Laura Ziliotto

About Me

I am a mother of four big kids with my Masters degree in Applied Social Psychology.  My main academic and professional focus has been on the evaluation of social and literacy programs for young children and parents, as well as wilderness therapy and educational programs for youth-at-risk. I started my preschool in 2010 to provide neighbourhood children with a small and personal learning environment where they could socialize with peers, learn skills, and feel safe and supported. While I am not a certified teacher, I have loved teaching, organizing and facilitating activities for children of all ages for many years in many settings. While my preschool is my main focus, I still do part-time research for children and youth organizations. I am currently doing a qualitative study on the effectiveness of The Boundless School on youth with anxiety and depressive disorders. The Boundless School is a wilderness based boarding high school for youth struggling in mainstream education. I am also an active community volunteer and am happiest when I am helping people, organizing activities, and socializing with friends, family and just about anyone. I also love wilderness canoe-tripping, sports, music and travelling. 

My Philosophy

I believe that young children who attend daycare or preschool should be provided with a safe, comfortable and positive learning environment. In this place, they should be supported to gain social competence with their peers and teachers and to gain feelings of self-efficacy (the belief that they can accomplish things).  I believe in the benefits of play-based philosophies but also feel that young children need boundaries and guidelines to help them learn how to successfully negotiate social situations and learn how to be respectful individuals. When children feel supported socially and emotionally, their academic learning comes naturally. At my preschool, my main goal is for the children to have fun and feel comfortable while learning different skills and abilities. I love joking around with the kids and doing fun and creative things but I also feel strongly about ensuring that they know how to follow guidelines, know how to be respectful and to feel good about themselves. 

My Outlook on Kindergarten Readiness Skills

Every preschool, nursery school and early years centre focuses on the basic skills "needed" for kindergarten. While there are actually no pre-requisites for kindergarten, I do expose my preschool children to letters, numbers, colours, shapes, sorting, patterns, drawing, writing, sounds, opposites, rhyming, memory games, following instructions, gluing, cutting etc. on a regular basis or even daily.  I do not, however, feel that these things need to be mastered. Instead, we work together on these skills in creative and fun ways, and I ensure that every child feels proud of their individual abilities and is positively challenged to do more.  Over the years I have had 2 year-olds that can read perfectly and 4 year-olds who cannot recognize a single letter or hold a marker. Due to the small nature of my school, and because I am the sole teacher, I can easily adapt all aspects of my curriculum to support and challenge each individual child in their learning and tailor my school to their needs.