What are Parents Saying?

“I went to Joy School when I was little and I still remember a lot! I especially loved the unit on Spontaneous Delight and remember when the teacher let the air popper pop popcorn all over the room while we danced around in glee. It was so good for me to see that there’s a time and a place for doing fun, silly things. And I’ll never forget the time we went to sing to some elderly disabled people during the unit on Sharing and Service. Our teacher prepared us well and we were so excited to see the smiles on the faces of those sweet ‘grandmas and grandpas’! ”

“I was a pretty shy little kid and was so scared to start Joy School. But the small group setting and curriculum of Joy School was perfect for me. My favorite unit was on the Joy of Being Myself (formerly called the Joy of Individual Confidence and Uniqueness). I still have the “All About Me” book that I made in that unit and I love showing it to my kids.”

“I’ve never worked with a group of preschoolers before so when my friend invited me to be part of a Joy School group, I didn’t think it was for me. Luckily, she was persistent! I found that with the help of the Start-Up manual, the support of the other moms in my group (one very kindly taught with me the first couple of times I taught), and the very detailed lesson plans, I got the hang of teaching Joy School pretty quickly. I have a lot more confidence now about my abilities with groups of children and actually look forward to when it’s my turn to teach.”

“The other day I overheard my son singing a Joy School song – ‘When a thing is hard to do, I don’t sit and cry, I just make a happy face and try, try, try…’ I went in there and saw him working away on getting his boots on. He usually gets so easily frustrated when he can’t do something right away. This unit on trying is certainly helping him!”

From a Kindergarten Teacher:

“When I get my new students each fall, I can always tell right away which ones are Joy School graduates. They come to school confident, good at making friends, and ready to learn. I have some students who come already reading or way ahead on math which is fine, but not necessary. The social skills that the Joy School kids have really help them do well in my class. And they all know their letters and numbers and all that as well.”