View Our Space

  • Children playing indoors in front of a sun and wave mural with windows and sunlight streaming in.

    Large indoor meeting space connected to screened in porch, loft, sound-proofed rooms, bathroom, and outdoor access with room to play, move, and connect

  • Small studio with kitchenette, loft, and direct outdoor access

  • A room with a wall painted with a forest scene featuring tall pine trees and green foliage. The room has a white door with a gold handle on the left, a white baseboard heater beneath the mural, light green painted walls, and dark wood flooring. There is also a wooden climbing wall on the right with black holds.

    Large meeting space with rock climbing wall, swings, and multiple ways for both children and adults to move their body

  • A small campsite with two trees having plenty of ropes, tarps, and fabric hanging between them. Green foliage surrounds the campsite, and the ground is covered with dirt and grass.

    Large outdoor area with space for both play and relaxation

  • Interior of a cozy kitchen with wooden beams, white cabinets, a gas stove, and a brick accent wall, viewed from an adjacent room with wooden elements.

    Kitchenette, loft, and full bathroom with shower attached to private studio with outdoor access

  • Two children, a boy and a girl, playing on a swing in a grassy outdoor area with trees in the background. The girl is smiling, and the boy is looking on as the swing extends backward, while an out-of-focus arm in red sleeves is reaching toward the children from the foreground.

    Outdoor area wrapping around property connected to paved play area, barn, and plenty of room for exploration

  • Children and adults gathered outdoors near a table with paper towels and art supplies, with a house and green trees in the background.

    Screened-in porch overlooking paved play area for relaxation and connection

Reach out about renting our space today.

Rent Our Space

Nestled among winding roads, open fields, horses, and quiet waterways, this little corner of Bethany has long reflected the simple beauty of growing up here. For nearly forty years, children explored, built friendships, and discovered the world around them through nature and play at this property.

A newspaper article of the daycare that came before Root and Rise Collective from the New York Times. The newspaper features two pictures of children playing together, and with animals. The text of the newspaper is illegible.

“It’s not that there’s one thing or event that I remember as [being] unique about Carolyn’s Creative Childcare. It was a feeling —”

— Former Student

Children dressed in Halloween costumes gathered outdoors with a woman, pumpkins, and autumn leaves, celebrating Halloween.
Child riding a horse with two women beside them outdoors on a cloudy day.
Children celebrating Halloween with masks, costumes, and party decorations in a room.
A woman and children at a farm, with a horse reaching over a wooden fence to interact with them.
A group of children and an adult woman sitting and standing on a golf cart parked on the side of a paved road, surrounded by green trees and rocks in a forested area.

Carolyn’s Creative Daycare operated for over 49 years, with nearly 40 of those years being on Sperry Road.

Her daycare continued to touch the hearts of children and families right up until Carolyn’s passing in May of 2024.

  • "She loved her family and friends dearly but the children brought the most joy to her face. "

  • "There just aren’t words adequate enough, to explain the depth, of the love and care she provides. She’s simply an angel on earth"

  • "The kids become like siblings and Carolyn becomes like family. It was the best thing we ever did."

  • "I will forever cherish every memory with Carolyn. I attended preschool at Carolyn´s nearly 30 years ago. I have vivid memories of all of the love & joy that was what Carolyn´s was made of."

  • "She was a devoted daughter, sister, partner, friend and neighbor to many. She cared deeply for animals, her own and some left on her door steps. But most of all, she cared deeply for children. She thought of children as gifts from God."

  • "Carolyn created a "home away from home" for us - from rides on the golf cart, to feeding the animals…to racing around the tennis court on a tricycle … I will always remember her gentle way with the children, and her delight in the small things."

  • “Carolyn was the best daycare provider on the East Coast. She took care of our daughter from 1999-2002”

In loving memory of Carolyn Marie Polio

Memorial card with a photo of a woman smiling outdoors, with text in memory of Carolyn Marie Polio, who was born February 3, 1949, and passed away May 8, 2024. The card includes a message about her life and a mention of Iovanne Funeral Home, Inc.

Carolyn was the kind of person who showed up with homemade soup when you were sick, welcomed children at a moment’s notice, and made everyone around her feel safe and loved.

She carried that same spirit into Carolyn’s Creative Childcare, creating a place where childhood felt a little bit magical.

There were horses to feed and gardens to explore, bike rides and sandboxes, summer swims and rides on the golf cart, stories, art, animals, and room to simply be a child.

But what made Carolyn’s so special was never any one of those things. It was the feeling she created of belonging, curiosity, freedom, and being deeply cared for. Generations of children grew up within that feeling, friendships formed between families, and memories were made that followed them long after they left.

Carolyn created far more than a daycare. She created a piece of childhood that became part of the families who were lucky enough to experience it, and a legacy of love that remains rooted here.

Some things are too special to be replicated. But what Carolyn built here left behind something far more lasting than a daycare.

As this property begins a new chapter, we hope to honor that legacy by carrying forward the values that made it so meaningful. Root & Rise will look different, serve families differently, and grow into something entirely its own.

But while attempting to foster community and build a village, we uncovered one that already exists.

To everyone who was once part of Carolyn’s village, the door remains open.

We hope Root & Rise can be an extension of the love and community Carolyn created here, and a place where those memories can continue to be held.

Come back to visit, reconnect, share a story, gather old friends, honor her memory, or simply spend a little time in a place that meant something to you.

Share a Memory