Valle de Ninos

Giáo viên của chúng tôi

Aida Lane is the Director/Teacher of Valle De Niños since 2013. I am a native to San Francisco and parent of two daughters. I participated in as a parent-teacher at Rocky Mountain co-op Nursery school which is also affiliated with the Child Development program at City College of San Francisco. I was able to develop a developmentally appropriate curriculum while teaching Preschool at Silverspot Co-op Nursery School In Brisbane, CA for 10 years.

I received a Teacher/Director award in 2009 from the California Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools.

I enjoy gardening, photography, biking and hiking, I am an Early Childhood Educator and Advocate. I have participated on the Board of Directors at Rocky Mountain, Creative Arts Charter school and Cross Cultural Family Centers.

Sofia Elias - Teacher Sofia has been a teacher at Valle de Niños since 2016 and is now a proud parent of one of our youngest students. She graduated from SF State University with a bachelors in Psychology. She has worked with families in education and social services for 10 years. She is an artist and musician and is a community organizer and educator in the Bay Area. She has managed art programs at Little Artistas and Red Poppy. She has also worked in case management for families for three years.

Xenia Lane is an assistant-teacher and has studied Child Development at CCSF. She studied art at School of Visual Arts in New York and was a manager at a ceramic studio and taught children and adults. Xenia is Aida Lane’s youngest daughter. She has experience babysitting and as an assistant-teacher since 2016.​ She continues to teach ceramics and enjoys crocheting.

All teachers and Assistants are fluent in English and Spanish.

Các lời chứng thực

Susie

Valle de Niños has been amazing! We have absolutely loved it. The director and teachers are incredibly dedicated and talented. They love what they do, and it shows. My son, Nate, has thrived at VDN. He loves it - the teachers and the special community they cultivate, the animals, the caterpillar projects, the countless art projects, the piano, the drums, the garden, the baking projects, the healthy homemade food–and of course, the other kids. He has learned so much through all of these amazing play-based activities and he has developed so much socially, emotionally, and cognitively. I was a little concerned when we first started because there were fewer older kids his age (he turned 5 at VDN in Nov); however, being an older kid has enabled him to be a leader and teacher and he has help other kids grow as well. My son absolutely adores Teacher/Director Aida and all of the teachers–and so do we. Teacher Aida is exceedingly dedicated to making VDN special.We feel incredibly grateful to have been a part of this warm, nurturing community. He is absolutely ready for kindergarten. I highly recommend this program over more academic T-K programs.

Why Valle De Niños Preschool? I just got a wonderful gut instinct when I visited: the kids and teachers were so engaged. The teachers seemed so warm and loving. One was playing guitar and the kids were enthralled. I loved that there was music, art, a garden, and animals! Just a great gut feeling that it was sweet and special place…and I was right!

Eliza

We love it! Such a wonderful dynamic. A great size. A lovely group of teachers and other families. Our daughter never wants to leave when we go to pick her up.

We are a white, well educated, not very high earning family. We are looking to help our daughter feel connected to and well integrated with our neighborhood and many different individuals and groups of people who live in it. Learning Spanish is an important part of this for us. We want her to be in a stable, play-filled, curiosity filled environment, that introduces her to new experiences and ideas, while also letting her explore those new ideas on her own. We don’t want her to be in too much of a bubble where she’s only meeting other people from one particular cultural identity or group. Valle is really striking that balance for us. She is very happy there, and we feel like she is growing and learning in great ways, many of which complement and really add on to what we are able to provide at home.

Why Valle De Niños Preschool? A number of factors contributed to our choice. We were thinking about timing, proximity to our home, ability to do 3 days instead of 5 days, philosophy of the school, physical environment of the school, culture of the school, access to Spanish, and overall feeling about the situation. We also already had two friends enrolled who had given Valle great reviews. We were only considering play-based places.

