Reema Chatterjee
Paidea Parent

Paidea has been a unique experience not only for our son but also for us as parents.

Unique gifts to our Son: The Paidea philosophy has helped nurture in our son “creativity” and “thinking outside the box” in every walk of life, be it building and construction, role playing, finding solutions to conflicts or coloring. He has grown up to be emotionally connected, self-confident and able to direct his emotions in constructive ways, skills which we as adults don’t always master. We had looked at many daycare centers and concluded that Paidea is the best environment for our child’s developing years. Being very focused on education myself, I once asked Lynn (Paidea’s director) why she didn’t have the Montessori education system in Paidea and she replied “I tried to but it didn’t work. I don’t want to show the kids how to build the tower of Hanoi and build it the “right way”; instead, I want them to take blocks, work with a group of friends decide what they want to make and build it as a team.” This is when I understood the real strength of group play in the ‘right” environment fostering creative imagination, team spirit, leadership and respect for individual temperaments. I am amazed at how my son and his friends work as a team to build their stories or castles or tunnels. At our home empty boxes, pillows, tubes, strings, are constantly becoming rocket ships, houseboats or musical instruments. Paidea is very focused on learning through real life situations and developing a “true interest” in learning, reading and creating by having fun. The garden and play areas provide a stimulating environment and exposes the kids to a variety of tactile, sensory and educational experiences. The teachers are very caring and create a fun environment for the kids to learn and play.

Unique gifts to us parents: There aren’t many centers I know of where we as parents learn as much as the children do. The monthly parent nights on a wide range of topics and one-on-one consultations with Lynn are priceless learning opportunities. The teachers pay close attention to each child’s behavior in the group play setting and give us feedback. This coupled with insights from Lynn has helped us become more aware of our son’s unique personality. Knowing “why” makes it a lot easier to decide “how” to handle challenging situations. I am curious to see how our 15 month baby grows in the Paidea environment and am looking forward to learning about his temperament with the help of the Paidea teachers and Lynn. We are better parents because of what we have learned at Paidea.

I can teach our son how to read and write but I could have never been able to give him the “gift” that he got from Paidea, which is complete child development forming a basic foundation for his life.

What makes Paidea unique?

The teacher child ratio is small - the teachers really "know" each child, their temperament and how to get the best possible results from them.  Maggie has four teachers that can work with her and four teachers who can work together to decide how to work with her.  This collaboration is another key component.

Most of the teachers have been there a long time. In fact Paidea children have returned to teach alongside former teachers.  When have you ever heard of something like that happening?

The Paidea teachers are just that...teachers. They are certainly not daycare staff.  I have observed other centers and the staff look like I imagine I would look if I were responsible for 16 kids - frazzled, harried, impatient and frustrated. I literally have NEVER observed that at Paidea. The teachers have a planned approach to the day and proven strategies for working with children of all temperaments.

One example of why we love the Paidea teachers occurred this Fall - Our daughter Maggie is high spirited and passionate - she stopped napping at Paidea earlier this year and was being quite disruptive during "siesta" time. Carol worked with us diligently to try one strategy after another to calm her for nap time. Back rubbing, hair brushing, taped stories etc. When nothing worked I was a little embarrassed that my lovely daughter was causing so much extra work for the teachers each day. I offered to pick her up early so she would at least stop disrupting the other children. Carol and Lynn were both aghast. They had never considered such an option, they explained that they were still very engaged and upbeat about the process of finding out just the precise thing that would work for Maggie - "We need to figure out what Maggie needs to calm and relax, that's what we do here!" How wonderful to have people as invested in your child as you are.

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How is discipline handled at Paidea?

• We try to look at each child and understand the "fuel" or reason behind misbehavior.  we do not deal only with the "fire" or misbehavior itself.  This way, we can effectively address and change behaviors.
   
• We have 3-basic rules at Paidea - "Stop" to anything 1.) unsafe, 2.) hurtful, 3.)disrespectful.  If a child does one of these, we say:
   
  • Stop
  • That is unsafe / hurtful / disrespectful
  • You need to  ...  (tell the "do")
  • Have the child re-do the behavior appropriately.

  For example, "Stop.  That is unsafe.  You need to walk.  Show me how you can walk from the table to the door."

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How are parents communicated with?

• Day sheets - Each day, parents receive a day sheet that tells them about their child's day.  What they did, what their mood was like, what friends they played with, etc.
   
• Journal - Teachers keep monthly journals, memory books with pictures and stories about your child.  Parents are encouraged to add memories too.
   
• Room Newsletter - Each room provides a monthly newsletter to let parents know what's going on in that room the next month.
   
• School Newsletter - A monthly newsletter is provided to parents to inform them of upcoming events, reminders, and other Paidea news.
   
• Conferences - Parent teacher conferences are conducted twice a year (once a year for Toddlers).  This is an opportunity for parents and teachers to meet one-on-one to discuss their child's development.
   
• Phone calls, meetings, email, etc. - We want to make communicating with Paidea staff as convenient as possible.  Therefore, you are able to choose the method that works best for you.  Feel free to contact us by phone, email, or set up a one-on-one meeting with any of the staff.

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What are some special activities at Paidea?

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What is your biggest priority for children?

Teacher/child attachment.  Teachers are trained to learn the child's temperament, to work with their strengths and around their challenges, and always toward developing new skills for self-management.

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What is your teacher/child ratio?

Group size is as important as teacher/child ratio in keeping a calm environment and assuring individual attention. 

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I found that other Preschools require my child to be potty trained.  Is this the same at Paidea?

No.  Children do not have to be potty trained to attend Paidea's preschool program.  However, parents are required to provide diapers and wipes for their child.

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Does Paidea supply lunch and snacks?

Paidea provides morning and afternoon snacks as well as beverages during snack and lunch; however, we found that most families wanted to control their child's nutritional intake for lunch.  Therefore, we do not provide lunch.