Leafy Lions Early Learning

Our Teachers

Ari Ferrin, Owner/Director

Ms. Ari is a dedicated educator who brings a wealth of experience and a commitment to excellence to Leafy Lions Early Learning. With her 10 years of experience with young children and a Child Development Associate credential, Ms. Ari combines a solid educational foundation with a fervent desire to make a difference in the lives of children.

Having worked in various capacities, from leading classrooms to spearheading teams, Ms. Ari possesses a well-rounded perspective on the holistic development of children. With a focus on creating an environment that sparks curiosity, creativity, and compassion, Ms. Ari is driven to provide an educational journey that ignites a lifelong love for exploration and growth.

Spec Bradford, Co-Director

Philosophy

Here at Leafy Lions, we are champions of early learning. Inspired by the Reggio-Emilia philosophy, we support children to find wonder in the world around us, develop empathy, and become independent and compassionate members of society.

We strive to make our environment a place of safety, security, amazement, and developmentally appropriate learning. We stay up-to-date on the science of child development, and value the input of our students and their families.

About our program

What sets us apart?

We supply each student with a reusable water bottle and purified drinking water throughout the day.

We offer 2 healthy, organic snacks each day.

The entire ground floor of the home is dedicated to our preschool– no navigating through a living room or dining room.

We work with, not against, your child’s interests by using an emergent curriculum. Your child’s interests provide an foundation from which we can design and create invitations and provocations for learning.

Academic learning is integrated, not isolated. There are learning invitations for math, science, language, and more woven into the activities of our play-based environment.

“It takes 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in your brain, unless it is done in PLAY, then it only takes 10-20.” -Dr. Karyn Purvis, Trauma Informed Child Development Expert

We offer comprehensive documentation of learning through photos, work samples, and developmental checklist screenings.

Our program both follows Arizona Early Learning standards while keeping in mind the expectations of the new Kindergarten Entry Assessment via Teaching Strategies Gold.