About our School
I’m very excited I had the opportunity to come in and revamp Li’l Rascals' Saint John location! Li’l Rascals has been a staple to the Saint John community for the past 45 years. I spent a few weeks in April on interior renovations and we officially opened with new programming, staff, and curriculum on May 6th, 2024!
We follow a wholistic and natural mindset while offering an advanced curriculum for our preschool programs. During daycare hours, we do not have the kids involved in screen time. We like to provide educational yet fun hands on activities, sensory play, and outside play as much as possible. Also, incorporated in our day are positive mindset activities such as morning meditation and yoga. We have a unique scheduling and tuition structure that is unlike other daycares in the area. Scheduling is hourly, so you pay for what you need and you aren’t required to pay for holiday dates if we are closed! We offer sibling discounts and 4 weeks of vacations days! As long as we have one week’s notice, you don’t have to cover the cost of missed days! Our scheduling minimums are 6 hours per day and 2 day per week. Our hours of operation are 7 am - 5 pm. We are open to extending the times if we have people express interest in that.
I am excited to hear more about you and your family, so please contact me with your child(ren)’s age(s) to get a weekly tuition quote and for any additional questions! Talk soon!
- Ms. Heather
Preschoolers
Our Preschool program is a multi age class with children 35 months - 5 years old. Ms. Emily is the lead teacher for this class and Ms. Anna and Ms. Demi are the assistant teachers for this class. We really enjoy the multi age classroom because it has shown several benefits. The mixed age classroom mimics a family structure, fosters a peer tutoring environment, increases positive social interactions, and boosts self esteem. We will be structuring our day to incorporate both child-led learning (similar to the Montessori Method) and small group, teacher centered, learning. There are many benefits to child led learning, including fostering independence, encouraging empathy, and cultivating a love for learning. Even though we love the Montessori method, when most children start Kindergarten, they are put into classrooms that focus on teacher centered methods. Because of this, we felt it was important to incorporate time with this method so the kids well prepared for school.
The preschoolers will be combined for rotations, circle time, story time, snack, lunch, and recess. We will be offering lots of different rotations this year: science, social studies, PE, art, sensory, theater arts, music, cooking, and languages. For lessons and centers, we will be breaking our preschool class into 3 academic groups: Amber, Coral, and Sage. Every day during lesson time, they will be working on literacy, math, and/or handwriting. These groups will be selected according to the academic evaluation we give your child and consideration of how many days per week they are signed up for. We also offer a reading program for students who show reading readiness. These groups meet for 10-15 minutes two times per week. We put great value on communication, so at the end of each week, we will be emailing a “Peek at the Week”, which is a brief overview of our academic and development focuses for that week, including a note from Ms. Emily. Don’t forget to check out our other links for additional classroom information.
Tiny Tots
The Tiny Tot program is our two year old classroom. Ms. Bri is the lead teacher and Ms. Gabby and Ms. Demi are the assistant teachers for this class. We will be structuring our day to incorporate both child-led learning (similar to the Montessori Method) and small group, teacher centered, learning. There are many benefits to child led learning, including fostering independence, encouraging empathy, and cultivating a love for learning. Even though we love the Montessori method, when most children start Kindergarten, they are put into classrooms that focus on teacher centered methods. Because of this, we felt it was important to incorporate time with this method so they are well prepared for school. At this age, our goal is to teach them to sit and focus through a 10-15 minute lesson.
In this class, our primary focus will be on basic color recognition, basic shape recognition, memorizing their ABCs, counting to 20, and fine motor skills: dotting within a circle/coloring inside the lines, and beginning to recognize letters and learn letter sounds. We will also be introducing them to more advanced concepts like counting by 10’s, counting by 5’s, name recognition, spelling their colors, and much more! The lessons will focus on literacy, math, art, and/or fine motor skills. For rotations, will be offering lots of different subjects this year which include science, PE, sensory, theater arts, and music. We put great value on communication, so at the end of each week, we will be emailing a “Peek at the Week”, which is a brief overview of our academic and development focuses for that week, including a note from Ms. Bri. Don’t forget to check out the link for our daily class schedule.
Reviews
I am always so humbled and grateful to get amazing reviews and excited texts from parents. The below reviews are from families I've worked with when I had my in my home daycare throughout the years. Enjoy!
