MPA

Our

MISSION


Mi Pequeña Academia will impact the lives of young children through meaningful experiences and loving interactions in Spanish that build healthy minds, strong bodies, and happy relationships.

ABOUT US

Mi Pequeña Academia is a Spanish immersion preschool committed to quality education that develops the whole child physically, emotionally and intellectually. We combine our experience as educators and parents to create a unique program that provides every child with a strong foundation for a happy, healthy and meaningful life.

Meet

THE CO-FOUNDERS


Two passionate educators and mothers, from Colombia, want to share their Latino culture, Spanish language, and educational expertise to help families raise bilingual children that are respectful of diversity, self-aware and self-regulated.

Our

History

In Spring 2011, two brilliant women from Colombia were introduced because they “casually” shared an educational expertise and a similar dream of creating a preschool program of their own, where they could implement the strategies they thought worked best to help children grow happily and discover their own potential. They shared the same passion for working with children and thought they could together make their dream come true. Without much hesitation, Carmenza and Alejandra started designing their program and co-founded Mi Pequeña Academia, LLC. It was initially intended to be a Spanish immersion preschool, but life led the two of them to create an after school program for school age children instead. They had the most rewarding experience and were able to strengthen their relationship as co-workers identifying their own potentials.

Mi Pequeña Academia started in Needham, MA. Carmenza and Alejandra impacted the lives of many children. Especially because they were caring and passionate about their work, children enjoyed coming to Spanish school. The children felt understood and special. They had fun playing with friends while learning Spanish.

In June 2016, life granted Carmenza and Alejandra the opportunity to make their ultimate dream come true. Searching for a more suitable space, the two of them were brought to Melrose, MA. Although it was sad to leave the Needham community and their wonderful group of children, the space on 846 Main Street seemed perfect for their next big step in their career.

In November 2017 after ten months, a building permit was approved by the City of Melrose. Mi Pequeña Academia changed its logo and marketing image to better fit their philosophy and approach.

Carmenza and Alejandra are working hard every day in creating the best preschool program they can offer to the community in Melrose and the surrounding towns.

 

Meet the Co-Founders

More

About Us

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We believe that children that are loved turn into adults that know how to love.

At Mi Pequeña Academia we wish to contribute to making the World a better place by committing to helping families raise happy children that grow into confident, compassionate, and caring adults.

Raising a happy child involves knowledge, commitment, understanding, a balance between discipline and flexibility, patience, and lots of love and respect. Children rely on many adults to identify emotions and behaviors. Thus, healthy interactions with thoughtful and loving adults empower children to approach life positively and make good choices. Developing strong relationships with caregivers allows children to experience important life values that set the foundation for life-long learning.

At Mi Pequeña Academia, we inspire the creation of strong bonds between caregivers and children because it leads to a happy and enjoyable first educational experience. We provide children with a safe and healthy environment, where they can witness effective communication among adults, feel appreciated for their individuality, identify their potential, learn to respect others, and be inspired to discover a life of possibilities ahead.

Our Spanish immersion curriculum enriches the daily interactions between children and teachers, and among children. We are enthusiastic about guiding the little ones in a constant “exploration of the World” in Spanish, where they learn not only about their environment, but also about other people, languages and cultures, all of which develops an essential awareness for diversity.

Our teachers are experienced and knowledgeable early childhood educators that are passionate about their career. We believe that happy teachers create a nurturing environment that is vital for the little ones, so we like to invest in our teachers’ well being.

We value our families because they are essential in our role as educators. We often offer, sponsor, or communicate about workshops that give families significant resources to support them in a successful parenting.

We believe that children can cultivate positive self-esteem when treated with respect and love. At Mi Pequeña Academia we value every child’s emerging personality. Finding a balance between structure and flexibility, we foster self-regulation, guiding children towards becoming the best they can be.

Every child is special and they should feel that way. Children have individual needs and interests based on their age and developmental stage, but also based on their gender. Since we recognize that boys and girls have unique styles of learning and experience life differently, our curriculum and methodology are targeted to provide all boys and girls a remarkable first educational experience without compromising their individualities.

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Our approach is simple yet fundamental. We promote positive interactions between children and caregivers, among children, and between adults who are involved, in an environment that finds the right balance between structure and flexibility.

Every parent and teacher hopes to give their children their best, so we always second-guess what we do; we wonder how much independence to give them and how much to give in to our children’s desires. At Mi Pequeña Academia we want to help families raise happy, confident, and independent children, so our unique teaching approach focuses on finding the right balance.

While we value individual development and foster autonomy, we like to enforce clear rules and expectations because the understanding of these sets a strong foundation for a successful life. We have enough structure to help children learn important life-skills, self-discipline, patience, and a regard for rules. Yet our curriculum is flexible focusing on every child’s individual interests and needs. We allow children plenty of opportunities to experience learning, to think for themselves and to make good decisions.

We pay important attention to the relationship between teacher and child. Children develop confidence when they find reassurance from adults, and a confident child is a successful learner. To develop the necessary sense of trust, our teachers listen to children carefully and are mindful of what they say to them and about them. Teachers participate actively in the daily routines, but allow children room for independent exploration and discovery.

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We provide a complete education that sets the foundation for a meaningful, happy and healthy life through an enriched curriculum that emphasizes on arts, physical development and play, to teach self-awareness, social understanding, and emotional regulation, as well as literacy, mathematics, and science.

We have monthly curriculum themes in place for every age and developmental stage. Our themes encourage the “exploration of the World”, responding to questions about the universe, our planet, its habitants, animals and nature, community, family, one-self, and more.

Although themes are already established, there are multiple alternative activities that teachers choose from to customize their own curriculum and suit their children’s unique learning styles and interests.

Our activities encourage lots of movement, indoor and outdoor play, and fine motor development. We promote the connection between body and mind because it triggers happiness, and a happy child learns best.

We are proud of our unique Art Center and Science Center, where children can freely explore with materials to create their own art and brew fun concoctions.

Our outdoor space is especially designed to allow children to play freely and explore natural materials individually or with peers.

We don’t really teach Spanish, we use it! Children become familiar with the language in the daily routine. They experience the culture through music, dance, and various activities that teach about people, fauna, flora and folklore in Spanish speaking countries. Learn more about bilingualism and what to expect from your child’s Spanish immersion experience at Mi Pequeña Academia.