The two most common phrases I’d hear myself saying as a first time mom were, “My house is a zoo” and, “It really does take a village.”

- Sabrina

The Village Zoo was born out of a desire to create a childcare space that provided the standard of care that I expected for my own kids. Having worked a in a childcare center, I have seen first hand what the standard of care is at large centers. With high teacher turnover and a shortage of staffing, it can be hard to find a structured environment that provides a consistent routine for the students enrolled. The Village Zoo is designed to be an alternative to the standard child care environment.

I have always had a passion for working with children. In my younger years, I worked as a private lessons instructor teaching alto saxophone and intro to music classes to elementary and middle school aged students. I also babysat/nannied for multiple families while going to college for music education.

When Covid-19 hit and I was forced to be home 24/7, I was reminded how much I enjoyed teaching through my step daughter. Her school became virtual and it fell onto the parents to make sure that the students were keeping up. I spent my days in quarantine being her private teacher and helping her get through her later years of elementary school.

When my two sons were born I was blessed to be able to work from home and spend my time teaching them one on one. Sebastian, my first bio child, was speech delayed which resulted in my deep dive into different learning techniques and infant/toddler sign language. When my second son Logan was born, I had to return to working outside of the home. This is when I realized that I belonged in a teaching position and embraced being a Preschool teacher at Kinder Care.

I do not claim to be a Montessori teacher, however, I do firmly believe and apply a number of their teaching techniques. The main one being, following the lead of the child. In a preschool environment, there are certain skills we have to encourage the children to perform to be able to move to Kindergarten, but how these skills are taught should be flexible. This is part of why I made the decision to branch out on my own. The rigid one size fits all curriculum was not something I was comfortable enforcing.

At The Village Zoo, I make sure that I am adapting the lessons to each students ability level and interests. I want to make sure that each child is receiving enough of an individual focus to succeed. This is why I will not take a class larger than six students at one time.

My aspiration as a preschool teacher and childcare provider is to help your little one discover the happy, healthy, creative, and intelligent being that is inside them. All while fostering an environment in which parents feel comfortable leaving their children, asking questions, and being open about anything they may be struggling to conquer at home with their little. It takes a village to raise a child, let me be part of yours.