Smart Minds Wonderschool

Our Teachers

Hi! I’m Donielle and I have been running my own home-based child care since 2003. Prior to starting my own program, I taught at a Montessori child care center for 11 years. I have been living in my home for 28 years.I worked as a Site Supervisor for State Preschool. I was a Site supervisor for the Long Beach Unified School District. I was responsible for the Head Start Program. I also held a Behavioral Therapist as well. I have a AA Degree in Liberal Arts. I’m currently finishing up my BA Degree in Child Development. I am very passionate about working with. Children. My goal is to teach children with love and play.

Outside of teaching, I love traveling, spending quiet time in the backyard, and attending jazz events. I have two grown children of my own and three loving grands.

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Philosophy

At Smart Minds Wonderschool, we welcome children and families to our safe, loving environment where children can learn from each other and feel a sense of community. We believe encouraging social emotional skills early on helps children succeed both academically and practically throughout their lifetimes. It is important to us the children learn to communicate and cooperate with each other during play and otherwise.

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Location

Smart Minds Wonderschool is located in a safe and quiet family-friendly neighborhood in Carson. We are located under a mile from the 405 and 5 minutes from the 91. Our learning environment is warm and inviting. The space is filled with age-appropriate toys and materials so the kids can feel comfortable and move freely.

Spending time outdoors is important for child development, they learn how to cook, explore science projects, hands on learning materials, reading programs.The kids get to play outside and spend time in the fresh air daily in our backyard. We also love to do morning walks, outside, where we engage with nature by identifying different items and plants corresponding to our weekly theme. For example, we may pick up pine cones, flowers, or fallen leaves. We also do water play and field trips in the summer.

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About our program

As caregivers, we appreciate each individual child’s temperament and learning style. Our role in the classroom is to guide their growth and development, and encourage a sense of wonder and curiosity.

Our curriculum is structured to establish a routine. However we have themes that change weekly as well as special events every so often so kids can get excited to discover new knowledge and skills.

We have weekly themes the kids get to explore and discover. For example, some weekly themes include Splash and Play, Medieval Times, and Sip and Snack.

A typical day at Smart Minds starts with roll call so children can learn to identify their name. We then have circle time, songs, and morning dance and stretch. We follow up with breakfast and free play, then each child gets his or her academic work (age appropriate). Then we have outside play, lunch, clean up, and nap time. Once they wake up, we have time for dramatic play.

Some special events include a fun and active “Olympics”, where the kids get to hone their gross motor skills in events including a ball toss, horse shoe toss, bean bag toss, and sack race. We have Show and Tell where kids get to bring in special items and share them with their friends. Friday is field trip day!

Meals and nutrition

We serve breakfast, lunch, and two snacks per day. It is important to us that every child gets a hearty, hefty meal every day. We cook every meal using fresh (and never frozen) ingredients. Here are some sample menu items:

• Breakfast: grits, eggs, bacon, sausage, homemade biscuits, toast, oatmeal, cream of wheat and fruit is with every meal
• Lunch: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, homemade pizza, hot dogs, corn dogs, spaghetti, salad is with every meal, broccoli, carrots, string beans, green beans
• Snack: muffins, apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, danishes, milk and cookies, fruit snacks

Parent communication

We note each child’s individual progress and share this information weekly with parents. Regular communication in this way helps parents know how their kids are doing and what they are working on throughout the week. We also keep in touch with parents through face-to-face chats.

Admissions

Join the Smart Minds Wonderschool community in four easy steps:

1. Explore our website

We’ve provided information about our philosophies and offerings to help you decide if our program may be right for your family.

2. Tour our program

Come see what makes Smart Minds Wonderschool unique. Please schedule a tour or attend an Open House event.

3. Submit an Enrollment Application

If you would like to enroll, please submit an application at www.wonderschool.com/smart-minds-wonderschool-3607/apply – Please note that we require tours for all prospective families. Please do not submit an application if you have not visited the program.

4. Enroll

After reviewing your application, we’ll send an enrollment invitation. Upon accepting your invitation you’ll pay your enrollment fee, fill out enrollment documents and review our Parent Handbook.

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