WE'RE DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE!
My name is Elishelah Wright and I am the owner and director of Shantivanam Children's Community (SCC). The name "Shantivanam" (pronounced shan-tee-vah'-nam) is a Sanskrit word that means "forest of peace". A peaceful, loving, and respectful environment is what my staff and I strive for each and everyday. Our community is indeed different and unique. Having worked at several large preschools and visited other family childcare homes, I know first-hand that what we have is unique and different from both types of settings.
Our most obvious difference is apparent when you walk in our front door. Our facilities have the personalized atmosphere of a family childcare, but the lower two levels of our tri-level home are dedicated to the children, making it more like a small school with child-size furnishings and equipment.
We have a fully-qualified staff with credentials including California Master Teacher Permits. Our Enrichment program includes activities and studies for both our toddlers and our preschoolers. The preschool curriculum utilizes both a Montessori and a traditional preschool approach and includes language and math skills, Spanish classes, computer classes, music and crafts, gardening, social studies and a Character Development Program designed to give the children social and life skills that will serve them throughout their lives. We also have an American Sign Language teacher who teaches sign language to all of the children.
Our Behavior Management Policies are geared to support the children in learning appropriate behavior rather than punishing them for not yet exhibiting socially acceptable behavior. Our daily care and interaction with the children is individualized and very intentional. It is based on respect, positive discipline, and a supportive environment. We also have a unique approach to parent involvement which includes regularly scheduled family activities and free parenting classes.
While we are different and unique in a number of ways, we are very conservative when it comes to the health and safety of the children. The safety of the children is a top priority in our school and we have specific health practices and policies to support the physical well-being of the children.
To get an idea of how other parents feel about us, take a look at our parent testimonials. Then be sure to read our Philosophy Statement and also look at the numerous pictures throughout our web site to get a visual idea of some of the things we offer.
If you feel your child is getting lost in the shuffle at their large center or preschool, or if you have just been looking for a quality, individualized program for your child, Shantivanam Children's Community may be just what you are looking for.
Some important features of SCC include:
1:4 adult to child ratio.
As a family childcare facility, we are required by law to have a much lower child to adult ratio than a center or preschool. A center is allowed to have 12 children with only 1 teacher, whereas a Family Childcare home must have at least 2 adults if there are more than 6 children. At SCC, we provide an even better ratio by scheduling 3 adults for 12 or less children during our prime learning time.
Loving home environment with school facilities.
A big difference about SCC is obvious when you walk in our front door. While having the small, personalized atmosphere provided by family childcare, we are unique in that our indoor facilities and our outdoors environment are much more like a small school than a personal home. The entire lower 2 levels of our tri-level house are dedicated to the school, with child-size furnishings and equipment.
Full preschool program.
Our Enrichment Program includes a full preschool curriculum utilizing both my Montessori training and also a traditional preschool approach. Our staff qualifications include, among other things, my California Master Teacher permit for preschool, and the fact that both of my staff are bi-lingual in English and Spanish. Our preschool program includes language and math skills, Spanish classes, computer classes, music and crafts, gardening, and social studies. In addition, we have an accredited American Sign Language teacher who comes in each week.
Character Development and Diversity Program.
While we have a full preschool program that prepares the children academically for kindergarten, we also have a Character Development Program that is designed to give the children social and life skills that will serve them throughout their lives. Diversity is also part of our Character Development Program. To supplement the exposure our children have to diversity, we use nearly 20 life-size dolls. These Diversity Dolls not only represent various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, but they also represent children with various physical differences such as birthmarks, deafness, Spina Bifida, Down Syndrome, lazy eye, and others.
Positive behavior management policies.
Our Behavior Management Policies are geared to support the children in learning appropriate behavior rather than punishing them for not yet exhibiting socially acceptable behavior. Our daily care and interaction with the children is very intentional and is based on respect, positive discipline, and a supportive environment.
Free parenting classes and a close community of parents.
SCC also has a unique approach to parent involvement with a free flow of communication between the parents and the school and free parenting classes. There are also regularly scheduled family activities to help promote a sense of community. Having a small, intimate environment, the children and the parents often form close bonds with one another.
Focus on health and safety issues.
While we are different and unique in a number of ways, we are also very conservative when it comes to the health and safety of the children. The safety of the children is a top priority in our school. We are always checking for potential safety hazards and we have addressed them in a number of ways. The health of the children is also very important to us. We serve healthy snacks and meals and we have specific health practices and policies to support the physical well-being of the children.
SHANTIVANAM