Bonnie's Wee People School

Our Teachers

Ms. Bonnie has close to 30 years of childcare experience, and earned her Master’s degree in Early Childhood in 2015. She earned the 90 hour preschool certification given to teach preschool through Anne Arundel Community College, and takes 24 hours of professional development per year. She is currently enrolled in Notre Dame of Maryland teacher certification program. She also participates in the following quality programs:

Aspire - Ms. Bonnie was chosen to participate in this ground breaking pilot program, which chooses teachers that have or are willing to pursue their teacher certification and pays the tuition for families enrolled in family childcare that have with low income, that speak another language other than English in the home, if the child has an IEP, or children in foster care or homeless.

Maryland Credential – Ms. Bonnie has earned the highest rating possible in the Maryland Credential program, which recognizes individuals who increase their qualifications of training, education, years of experience, and professional activities above and beyond the requirements of state licensing and registration.

CDA – Ms. Bonnie has earned the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential, which is a nationally recognized credential in early childhood education (ECE). The CDA is based on 8 competency standards that guide early childhood professionals toward becoming qualified educators of young children. CDAs have at least 120 hours of training, and show their knowledge of the emotional, physical, intellectual, and social development of children in a written portfolio, a proctored exam, and in a verification visit where the candidate is observed and evaluated.

Maryland Excels – Ms. Bonnie participates in Maryland Excels, which is a quality rating and improvement system for child care and early education programs developed between Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Maryland State Department of Education. This is a voluntary program where caregivers choose to go above and beyond basic licensing requirements to prove commitment to developmentally appropriate practices, professional development, and administration policies, and to work towards accreditation. Ms. Bonnie is currently a level 3, working towards a level 5.

Accreditation – Ms. Bonnie is currently pursuing Accreditation, which offers national recognition to child care programs meeting the highest standards for early childcare and education. It encompasses a set of competencies in relationships, the environment, learning activities, safety and health, and business practices. There is a commitment to cultural competency and diversity. Accreditation occurs through self-study, application, and being observed, and it must be maintained.

Ms. Bonnie operates Wee People with a play based approach to learning with kindergarten-readiness as the goal. In-home childcare allows for low child to adult ratios. Your child receives more attention which is adapted to fit your child’s personal needs. Your child will have a unique blend of play and learning activities in a loving home with one main caregiver all the way through into school.  Rates vary according to the ages of the child. The children are taught through play, games, songs, art, science, math, reading, gardening, and more. Meals and snacks are included.

It has been proven that the growth in a child’s brain the first five years is not only phenomenal, but also crucial. It is during this time that children develop fundamental learning skills, as well as social and emotional skills. The greatest learning takes place through fun and play –  with songs, activities, laughter, and friends.

Philosophy

— Mr Rodgers said: “ Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

About our program

Children learn through exploration with a balance of free play and organized activities. Skills practiced include observation, scientific thinking and experimentation, math, art, music, language, and physical, personal, and social development. Life experiences with nature and living things affords the opportunity for exploration and discovery.  We have a playground, gardens, classroom and playroom, art, music, chickens, a butterfly room, pets, and more!

Children are taught the basic introductions into literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, languages, fine motor skills, technology, health, music, and art.  By the time children graduate into kindergarten, they will build their vocabulary, and study phonics and rhyming, will listen for the sounds words start and end with, grow their awareness of printed materials, learn their letters and sounds, and begin to spell words.  They will master verbally counting to 30 (some to 100, and by 5’s and 10’s). Most count with one to one correspondence to at least 20. They will learn their numbers, and engage in counting, grouping, classifying, addition, and subtraction.  They learn opposites, differences, big versus small, under versus over, etc. 

They will use their imaginations in dramatic play, while practicing the skills of problem solving, taking turns, playing cooperatively, and building friendships.  They practice the basics, such as colors, shapes, ABC’s, phonics, days of the week, months of the year, weather, and seasons. They will learn the scientific method simplified, and engage in numerous science experiments. They will be taught empathy and respect for all people.  They will learn to care for and respect pets and will grow gardens. They learn the basic components of the computer and become savvy at ABC Mouse on the computer, using the mouse and keyboard.  They will have lots and lots of art and music, and will be introduced to some basic Spanish and ASL words.