WHERE MESSY HANDS BUILD BRILLIANT MINDS!
Owner / Teacher
Cherice Ellison
Welcome to Discovery Play Preschool! I’m Cherice Ellison the Owner and Current Virtual/Local Teacher. I am an Aunt to a nephew and 2 nieces. I’m also a dog mom to my boy Adino.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and over 26 years of experience in a variety of different positions in early childhood education during this time period. I’ve been Assistant teacher, Lead teacher Head Start teacher, Consultant/Coach and Director of Private child care centers. I’ve also served in my church’s children's ministries in various positions over the years. One of my pastimes growing up was participating in Track & Field which I discovered in the 7th grade. I continued through college where I was blessed with an athletic scholarship to attend College. I earned several first place State medals in High School and College. Track was my second love next to teaching.
When I as in the 4th grade I remember telling my family that I wanted to be a preschool teacher and in the 5th grade, I remember writing in a notebook names for my Preschool that I wanted to own. So this has been a life long dream of mine to own my own preschool and I thank you for joining me in making my dream a reality at a loving place for your child. I want to create a space that children are able explore, create and discover the world around them through fun, authentic, age appropriate activities that help develop the whole child and their love for learning. I look forward to your child joining Discovery Play Preschool!
Where Messy Hands Build Brilliant Minds!
My Vision
To provide an authentic, warm, fun loving, nurturing learning environment! Where children are able to be hands on, explore, create, discover, build, problem solve, learn and grow and so much more...
I envision our virtual preschool being a place where children can be children and to be able to learn through fun age-appropriate activities. I see it as being interactive and engaging where your child can have fun and learn from the comfort of their home.
Where your child’s uniqueness, independence, creativity, learning to self-regulate as well as their curiosity will be fostered through music & movement, fun games, literacy, math as well as science to create a solid foundation for school and life!
My Mission
To create a learning environment where every component is a part of their learning experience! A preschool where the teachers are used as resources and tools. A preschool where the environment is seen as part of the curriculum and is ever changing to meet the needs of the children. A preschool that the teachers can learn from the children just as the children can learn from the teachers!!
Our Philosophy
We believe that all children grow and develop at their own pace and while it is important to ensure children are ready for kindergarten and for life experiences, we also feel they should not be hurried through childhood. Our goal is to provide an authentic learning environment where children can be children.
We believe social and emotional skills are essential for each child to develop and we reinforce this through modeling responsibility, acceptance, caring, sharing and respect for all children and adults. We believe by truly listening and engaging in conversations with children provides numerous opportunities for the development of language and social skills as well as enhancement of self-esteem. We are sensitive to each child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs. We strive to meet their individual needs as well as the group’s needs as a whole. We believe given these experiences and opportunities, children will develop a positive self-esteem and love of learning that will follow them throughout their lives.
We feel play is an essential aspect of young children’s lives… it is essential to their well-being and development. We balance discovery play with many structured activities such as circle time, open ended art activities, music, science etc. We choose curriculum activities based on the needs of the children enrolled and where we feel they need to be for kindergarten. We feel it is important to help each child succeed at his or her own level and adjust activities to meet and challenge their current level of development. Teachable moments provide learning opportunities on any given day. We strongly feel that developing their love for learning and exploration is also important!