Zelaya Family Child Care Wonderschool

Our Teachers

Hello! I am Blanca Zelaya, the founder of Zelaya Family Child Care Wonderschool. I was inspired to start my own program 17 years ago because I saw a need for high-quality care in my community and I have always loved working with kids. I have nearly two decades worth of experience working with young children.

My family is from El Salvador and I am proud to offer a Spanish bilingual program because I believe in the importance of sharing my language, customs and food. I love cooking healthy and delicious meals for my family and the children in my program. I have three kids of my own who are all grown up and live fulfilling lives as a medical assistant, marketing specialist and church pastor.

My husband helps out with my program and children have a blast playing with him. My assistant Alma has been with me for over two years and together, we provide love and attention for all of the children in our home.

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Philosophy

Zelaya Family Child Care believes in equality and the importance of human diversity. We believe that our program and services offer developmentally-appropriate curriculum and we strive to enhance social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth in young children. Our program fosters curiosity, creativity, and self-esteem by taking into account children’s abilities and interests. Child-initiated and teacher-supported play is an essential component of our program.

At our child care program, you step into the wondrous world of young children where imagination and self-expression flourish. Our staff members encourage children to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills in their daily experiences. The classroom environment is carefully designated to reflect the children’s interests and to cultivate positive self-image, independence, and interdependence. We foster equal opportunity in learning and education for all children regardless of race, creed, sex, religion, national origin, or physical condition.

Please remember that a learning experience does not always involve paper or always takes place in a school-like setting, with a desk, chair, and inside voices. Much of the learning that your child will do takes place at home, and ZFCC is here to supplement that learning. Your child has many more years of formal learning to experience, and we feel that it is our job to prepare them for a scholarly environment, but in an enjoyable way so they look forward to going to school. It is also important that you take a proactive role in practicing the same type of healthy environment, learning activities, healthy well-balanced meals when your child is not at ZFCC, to ensure that your children will become well-rounded individuals and they excel in school and thrive in their daily lives.

Location

Zelaya Family Child Care Wonderschool is located in a charming, spacious single family home just south of downtown LA and conveniently located right off the 110 freeway.

We prioritize the health, safety and overall wellbeing of all children. To ensure children get plenty of time in fresh air, we designed a beautiful outdoor classroom. Our outdoor activities are aimed at helping children release energy and gain much-needed exercise, which is extremely important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Outdoor play allows the children to participate in messier activities, that are unavailable elsewhere, but that are necessary for promoting creativity and a healthy mental and social state. Some children do not have the ability to play outside due to their type of housing; others rarely get an opportunity to interact with others because they are part of a single-child home. Therefore, it is important that the appropriate social interactions take place in order to ease their transition into school. ZFCC will help this happen for your child.

About our program

CURRICULUM & PROGRAM

Zelaya Family Child Care (ZFCC) is designated to provide your children with activities that stimulate early learning while creating an environment that is not only educational but enjoyable as well. This is achieved by providing our children with a space that promotes learning skills that will enhance their quality of life and allow them to thrive in their educational and developmental careers. It is extremely important that your child participates in these types of activities at an early age to ensure that they become well-rounded individuals.

Our program also features:

• A bilingual environment/language skills in which children who do not normally have the ability to communicate in both Spanish and English can achieve a basic understanding of both languages before they even reach school: Our ability to provide our children with this skill makes us very proud. We understand what an important and necessary asset this is for all children and with practice and help from ZFCC, your child can learn to be fluent in two very important languages which will be beneficial to their future.

• A strict daily schedule to encourage all our children to become accustomed to the various activities throughout the day: Along with the indoor and outdoor activities, snacks and meals are provided at specific times of the day. It is very important that ZFCC follows this schedule to ensure that the children can function properly through a range of activities. Once the children become accustomed to a schedule, they can predict what they will do on a daily basis, such as the time an activity or meal will take place, making it easy for them to predict what their day will be like, and making it easier for them to cope with the more rigid schedules of kindergartens and schools.

• Field trips: To complement the educational activities that we offer at ZFCC, we occasionally offer filed trips that we feel are important and allow the children to be part of a different setting. ZFCC not only tries to educate your children, but offers opportunities for them to enjoy themselves, and the chance to do things which are rarely possible at other childcare homes.

Admissions

Join the Zelaya Family Child Care 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 Zelaya Family Child Care 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. 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.