Little Explorers Child Care and Preschool

Our Teachers

Yasmin Nazir, Director and Head Teacher

Hello! My name is Yasmin. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Psychology and have been working with children for over 12 years. I am currently working on my Masters in Child development focused on the Reggio Emilia Philosophy. Most recently I worked as a Lead Teacher at the Berkeley Community Center play-based preschool. I have training in nature-based education and Reggio Emilia.

I firmly believe that children thrive through play and that each child’s potential can be nurtured with the right environment and support.

To fulfill my vision of providing top-notch early care, I ventured into starting my own school. My aim is to offer personalized care and education that larger center-based locations might not provide.

On a personal note, I am a proud parent of three wonderful children – a daughter and two sons.

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Testimonials

I can’t express enough how deeply I recommend Yasmin at Little Explorers! During Emi’s time there from 6 to 12 months, she was enveloped in boundless love, patience, and kindness. Yasmin’s nurturing nature truly makes you feel like part of a family. While it was heart-wrenching to entrust Emi to daycare, knowing Yasmin was caring for her helped alleviate my postpartum struggles. The daily summaries with pictures were a lifeline, showcasing the abundant love and joy that fills Yasmin’s daycare. Emi’s reluctance to leave some days speaks volumes about the happiness she found there.

I’m especially grateful that Emi found a special bond with Yasmin’s husband, Waakas. As a family from a lesbian household, it means the world to have positive male role models like Waakas for Emi. Yasmin not only pours love and kindness into the children she cares for but also cradled me with care, compassion, and empathy during challenging times.

Leaving Yasmin’s daycare was one of the hardest decisions we’ve had to make, but work obligations necessitated a change. If it were possible, I’d keep Emi there indefinitely, without hesitation. We’ll always cherish the memories and the sense of belonging we felt at Yasmin’s - it truly felt like being part of a special family.

Philosophy

At the core of our program lies the Reggio Emilia philosophy, where we firmly believe in the strength, capabilities, independence, curiosity, and boundless imagination of each child. Our approach centers around child-directed play and project-based learning, allowing children to take the lead in their educational journey.

We actively empower the children to think, question, investigate, and explore as they contribute to their own learning process. Recognizing that children often serve as their own best teachers, we embrace their ideas and insights, fostering creativity and facilitating the learning experience.

Location

Little Explorers is located in a charming single family home. The school occupies a family room that leads outside to a large outdoor space.

The indoor space offers children endless opportunities for exploration: we have a dramatic play area to unleash their imaginations; a science area with a fun light table; a space for clay work; a quiet, cozy reading and writing area; and a fun area to encourage children’s natural ability to build and explore shapes and textures. Areas in the room will change to cater to the interests of the children.

Outdoor exploration is very important to us; therefore, our outdoor space is filled with a variety of interactive and creative areas for children to have fun while they learn. A large sand pit with diggers, along side a mud kitchen, provide children a wide range of ways to exercise their imagination. To exercise their gross motor muscles, there is a custom built deck that children can climb up to, a large slide, bikes, scooters, and cars. Our outdoor space occupies several fruit trees and children are encouraged to garden along side the teacher.

Take a tour of the outdoor space:

https://youtu.be/vZqk8NGTa68

About our program

In our program, we follow an emergent curriculum that revolves around the children’s interests and ideas. We believe that learning is most effective when it emerges from the children’s own passions and curiosities. Through project-based work, children have the opportunity to delve deeply into subjects that capture their attention, fostering enthusiasm for knowledge and a lifelong love of learning.

Art, language, math, science, and nature all become avenues of exploration for the children as they engage in their projects.

We perceive teachers as partners in the learning journey, observing and listening to the children in order to guide their educational experiences. Additionally, we view the environment itself as a teacher, thoughtfully designed to reflect and support the learning process of the children.

Admissions

Join the Little Explorers Child Care and Preschool 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 school

Come see what makes Little Explorers Child Care and Preschool 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. Please note that we require tours for all prospective families. Please do not submit an application if you have not visited the school.

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.