"My favorite thing about Melissa’s teaching style is her approach to “conscious discipline.” It would be a lot easier to simply plop an unruly child in the time-out chair, but preschool is for learning more than letters and numbers. Feelings are openly discussed, not discouraged. And empathy is introduced via real-world experiences (i.e. hitting is hurtful, not “bad”). Melissa is always down on the floor with the kids, playing right along with them. Her crafty projects are so creative; they hardly realize they’re learning. She knows and responds to each child’s individual needs. My son, for example, is easily overwhelmed by the more intense personalities in the class. When Melissa notices that he’s becoming agitated, she invites him to play quietly in another room if he wants to.

I’m really glad that Miss Melissa was his first, foundational experience."

Megan Kendall