Our education support specialists provide teachers and directors with advanced expertise in the field of early childhood education. They create programs that make Minnieland more than just child care. They provide a model for education that makes Minnieland a school within a child care center.

From infancy up through school age, carefully created programming based on the latest knowledge on how children learn is shared with each and every teacher who works at Minnieland. Minnieland teachers are not just handed a curriculum and told to read the directions like a recipe in a cookbook. They are taught how to observe children and write lesson plans based on children’s needs and interests. We know that children learn best when the activities that are chosen match the child’s current educational level. We know that children are naturally motivated to learn more about topics that pique their curiosity.

One preschool classroom may be very interested in dinosaurs. Another classroom might be more interested in how to grow a garden. Learning occurs naturally and quickly as each group of learners pursues their chosen area of study. Likewise, individual children within the classroom are given opportunities to pursue their areas of interest independently. Interest in balance, design and symmetry and the mathematics involved in building a house can be facilitated artfully by the teacher in the block area. Meanwhile, another teacher works with a few children as they carefully write letters that name the picture each child has just created in the art area.

An infant may enjoy staring into the eyes of their favorite teacher one moment while the teacher describes what she is doing as she prepares a bottle. The next moment, the infant is wiggling a soft animal while the teacher changes track and begins describing what the baby is doing. The baby listens to the teacher’s words and begins associating the sounds of the words to the actions that are occurring. Language is being built in those precious moments of attention and interaction and the teacher is aware that each word she uses has a purpose to build language.

School age teachers give children arriving after school, extended learning opportunities that motivate them to pursue interests outside of the normal academic day. One group of children may be interested in theatre and music and spend hours and days putting together a dramatic or musical performance for others to enjoy. Another group of children may be more interested in being news reporters and putting together a newspaper describing the events in their school. A third group may prefer work with wood and spend time planning, designing and building a bird house to hang from a tree outside the school window.

Our team of education support specialists under the leadership of Dr. Rosemary Burton, Vice President of Education, has created a multi-step approach to teacher education that, not only gives new teachers an immediate in depth orientation to the process of effective teaching, but also provides a continued system of both teacher and director education and support. The education of teachers and managers is deliberate and tiered by level of expertise. An Individualized Training Program is created for each teacher and manager that describes their learning goals over the course of the year. These goals include progress through a tiered system of systematic classes tailored to their length of time with the company and their level of credential. There are periodic formal assessments done by the education specialists in each and every classroom to determine each teacher’s progress in implementing what they have learned. Teachers look forward to these visits as they consult with education specialists about how best to improve the learning that is occurring in their classroom. Likewise, managers also receive systematic classes on educational leadership which helps them to better support the needs of the teachers in their building.

Our education support specialists have been called animated and captivating speakers with strong, unparalleled abilities to help teachers and managers educate children and support families. The specialists, each coming with credentials and experience that command respect, offer a combination of real world experience in teaching and management, as well as technical knowledge and knowledge of education and management theory. This strong support team embodies the philosophy of Minnieland Private Day School, which is to provide a strong educational program within the context of child care.

For more information on each of Minnieland’s educational programs, click on the links below.

Infant Program PREP (enhanced preschool two)

Toddler Program Junior Kindergarten (enhanced prekindergarten)

Preschool One Montessori (alternative to preschool two, prekindergarten or kindergarten)

Preschool Two Prekindergarten

Camp-Tastic summer camp Kindergarten Tech (full day kindergarten STEM program)

Extended Learning Program (extended school day program)

4300 Prince William Parkway, Woodbridge,VA 22192

703-680-2548 | 800-504-2993