We have had two of our daughters with Ms. Heather since January of 2021. We had just recently moved to the area and were having a difficult time finding someone who we felt could be trusted taking care of our 3 year old and 4 month old. To say that we are pleased with the care and attention our children have received would be an understatement. Heather has a wonderful place and ensures things run smoothly on a daily basis. The programming for toddlers are amazing and the things that they learn/ remember daily is so fun to watch/hear. The 3 year old (at the time we started with Ms. Heather) started kindergarten in the Fall of 2022. Her reading scores were already above average at the beginning of the year. Now, we received word from her teacher that they assessed her again and she has already met her year end reading goal (it's only January). I truly believe this to be a testament to Heather. It is just as exciting to see our two year old come home singing, repeating sounds for letters she learned, practicing her writing, and showing off her artwork and worksheets from the day. Most importantly, though, is the trust that we have in Heather. We are so thankful to have found Heather when we did. -Melissa P.
I absolutely loved working with Ms. Heather. Heather and the rest of the staff are all incredibly kind. They all go above and beyond for the kids. Everything in the daycare is so organized, clean and they just make everything so fun. I would feel great about sending my kids to Ms. Heather’s! She really makes you feel valued and appreciated. It’s just an awesome place to be at! - Ms. Katie
Ms. Heathers is amazing. My child has grown and develops more skills there every day. I truly feel like it’s a place that puts the kids and their needs first in every aspect. I couldn’t be happier with our choice and recommend them to everyone! - Carly P.
Ms. Heather has been amazing for our daughter! She started out going 1x/week and now goes twice per week and just doing that she has learned so much! My daughter gets excited to go! - Michelle B.
Our 5 month old started during Covid. We were very nervous to start daycare during this time, but Heather made it a stress free and easy process! Our daughter is 2 1/2 now, and we could not be more pleased. She loves going, talks about her teacher and friends constantly, and learns something new every day. Everyone there is so kind and easy to talk to. We are so happy to have found this amazing care for our daughter! - Monica T.
This staff makes this the best daycare around, hands down!! - Suzzanne O.
We absolutely love Ms. Heather. We have nothing but great things to say about the daycare and preschool. We truly feel very comfortable every day we drop our kids off and know without a doubt they are in a safe, fun, and loving environment. Our kids are treated like family and take a real interest in them and helping them succeed. They always have different themes and crafts correlating with their curriculum. Heather is great about keeping parents in the loop and often posts pictures and videos for parents to see. We now also have our nieces and nephews there as well! Heather is one of the most caring, genuine teachers we’ve ever encountered and we truly feel blessed to have found her. We would recommend this daycare/preschool to anyone that is looking for quality care. - Alexis B.
We are BEYOND thrilled with the care our children receive from the loving staff with Ms. Heather. Their days are filled with play, learning, fun activities and lots of smiles. They come home each day proud to tell us about their day and everything they learned. Both of our children LOVE Ms. Heathers I can tell that she loves them just as much. Heather is truly one in a million, and I have absolute trust in her and her. From the daycare to the programming for the two year olds and preschoolers, everything is absolutely top notch. Finding Ms. Heather has been the biggest blessing in our lives. As full time working parents, we are grateful every day to know that our children are in such capable and caring hands. - Susan S.
The care provided Ms. Heather is unmatched. It provides any family with the relief that their child/children are not only being taken care of, but also assisting with their overall development. Ms Heather is like our second family. She is beyond generous and goes out of her way to provide the best care and learning environment for your child. Our kids always have a huge smile on their face at drop off! I cannot say enough good things about Ms. Heather. We are very fortunate to have found such great care for our children. - Toni N.
I’ve always said and told everyone who asks about daycare, Ms. Heather and everyone there has magical powers!! AMAZING!! - Chrissy B.
We absolutely love Ms. Heather! They always go above & beyond for the kids. They are very organized and do so well with schedules which was very important to us. It’s such a joy being able to see our daughter on their daily posts! - Taylor R.
Ms Heather is amazing!! Never have to worry when our kids are in your care. Meghan B.
We’ve been sending our kids to Ms. Heather for over a year now & we are so happy to have found this great daycare & preschool. The staff is super attentive & engaging. The girls come home with worksheets & art projects that are challenging & fun. We especially love that outside time is incorporated when feasible. Our girls come home every day with stories & excitement to go back. We are so happy to have found such an amazing facility for education, play, & memories that our girls love too. Highly recommend. - Nicole O.
Our son is 2 1/2 years old and has been going to Ms. Heather for almost a year. Best choice ever! As a mom, it can be hard to trust others with your child, but I couldn't ask for a better place for my child. They love him and treat him, and the other children, as their own. Every morning he wakes up super excited to go to "school” and see his friends. Their communication is fabulous and they are very transparent, which is always appreciated. Even though he is only two, my son spends a lot of the day learning and doing constructive activities, in addition to play time. Everything is very structured and organized, and my son has grown in many ways since being at Ms. Heather’s. Thank you guys for all you do!!! - Johanna N.