By L. Parsons Looking to help young children get their best start in school, Winslow residents Celeste and Mikayla Hartnett have embarked on a new adventure called Little Wonders Preschool in Winslow. The center, which is currently taking applications for registration is the latest in preschool options in Winslow and is located at 619 W. Desmond St. Little Wonders has been a dream of Celeste’s for many years. “I don’t have a formal degree, but I did work in the school district for 11 years. During that time, my favorite post was in the library, reading to the little kids and being around the kindergarteners reminded me that I really wanted to be around kids this age.” Mikayla, on the other hand, does hold a formal degree. She recently graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor’s of science in Elementary Education. She said, “I knew in fifth grade that I wanted to be a teacher. I thought I would be most comfortable with third or fourth grade students, until I did my student teaching with that age and realized I would much rather be with the little ones. During my degree, I volunteered at a preschool and fell in love with it.” Both Hartnetts recognized the benefits of early childhood education and share the philosophy that children who begin instruction earlier are more likely to succeed later in life. In fact, research conducted by many experts corroborates that philosophy. One such study, published by the United States Department of Education says, “Children who participate in high-quality preschool programs have better health, social-emotional and cognitive outcomes than those who do not participate. Studies also reveal that participating in quality early learning can boost children’s education attainment and earnings later in life.” Other experts share the same sentiment. Taylor Gerber, a Parent Educator at Chicanos Por La Causa a division of Parenting Arizona said, “The ages between zero and three are sensitive periods for children where environmental stimulation and practicing skills are most important. Providing structure and a safe environment to explore during this time can greatly impact our children’s ability to develop optimally in domains like vision, hearing, motor, attachment and language.” The benefits continue beyond kindergarten according to Washington Elementary School Principal Amanda Leonard. “I do believe early intervention is key and makes a huge difference. Is it the determining factor of success? No, I don’t believe so. Students that attend preschool, usually, come from involved families. Those kids are more likely to be successful anyway because of the support system. That said, preschool benefits are huge. They learn the system of school, how to take turns, letter sounds, how to work with other students and those types of things. If I could send every child to preschool, I would. I truly believe it benefits them so much.” Little Wonders Preschool intends to do just that. Mikayla said, “We will be working with kids aged three to five. Play based learning is our plan because it is so important to their cognitive development. We also have a curriculum. We are most interested in letting their curiosity run, that is when little kids learn the most. We will introduce some things that will be part of their future kindergarten routine.” Celeste added, “We have a great relationship with our local kindergarten teachers and we asked them what they would like to see kids know when they get to kindergarten. So far, they say things like ‘we want them to know how to hold a pencil, line up and perform classroom jobs.” She continued, “So many of these kids have been in quarantine for a year, they were babies when the pandemic started so they are just going to be learning how to be around other kids. They may be shy or not know how to interact with rules and routines. It is going to be a learning experience for all of us.” Mikayla concluded, “I am a certified teacher and recognize why learning is important. But we will also be focusing on a theme each month like sharing, kindness or friendship. The world needs a little bit of that right now.” Little Wonders is currently enrolling students and can be reached at (928) 587-0154.
