MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Finding the perfect school for your child can be quite the challenge. You have to look at all aspects including the location, curriculum, instructors and so on. However, lucky for us there is a new center in town that is ready to kick off a child's education at an early age.

Appletree & Gilden Woods Early Care & Preschool is an educational school for children ages 0-5 as well as a school age program for children ages 6-12.

Their goal is to provide a fun, engaging learning environment to promote each child's individual development and nurture their natural curiosity. Not only that, but their curriculum is designed to inspire a child to learn and grow academically, socially and emotionally.

"I started it for my daughter…I really wanted a place for her that was about education and through the years nothing comes through the schools and nothing happens at Gilden Woods as far as curriculum changing that I don't sit back and look and say 'if this was for my child, what would i want?" mentioned Founder & CEO of Gilden Woods Bridgett Tubbs-Carlon.

Speaking of education, this school makes it a point to implement the STEM curriculum for kids just beginning their education.

"STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math so a lot of the schools and even colleges have STEM curriculum in their schools and at the college level so we felt it was very important and exciting to get our young children, our youngest citizens excited about learning about STEM and that curriculum," Tubbs-Carlon stated.

Gilden Woods prides themselves in the program they have to offer at each of their many locations.

Yes, that's right…this Okemos location is not the first school that Tubbs-Carlon has opened. In fact, there are 18 other Gilden Woods schools in Michigan…Grand Rapids being the kick off point.

"We do a lot of research into communities and communities that have the same values and same need as the Grand Rapids area where we began," Tubbs-Carlon mentioned.

There is even "sister schools" in both Haslett and East Lansing for children within the community.

"If somebody is short with staffing or there's a child that needs to transfer because parents moved to the other side of town, its easy to transfer them within our program," said Tubbs-Carlon.

Gilden Woods stands out from other schools not only because of their phenomenal curriculum, but with the ongoing communication with parents as well.

"We have our camera system that's in each room so you can look on your phone or app or tablet when you're at work and you can look in at your child and check out what's going on in the classroom," Tubbs-Carlon stated.

Bridgett, her colleagues and residents within the community gathered around as she cut the red ribbon welcoming this new Gilden Woods school into the neighborhood.

"I'm loving the industry, I love just watching those children have these AHA moments of 'wow this is really exciting'," Tubbs-Carlon humbly mentioned.

Seeing the smiles on kids faces and seeing each of these schools thrive is the most rewarding feeling to Bridgett and her staff and it's no secret that they love what they do every single day.

"At the end of the day my favorite thing is watching the moms and dads pick up happy children," Tubbs-Carlon said with a grin from ear to ear.