 and operates as a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to providing a play-based curriculum. The program uses an Outdoor Classroom where children spend a substantial portion of each day outdoors exploring, experimenting, and investigating the outdoor environment. The preschool serves families throughout the Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc, Santa Maria, and the Gaviota Coast and has participated in the Santa Barbara County Preschool Healthy Foods Initiative sponsored by the Orfaela Foundation. It serves two healthy snacks and a healthy lunch each day using fresh produce and cooked-from-scratch recipes and offers year-round pesticide-free gardening experiences.
The mission of Zaca Center Preschool is to serve preschool children and their families in a full inclusion, high quality educational environment, with an emphasis on an anti-biased curriculum and differences among people, and to provide a nurturing, secure, and supportive environment that offers children space and time. The program is a full inclusion program that supports the development of children with special needs by including them in classrooms and all daily activities. It maintains an open-door policy to parents and classroom volunteers.
Zaca Center Preschool is a Demonstration Site for the Outdoor Classroom Project and a Partner Site for the California Teaching Pyramid. It has been recognized as a “Green Care Provider” by the Green Care for Children Organization of Santa Barbara and practices using cleaning products free of harsh chemicals and irritants, recycling, composting, gardening, and water and energy conservation. Teachers and classroom staff model environmental stewardship by teaching recycling and composting and practicing water and energy conservation.
All staff were trained in the Collaborative on Social and Emotional Learning Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL), also referred to as CSEFEL, and have academic backgrounds in Early Childhood Education. The preschool is staffed by mature, loving, and responsible adults.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
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