Petites Merveilles is designed to be a safe and engaging space that supports young children's natural development, enriches their daily lives with joyful community and imbues a strong sense of self-worth. As a licensed large at-home daycare, our capacity is at 12 children. We accept children between the ages of 2 and 6 years and offer enrollment for 2, 3 or 5 days per week. Our curriculum is based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s method, and our philosophy centered around love, respect and curiosity. We sing and dance, garden, and concentrate on the joyful experience of learning. Children will acquire all kinds of practical life as well as early literacy and pre-math skills.
Daily Rhythm
8:30 AM - 10:15 AM Morning Activities
Children practice their developing skills with individual or group activities that they can choose and practice at their leisure. The teacher provides short presentations to individual children or proposes small group activities throughout the morning. Snack is set out and children may eat when they are hungry in the morning.
10:15 AM - 10:35 AM Circle time
We gather, sing songs, share stories or poems, reflect on passing time and numbers with the date and notice seasonal changes and weather
10:35 AM - 12:00 PM Outdoor Play
Free play in the yard, opportunities to practice gross motor skills, balance, social skills and pretend play, and to care for our outdoor environment and hens.
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM Outdoor Lunch
A balanced organic lunch is cooked for the children daily. During meals, we socialize, practice grace and courtesy, and encourage exploring a variety of tastes and textures. All children participate in setting the table, cleaning up and washing the dishes. Lunch is enjoyed on the patio.
12:45 PM - 1:00 PM Story time, mindfulness
We set this time aside for relaxation and read alouds.
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Nap / Resting time
Nappers sleep on cots in a room with blackout curtains. Others get a chance to wind down and practice calm activities such as painting, baking or playing outside.
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM Snack and Story time
We read books and tell stories intentionally picked to enrich our perspectives of the world.
Sample Menu
Cooked daily with organic ingredients, often with our children's help! We enjoy meals family style and use food as a conversation starter for cultural explorations.
French Immersion
At Petites Merveilles, we do it all in French! We welcome French native speakers and speakers of all other languages. The first plane of development, from 0 to 6 years old, is the optimal time to learn languages, and being in an immersed environment allows for children to learn naturally and effortlessly. Story-telling, conversations, songs, and all sorts of other spoken language activities facilitate understanding and give opportunities to practice speaking. Aside from opening doors to several cultures around the world, learning a second language has been proven to have many cognitive benefits such as improved problem-solving and concentration skills. While some aspects of French culture will be supported in the space - mainly around mealtime, courtesy, and through art, poetry and music, we aim to create a highly multi-cultural space, where each child's culture(s) and traditions are welcome and celebrated, whether Francophone or not.
