Built on play, a nature playground, and teachers who stay.
In October 1984, LPC opened with 24 children, a few toys, and a fenced-in grassy yard. We barely had paper to color on.
What we did have: devoted teachers and parents who showed up. By 1985 we'd doubled enrollment and added toys, art supplies, a climbing structure — and given up on the grass entirely. Faces have changed over four decades, but the core of LPC hasn't: we have fun here. It's warm, it's happy, it's the kind of place kids run into in the morning.
Some days we'd call it downright magical.
LPC is a play-based preschool where children feel safe, ready to learn, and free to be themselves. Through hands-on exploration and real relationships with their teachers, we help every child grow — socially, emotionally, physically, and academically.
Chris Giguere — founder, 1984.
Chris Giguere opened Lexington Playcare Center in 1984. She wanted a place where play was the foundation of learning, and where children felt safe, supported, and genuinely happy. That spirit still runs the school.
She championed the nature-inspired playground, too — the hill, the trees, the trike path, the spaces where children imagine and dig and climb. It’s one of the most-loved parts of the program.
Chris knew every child by name and obsession. They adored her right back.
A few things that guide every day at LPC.
We help children become good friends, capable problem solvers, creative risk-takers, and classmates who can govern themselves. We give them as much independence as their age and stage can hold.
We treat parents as partners and communicate with them every day. Our community keeps the school welcoming, inclusive, and balanced between real education and real care.
When you see steady, happy teachers, curious children, and involved parents, we’ve done our job.
A backyard-woods experience, on purpose.
We planned our nature-inspired playground for two years before installing it in 2012. It trades manufactured play equipment for the kind of unstructured outdoor play children have when they’re lucky enough to have woods in the backyard.
What you’ll find:
- A hill with a slide and a tunnel
- Apple trees and blueberry bushes
- A four-surface trike path
- A fallen log and movable logs
- A hobbit house
- Butterfly bushes, sand, rocks, and space to be a child
How we keep families in the loop.
Day-to-day, LPC families use Brightwheel: photos and quick notes from teachers, naps and meals, sign-in/out, and direct messages with the office. You’ll catch glimpses of your child’s day in real time — no long email needed.
Twice a year — in winter and spring — we hold scheduled parent-teacher conferences. These are the longer, slower conversations: how your child is settling in, what they’re working on, what we’re noticing, what’s next. They happen on a regular cadence, not only when something’s wrong.
For the bigger logistical stuff — closures, weather, calendar updates — we use email so the important things don’t get buried in a Brightwheel feed.
Come see us.
Tours run Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings. Walk the classrooms, meet the teachers, and see the playground for yourself.
Book a Tour