Our Story

Our Philosophy 

Mick and I are first and foremost parents.  We raised 6 children who all went through the Fife School District and who we have to say are amazing young adults!  Our own children range from having diagnosed disabilities to being identified as gifted, so we know first hand the range kids have of gifts and talents and we know many of the programs that support them in the school district.  We are proud to have developed a stellar relationship with the school district and have loved serving in the community we have lived in.  
We are also deep lovers of nature and the planet.  We have classroom pets, we garden with the children, Mick cooks all the food….almost all of it from scratch, and depending on the time of year we have chickens on site.  We recycle,  including scraping all of our leftover food into the “chicken bucket”(which gets fed to the chickens)!  Yes, even preschoolers scrape their own plates before loading them into the tub.  Though we are a licensed day care center, our philosophy and way of being is much more that of a family!
Since 2014 we have been working with Early Achievers which is a Washington State Quality Rating System committed to providing high quality learning experiences for children birth-5 years. We are proud to have earned a rating of a 3 (out of 5) with a specialty in quality learning environments.  We continue to meet with a mentor monthly and are dedicated to maintaining that high rating standard.  Through Early Achiever’s support we have been able to take a close look at our programs, our environments, our room organization, and our best practices.  
We believe in providing children with a basic structure to their day and an ever rotating array of activities and play experiences.  The toys and activities rotate depending on children’s interests and desires.  We incorporate a combination of Montessori and Reggio Emilia approaches to curriculum and learning environments and bring in a consciousness to character education.  Because we have worked so closely with the local school district, we are sensitive to the various skills and experiences kindergarten teachers hope children have had and we use many of the same behavior management systems the schools do with our school-age.
Our behavior management is best described as using the philosophies of Love and Logic.  We provide clear boundaries and approach behavior from a positive angle, giving children the chance to make choices as much as possible.  We also use planned ignoring, redirection, humor, or a more strategic behavior plan if necessary.  We find that with the combination of a play rich environment, very organized and planned basic curriculum, and daily routines, kids thrive.  And behavior management is not difficult or challenging.  And because we are a smaller facility with caring staff, we keep in close contact with you and consider ourselves to be partners WITH you!
We have a strong philosophy, stellar curriculum and practices, and more toys/activities than we could list, but we would be nothing without the dedication of our exceptional staff!  Over the years we have had 3 people work until they retired and we are proud to have a strong core of amazing teachers, 1 of whom has been with us for more than a decade!  We have also had former “clients” grow up and come back to work for us!  It is the people who spend the hours upon hours with your children that make us who we are and we are very proud of the caring, compassionate, loving, high integrity, humor-filled, joyous and dedication that our small-but-mighty staff exhibits!