Cua Villalta Family Wonderschool

Our Teachers

Hello! I am Elana Cua, the founder of Cua Villata Family Wonderschool. I opened my school after years of working with children and in my mother’s childcare program. I have a BA in child development, and have worked as a preschool teacher for 5 years and lead teacher for an LAUP program for 4 years. My childcare program has been open for 5 years.

Philosophy

Cua Villalta Family Wonderschool aims to develop the “whole child” through use of the Creative Curriculum. Our experienced and nurturing providers support the unique growth of each individual child.

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Location

Cua Villata Family Wonderschool is located in a bright, welcoming single family home in the Panorama City neighborhood. Because children learn from their daily interaction with their environment, a clear and carefully organized physical environment with a focus on interest areas is the foundation for the Creative Curriculum. Our learning environment is organized into different indoor/outdoor interest areas:

• Blocks
• Computers
• Library
• Dramatic play
• Art
• Toys/games
• Sand/water
• Music and movement
• Cooking
• Literacy

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About our program

Our program’s goal is to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment to foster the healthy development of the “whole child”. We respect that every child is unique and has their own pace of growth and development. Each child has their own needs, language, and culture. The Creative Curriculum guides our approach to building relationships with the children and encouraging social emotional development through activities and interactions.

The Role of Play

Educational activities must be developmentally appropriate, and children need time to be children. Play is a child’s way of learning and forms the foundation for growth and development. Thus, we offer the young children in our care rich and appropriate learning opportunities for them to enjoy, explore, and experience, as to enhance childhood and never challenge it. We encourage children to make as many decisions as possible and to make choices within necessary limits. We trust each individual child has the ability to accept responsibility and wants to succeed.

The Teacher’s Role in Learning

Our role as teachers in our program is to facilitate each child’s growth and development. We build on children’s strengths, focusing on what they can do as opposed to what they cannot do. As facilitators, we support children by joining in their play, extending ideas, encouraging exploration, and helping them problem solve. We assist children in discovering things for themselves. We view children as active learners: it takes both teachers and children to contribute and create a meaningful learning environment. To best promote learning in the children we serve, we feel it is important our teachers have a basic understanding of child development principles and theories. Also because of the increasing pressure to push formal academic learning on young children, our teachers must be knowledgeable about what constitutes developmentally appropriate practices. By using a variety of strategies, materials, and the learning environment, the teacher supports each individual’s learning throughout the day.

Parent Communication

The central bond of interest between teachers and parent is the child; therefore, we strive to maintain a system of communication between home and school that is open, clear, reliable, honest, ongoing, and in the child’s best interest.

Admissions

Join the Cua Villalta Family 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 Cua Villalta Family 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.