About Marigold Preschool
Brenda Haak has worked in various early childhood settings her entire career and she is a trained Waldorf teacher of thirty plus years. It has been a life-long dream to start her own neighborhood early childhood program and she is thrilled to invite you to come and explore Marigold Preschool. We accept children ages 33 months through six years. Our program is an inspiration to parents and we meet regularly to share in craft making, lively parenting discussions, and community building. Kerry Joly is the teaching assistant. This year celebrates their fifteenth year working together. Their rapport and shared love of the young child makes Marigold Preschool a home away from home.
Philosophy
At Marigold Preschool we give children time to be children. The children are surrounded by everything that is beautiful, good and true. Teachers are engaged in real life work by caring for the classroom and environment. Children are welcome to help bake, mend toys, garden and more, but their most important work is to play. Play lays the foundation for brain development, problem solving, and healthy social interactions. A seasonal inspired circle gives children an opportunity for small and large motor movement, connects to language, and creates an imaginative connection to the seasons. Rich stories and fairytales from around the world are told to the children. Hearing and not seeing the story gives children an opportunity to create their own inner images, to connect to the nuance and meaning of language that creates a rich foundation for learning to read.
Allowing children to wallow in and enjoy each developmental stage gives them the time and the tools to meet the next stage of development with confidence and enthusiasm.
Meet the Teachers
Brenda Haak Director and Lead Teacher
Brenda Haak is the lead teacher and director of Marigold Preschool. She has a background in Child Psychology and Theater Arts from the University of Minnesota. Her roots go back to the Family Service of St. Paul. During her tenure there she discovered Waldorf education. Its pedagogy and philosophy inspired her to become a Waldorf early childhood teacher, so she received her Kindergarten Associates degree from the Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California. She has thirty years of experience teaching children and parents. You can often hear her say, “Being with the young child is the best job in the whole world!” As a mother, she intimately knows the challenges and joys of parenting and she is passionate about allowing each child to unfold to their true potential and supporting parents in that endeavor.
Kerry Joly Teacher’s Assistant
Kerry Joly is the assistant teacher at Marigold Preschool. She discovered Waldorf education when she became an at-home parent with her youngest child. Her youngest was a student of Ms. Brenda’s, and as he became a first grader, she became Ms Brenda’s kindergarten / preschool assistant. They have now celebrating fifteen years of working together. She also assisted Ms. Brenda’s parent-toddler class where children and parents would eagerly bound into class looking forward to snack-time to partake in “Ms. Kerry’s rice.” Not one grain goes to waste because we send home leftovers!