Vanessa My son took to the school from day one and is always excited to go. Sometimes it is hard to get him to leave. I was surprised and happy to learn that Teacher Aida’s philosophy is similar to our family in the way the children are treated. I appreciate the monthly family gatherings which always make me happy to be part of this special school. I love that they have animals that live in the classroom and Teacher Aida is so adept at handling them as well as having the children spend time with them. She has hired some very special teachers as well that make it such a well rounded preschool. Teacher Julia has brought in some waldolf inspiration that I love. I did have intentions to apply to other schools this year that my son was now old enough for but decided that this place was perfect for our family at this time so we are staying next year.

Why Valle De Niños Preschool? I was looking for a preschool in my neighborhood that had outside space and part-time availability.

Outstanding Teachers/Staff Yes. My son really loves Marie. Today he asked me why does she have to leave to go to another school? I miss her sometimes. I love teacher Julia’s Waldorf philosophy that she incorporates into the school.

Favorite Activities The field trip to Elkus Ranch was a hit. Gaby

Positive nurturing experience. We needed quality and affordable full time care for our daughter. We feel confident and relaxed knowing that our child is in a safe, engaging, nurturing environment. She is been exposed to creative projects, she has grown emotionally and socially and she loves and enjoys going to school every single day.

We feel grateful and fortunate to be part of this awesome preschool.

Why Valle De Niños Preschool? I chose Valle de Niños because of its bilingual program, play-based, small size. High qualified teachers. Nurturing program.

Outstanding Teachers/Staff All the teachers are great and unique. They all have contributed to our daughter’s growing. However, our daughter adores the director/teacher Aida!

Favorite Activities Using a real drill to build a bird house Learning to sew Field trip to Elkus Ranch Making a clay volcano Drumming class Tie-dye Water play Gardening

Triết lý

Mission

Valle de Niños is a rich resource for parents as well as children. Through partnerships with parents as our early childhood program becomes a support system for families. By scheduling Parent gatherings at Valle de Niños, Parents can meet and discuss child development issues.

Our bilingual program will teach children English and Spanish through story time, singing, and daily activities.

Philosophy

Our philosophy of early childhood education is that children learn through play by experiencing and experimenting in a safe, secure, nurturing environment. By experiencing daily interactions they develop their social, cognitive and language skills through several outlets for experimenting - books, music, art, cooking, gardening, and the natural world. By facilitating these experiences children become engaged, independent learners. ​ Our school received a nature-based grant to supplement our curriculum through the Low Income Investment Fund in 2021. We have made many upgrades to our school by changing the yard surfacing from rubber padding to wooden mulch, tree stumps for climbing or sitting, installing a large mirror in play yard, using Safe-Sand in sandbox, installing wooden floors in the classrooms and bringing more nature into the classroom with plants, insects and fish tank.

Địa điểm

Our school is located in the heart of the city in sunny Noe Valley/ Mission neighborhood. We are located on Dolores St.. lined with Palm trees between 22nd and 23rd st. Close to public transportation from the 24th st. BART, 48 bus. and J-train. Our school participates in neighborhood walks to explore rain, leaves in the fall or butterfly eggs to raise caterpillars in our classroom. Once the children are ready for longer walks, we can explore our city by going on field trips to Billy Goat hill, Bernal Heights, Upper Noe and Corona Heights Park. In the spring and fall we visit farms at Elkus Ranch and Slide Ranch.

Về chương trình của chúng tôi

Valle de Niños nature play-based bilingual school was founded in 2013 by Aida Murguia-Lane after developing a play based Preschool program for 10 years at Silverspot Co-operative Nursery school in Brisbane CA. I enjoyed working alongside parents and a group of 20 children. I strived to help parents use their talents to bring purpose to the program curriculum by allowing them to do what they enjoyed through music, art, science , sports and engineering. I was fortunate that many families followed me to enroll their children at Valle de Niños when I opened. I had various siblings go through my program even up to 3 in one family. Children and their families become part of our family. Parents attend monthly parent-community meetings organized at Valle de Niños to get to know each other and to discuss child development and program curriculum. Parents volunteer time in the classroom by participating in morning circle time, art activities, reading to children and going on field trips, or family cultural traditions by sharing food and rituals. We offer dance, music and yoga activities. Parents enjoy supporting our advocacy program by participating in a demonstration marches around city hall demanding fair wages for Early Childhood Educators, and affordable childcare for families. fundraising and community activities.