Estes Children's Cottage

Estes Children's Cottage is a small, Reggio Emilia Inspired program that provides high quality early childhood education in a comfortable, beautiful home setting for twelve children ages one to four years old in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The foundation of our philosophy at Estes Children's Cottage is our Image of the Child as competent, powerful and full of resources. We allow children to show us all that they know as they explore our beautiful, developmentally appropriate, intentional environment.

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We believe in the rights of all children and are honored to work with your children during this amazing time of growth and development.


At Estes Children's Cottage, we offer year-round programming in a single, mixed-age classroom, providing continuity for children and families. Children can enroll for two, three, four or five days per week, depending on their family's needs.

Arrival is between 8:00 and 9:15am

Departure is either 12:30 or 3:30pm

True educators never stop learning. We at Estes Children's Cottage are committed to continually enhancing our own knowledge of early childhood education and to providing high quality professional development to other educators.

In 2022, our co-owner and lead teacher, Michelle received the Mary Y Bridgers Early Childhood Teacher Award in recognition of her education and experience in early care and education. We are so proud!

To learn more, read this article from the Child Care Services Association.