Our Special Place Wonderschool

Our Teachers

Hello! I am Mary Thomas, the founder of Our Special Place Wonderschool. I was inspired to start my own program because it has always been my dream to design my own space where children can blossom and grow. I have 45 years of experience working with young children.

I started my career as resource parent in a classroom for students with learning disabilities. This opened my eyes to the education system. From there, I became a became a Pre-K teacher for San Francisco Unified School District for almost 30 years. I also taught school aged kids briefly but realized the Early Childhood Education was my true passion.

I also have kids of my own and grandkids that are in my program!

Philosophy

At Our Special Place Childcare, our mission is to provide childcare that meets the needs of each child and family in a safe, educational, and supportive environment. We pride our daycares focus on the individual needs of each child, and support development at their own pace. This ensuring strong self-confidence and cognitive processing skills to prepare them to succeed in life and grade school.

Our Special Place Daycare is committed to creating a safe, warm, loving environment for children where they can learn and grow physically, emotionally, creatively, intellectually, and socially at their own pace. We want to help your child(ren) increase their confidence, and self esteem by treating them as unique individuals, and allowing them to express themselves in a variety of facets. We strive to make your child(ren)’s time at daycare the best experience it can be for them as well as you, the parents/guardians.

We are committed to supporting families by maintaining open communication and encourage parental involvement in our programming and care activities. Our objective is to care for your child(ren) the same way you would.

Our Special Place Daycare follows a cognitive based approach to teaching your child(ren). We believe children learn through active exploration; in an environment rich in materials and a curriculum of hands-on activities that follow a play-based learning philosophy. We strive to prepare your child(ren) for their early school years by exposing them regularly to letters, numbers, colors, shapes, name recognition, and new vocabulary. Our Special Place Childcare curriculum is designed to encourage curiosity, exploration, and problem solving in an atmosphere of warmth, affection, and respect for each child.

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Location

Our Special Place Wonderschool is located in a spacious, welcoming single family home in the Oceanview/Ingleside neighborhood.

We’ve designed our care environment with play and learning areas that allow children to explore various developmentally-appropriate activities based on their interests. Some of our favorite areas include block area (for gross motor skills and problem solving), dramatic play area (for self-expression and empathy), and manipulatives and math area (for fine motor skills and beginning math concepts).

Children will have some outdoor time everyday in my private yard or outdoor space. Children need space to run, jump, and move!

At Our Special Place Wonderschool, I want to provide an environment that supports the cognitive, social, and emotional growth of each child.

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Admissions

Join the Our Special Place 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 Our Special Place 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/our-special-place-wonderschool-3210/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.