Lisa Daley : The Grove School: A seriously fresh new preschool in Cary and Plano!

Conference report: insights on emotional regulation and brain pathways

Lisa Daley | November 24, 2009 | Comment

I recently had the wonderful experience of attending the Texas Association for Infant Mental Health Annual Meeting and Conference. This meeting was attended by many people interested in optimal development of our youngest children, not only infants, but those through age 5.

Carrie Contey, Ph.D., gave a fabulous lecture during which she spoke about the importance of emotional regulation. She explained that emotional regulation is built into the relationship children have with their caregivers. She talked about the importance of eye contact, proximity, touch, facial expression, and tone of voice. Each of these components is extremely important when considering optimal social and emotional development in young children.

This gave me tremendous insight into the components I already place most valuable in the characteristics of outstanding teachers. I thought about the similarity in several of the ideal competencies we are searching for in The Grove School teachers: compassion, composure, and patience.

Carrie also talked about Bruce Perry and his studies on brain development. Bruce Perry explained that the more a neural system is “activated,” the more that system changes to reflect that pattern of activation. This is the basis for development, memory, and learning. It is the repeated exposure to extraordinary experiences which cause the connections to become well worn pathways permanently etched in the brains.

I contemplated this for a moment and became overwhelmed with excitement. I can only imagine the pathways that will become permanently etched in the brains of those students at the Grove School.

The exposure to organic gardening will allow our students to naturally want to nourish their body with fresh, organic foods in the future. Our on-site greenhouse and focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling will again create the instincts later in life to preserve our planet. The fine art and dramatic art experiences will allow children to formulate their own creativity that will flourish for years to come!

My attendance at the conference solidified the importance of our holistic approach to education coupled with teachers who naturally create nurturing interactions. The Grove School has found the formula through innovative curriculum and outstanding staff that creates the perfect combination for optimal brain development!

Lisa is our education manager at The Grove School of Plano. Her day-to day responsibilities include mentoring, coaching, leading and celebrating the outcomes of educational success for all children and teachers.

Keywords: conferences, Educational Philosophy, Grove School, teacher hiring

Plano families, join us at the Dallas Museum of Art

Lisa Daley | November 19, 2009 | Comment

This Friday, November 20th from 6 to 7:30 pm, I’ll be at the Dallas Museum of Art for the Materials & Me program. This is a free event for 2-4 year olds. It invites them to examine different art using the medium of fabric. There will even be a bedtime story!

I’ll be there with two of my children and several prospective families. I’d love to meet you and answer any questions about The Grove School and our extraordinary learning experiences. Grab your kids and come join the fun!

Keywords: Dallas Museum of Art, events, Plano

Our first local event!

Lisa Daley | November 17, 2009 | Comment

The introduction of The Grove School to the public was so exciting!! A few weeks ago I was honored to be the first member of our leadership team to spark the interest within the Plano community.
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Thank you to the Prestonwood Private School Fair for helping to make that possible. Numerous potential parents were energized by our educational excellence coupled with our sense of purpose through a concentration on a healthy body, mind, and planet.
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Most families were excited by the possibility for their child to grow and harvest from the organic garden, to use the Smartboard technology in their classrooms, and to run and play on our natural outdoor playscape. Many parents identified with The Grove School being a “seriously fresh new preschool” by saying they had never heard of this approach to learning before. Many of the families requested to attend an upcoming Open House or tour the school as soon as it’s ready for visitors.

This was just the beginning of the fascinating evolution of The Grove School. I can not wait to see what happens next!!

Keywords: Grove School, Plano

Meet Lisa Daley, our education manager

Lisa Daley | November 16, 2009 | Comment

Hi! My name is Lisa Daley. I am both honored and ecstatic to be a part of the evolution of the Grove School! I am truly excited to be responsible for the extraordinary learning experiences we will be providing for young children every day.

I’ve been working within the field of early childhood education for 15 years. I’ve been a teacher, director, and trainer for educational excellence over the years. I identified my passion for changing the lives of children through education at a very young age. You can say I was raised with education in my blood!! I was born and raised in New Jersey where my mother was a teacher, and now a director of curriculum and instruction. The apple has not fallen far from the tree!

Education was always important growing up and my mother showed me how to be impactful with children through unique interactions. I followed in her footsteps and am determined to inspire all children to genuinely love learning.

I am a candidate to receive my doctoral degree in Early Childhood Education through the University of North Texas. In addition, I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees through the University of Oklahoma. (I am with Scott–Go Sooners!!)

Within the field of Early Childhood Education, I am most interested in the promotion of healthy mental health for young children through optimal social and emotional learning environments. For this reason, the healthy mind portion of The Grove School holistic approach is extremely exhilarating to me. This innovative approach to education will create a new type of early learner that will be successful in many distinctive ways moving forward. I look forward to sharing additional resources pertaining to this topic.

While working on my doctoral degree and working full time, I gave birth to three beautiful children. I love to be busy Mecca is my three year-old daughter and is also known as “mini me”, a natural born leader. Alisa is two and is my extremely sweet…and equally as stubborn baby girl. Elijah is my baby boy. He is one year old and balances everything out. I am looking forward to having my children grow up within The Grove School family!