Our Teachers

Meredith Bunyard - Director and Head Teacher

Hello! I am Meredith, the founder of PLAY Child Care & Preschool. I have worked in the field of early childhood education for the past 15 years, most recently as a Head Teacher for 3-year-olds at a preschool in North Beach, San Francisco. I recently received a Masters’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Mills College, where I received the student achievement award titled, “Best Reflective and Integrated Practice in the field of Early Childhood Education.” My educational philosophy is a conglomerate of ideas I have gained from my experiences working for these 15 years with children, my master’ program, and study at Mills, to my travel experiences and learning from early childhood approaches in different countries. Recently, I traveled to Reggio Emilia, Italy where participated in a five-day study group focused on the Reggio Emilia Approach to Education. I also attended a professional growth study group on an Early Childhood strength-based learning assessment project from New Zealand. In addition to my degree in Early Childhood Education, I have an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies. With my background and knowledge of the importance of nature play for children, I quickly transitioned from the indoor PLAY program to a more risk-averse outdoor program in light of Covid-19.

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that all children are capable learners.  They deserve the right to explore the world in a safe learning environment where the many diverse strengths of children, families, and colleagues are brought together to form building blocks of our shared community.  I believe that children develop lifelong skills when they are provided the opportunity to do so. I believe also that they have the inherent ability to investigate their world and learn through a variety of forms of childhood play. I believe it is our job as teachers to provide children the comfort and trust to explore their individuality in an environment that celebrates their unique perspective on life, giving them time, space, and support to process and learn from their own personal experiences.  And finally, I believe we create these environments, not only by the ways in which we set up our classroom, but also by the transparency and realness we offer to the relationships that we form with the children, families, and colleagues. PLAY Preschool will provide this opportunity to children and families by building an authentic collaborative learning community embodied with empathy, care, and respect.

I believe as educators, we need to see the whole child, give them a voice and carefully listen to what they have to say. We will grow and learn from them and with them as we prepare them for their future. I strive for my school to be a community built on respect—one that welcomes open dialogue between the teachers, parents, children, and one that allows us to lean on each other thus building our unity and collective strength.   In these times it is important to work from the ground up to rebuild our communities by celebrating our diversity and different ways of understanding. I am thrilled to merge my experience and love of caring for and teaching young children, toddler through preschool-aged in a mixed-age home-based program, where we can create a strong community that will grow together.

When I am not learning alongside children, I enjoy traveling, where I can gain a better understanding of people and cultures. I love going on hikes with my dogs. I also enjoy letting my creativity come alive through recycled art. And most importantly I value time spent with loved ones!

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Nayla Bayaladi- Teaching Assistant

Assistant Teacher

B.A. Early Childhood Education -Sonoma State University 

Nayla is a native San Franciscan. Nayla always had a growing passion for working with children since the age of fourteen when she began volunteering at a local Saturday school to assist the preschoolers. Her passion for working with children continued on to high school where she worked at the Exploratorium Science Museum, gaining that experience of working with many different forms and structures of families. Nayla then continued to college where she gained experience working with children from the ages of 0-2 years old, gaining foundational knowledge of how to support children through many different ages. 

Nayla recently earned her B.A. from Sonoma State University, majoring in Early Childhood Education and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. In her spare time, Nayla enjoys going out of town and exploring new places and foods every week, spending a lot of time with family, and taking scenic hikes through San Francisco and Marin County.

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Melissa Santodonato

Lead Teacher 

M.A Early childhood educator and parenting education Specialist

Bio coming soon…..

Testimonials

“Meredith is a one of a kind care giver and educator.  She started working with my family when my oldest child was two years old, and over the past 10 years she has become part of our family, taking care of all three of our children from infancy through middle school!  It is a joy to watch my kids’ faces light up when I tell them Meredith is coming over, and it is a blessing for me to have found someone I can trust completely to care for them.  

