The Edgewood Cooperative Nursery School formed in 1960 at the Edgewood United Church of Christ in East Lansing, Michigan. The program originated with some of the church women looking for a place to gather with other mothers and children. This soon grew into the idea for a cooperative nursery school where children and parents learn together. It was a play-based nursery school, the philosophy being that play is a child's work and were encouraged to explore and to develop in an atmosphere of acceptance, trust, and love.

The school originally opened to church members only but in 1962, in an effort to increase enrollment, it opened to the public. The school remained sponsored by the church but independent in its operation. The program was accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and a winner of the Governor's Quality Care Award in 1999. In 2007, the church decided to end its affiliation with the school and reclaim their classroom space. The loss of the classroom space, the retirement of the director, and declining enrollment in cooperative programs caused the school to close that year after 47 years of preschool education in East Lansing.