Meredith has a deep understanding of child development and is committed to her work in education.  She has worked in various educational settings over the years and has a breadth of experience with different approaches to learning.  I personally have learned so much from her over the years and I would highly encourage anyone looking for a unique child care/preschool for their child to consider Meredith’s PLAY preschool. “

Martha Mahony,  San Francisco

“Meredith has been taking care of our three children for the past twelve years – we trust her completely! Our kids adore her, she has become part of our family, and we feel very fortunate to have her in our lives.  She’s smart, warm, endlessly patient, and brings creativity and fun and a sense of adventure to everything she does. Meredith has a deep understanding of child development, and we’ve always been impressed that she’s so attuned to the differences between kids, sensitive to their individual temperaments and needs, and that she connects with each child on his or her own terms. She’s worked in child cares and preschools that have varying approaches to early childhood education, and this broad experience has given her wonderful perspective. She has our highest recommendation, and I’m happy to talk with anyone who’d like more information.”

Amanda Pike,  San Francisco 

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“PLAY is an in-home preschool based on the Reggio Emilia philosophy, and Meredith, the director, is absolutely wonderful. She has created a loving, nurturing, and fun environment in which our son has thrived. Under Meredith’s guidance and care, and in the company of all the great kiddos she carefully brought into her home, we have witnessed our son learning and growing so much. Our son loves her and we do too, and the only reason we’re leaving is that we’re moving out of town. If we could bring Meredith with us we would. “

Jenny Folkesson

Philosophy

Play Philosophy - Passionate Learning for Adventurous Youngsters

We at PLAY Childcare & Preschool believe that all children have the fundamental right to conduct their research through play. Their research is understanding the world through their own discovery. Our views align with Lev Vygotsky, who believed that play is the source of development allowing children to learn and grow in understanding real-life through imagination. We believe that play is a child’s natural work inherently driven by each child’s individual inquiry, colorful imagination, sense of adventure, and wonders in their world. We firmly believe that when children engage in co-opperative supported play, they are given the tools to discover, think critically, and explore their identity in further understanding themselves and the community they are apart of.

We see play as a powerful tool in supporting cognition, emotions, and social connections. We think children need the freedom to be children, by letting their interests and child behavior guide our curriculum where they can develop a sense of trust knowing that they are respected and free to be themselves. We encourage our children to ask questions, feel and understand their emotions, be silly, laugh, explore their creativity through art, discover natural environments, and take risks, all in a safe environment, where they are loved, nurtured and supported to grow through a diversity of experiences. We believe it is our responsibility as caregivers and teachers to create a challenging environment and curriculum guided by children’s own inquiries respecting that they are capable. We see play as a necessity; as a poetic language which enables children to communicate how they process and understand the world around them guiding them through their development, and it is our job to provide the tools they need.

While we are inspired by many different types of educational philosophies, we draw our main inspiration from the Reggio Emilia philosophy, in understanding that children have 100 hundred languages they use to communicate. As caretakers and educators we agree that it is our job to carefully listen, observe, foster autonomy, and celebrate all of the magical ways children communicate their experiences in childhood. We are also inspired by New Zealand’s Te Whariki philosophy were children are empowered, with a strong sense of belonging, well-being, ability to make contributions, and place value on relationships within family and the community. We see children as dynamic individuals, and we take pride in supporting each beautiful personality.

To learn more about how play benefits a Childs education, take a look at Dr. Stuart Brown’s Ted- Play, on you tube.

To better Understand Reggio Emilia here is a simple description

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwpLarbUD8

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Location

Play Child Care & Preschool is located in The Presidio (Fort Scott Area)

We’ve thoughtfully planned our location based on safety and exploration for young children to be immersed in a natural environment.

Pick-up and drop-off locations will be given once you have enrolled.

Children will spend all of their time outdoors at Golden Gate Park. Connecting with nature lets children gain a deeper knowledge of themselves and the world.

Our goal is to provide an enriching environment where children feel safe to explore and discover.

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Admissions

Join the PLAY Child Care & 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 PLAY Child Care & 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 at www.wonderschool.com/play/apply – 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.