Our Director, Helyn Bailey, has been in the Early Childhood field for over 30 years; caring for and educating infants, toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarteners.  She has been an Early Childhood Director for over 17 of those years.  Helyn has a Bachelor's degree in both Elementary Education and Early Childhood.  Everything about Herring Brook; from the inviting physical setup to the philosophies, written materials, innovative curriculum and individualized learning approach, reflects her lifelong career of nurturing and caring for little ones. Helyn is and has always been an active member of a multi-town Preschool Director’s Group as well as the local early childhood council (Community Partnerships for Children).  Helyn’s vast experience with children also includes being the mother of two grown sons, and is also the very proud Nana of two delightful grandsons.

Helyn is supported by a talented, experienced, certified staff; committed to both educational excellence and the highest quality child care possible. She carefully selects creative, motivated, and highly qualified teachers.  All teachers and staff members must truly understand child development and be extremely sensitive to the needs of children and their families.  The most important pre-requisite is that Herring Brook teachers genuinely enjoy their work in the early childhood field and truly love educating and spending time with children. Lots of laughter and a good sense of humor with both children and adults are also essential characteristics to teach at Herring Brook.  Cultivating feelings of self worth and a positive self-image is the heart of our program. Our teachers are warm, interactive, nurturing, gifted professionals who foster confidence and self-esteem, while providing gentle guidance and positive role-modeling.  Our teachers will bond closely with, and care for your child as if they were their very own. Parents can feel confident, comfortable and secure knowing that their child is happy, safe, and loved in the very competent hands of talented, experienced, professional educators.

Our innovative preschool curriculum includes visiting professionals
who come monthly to teach enrichment classes.

LANGUAGE ARTS & LITERACY
Big Ryan	Big Ryan is a preschool teacher who branched out into his own storytelling business.  The children adore Ryan and never tire of his vast array of stories, characters, puppet interchanges, songs, dances and of course hat and juggling tricks.  The preschoolers thoroughly enjoy every performance and they so look forward to his visits. Every single time he comes, they are more and more delighted.  The halls echo with laughter, singing, clapping and squeals of glee.  Big Ryan continues to be one of Herring Brook’s favorite entertainers, igniting children’s imaginations.
Anne Marie (& Friends)	Anne Marie is also a preschool teacher with her own storytelling business.  She usually comes dressed in a costume appropriate to whatever theme she is covering.  Anne Marie uses storybooks, flannel boards, music, songs, dances, rhythm instruments, crafts, and puppets friends to weave her literacy magic.  Her wide variety of media reaches every learning style and keeps her performances fresh, exciting and dynamic.  Whether she’s teaching about dinosaurs, space, or creepy crawly bugs- she takes the children on a fun, interactive learning adventure.
MUSIC, RHYTHM & MOVEMENT
Mama Steph	Mama Steph is a musician, songwriter and children’s musical entertainer.  She mesmerizes children with her a beautiful, folksy, melodic voice, her guitar, her musical stories and her wonderful puppets. Stephanie encourages the children to sing-a-long and they have come to know and love Mama Steph’s own songs, as well as all of the classic children’s favorites.  Her self-made puppets are amazing and the children marvel at her creations, her explanations as to how they are made, and how they magically but realistically they come to life.
Mrs. Lee	Mrs. Lee is an early childhood music teacher, a college professor, and a musician, who has been entertaining South Shore preschoolers for years and years.  Celebrating the pure joy of music, Kathy uses song, poetry, creative movement, stories and many instruments in her classes.  Some of the varied instruments she shares with the children are the accordion, keyboard, autoharp, melodica, rhythm instruments and many others.  With a very gentle, nurturing demeanor Mrs. Lee combines her infectious enthusiasm with her obvious love of children and her passion for joyful musical expression.
EARLY START ART CLASS & ART APPRECIATION
Miss Claudia	Claudia teaches children art appreciation while motivating them to try different art forms and to use a variety of artistic mediums.  She introduces children to some of the world’s greatest artists and some of their most famous masterpieces.  She then encourages children to replicate the masters’ artistic styles--but at their own preschool level and ability.  Be it Impressionistic painting of water lilies or sunflowers reminiscent of Claude Monet, or cut and paste artwork like Henri Matisse, or even clay sculpture like Edgar Degas, the children learn art history while creating their own impressive masterpieces.
SOCIAL VALUES & CHARACTER BUILDING
Pastor Dan	Herring Brook takes great pride in the amount and quality of character education that our teachers provide daily and the strong emphasis that we place on developing social values, age-appropriate behavior, manners, goodness, compassion and caring.  Pastor Dan also visits the classrooms on a regular basis to help reinforce the character education component of the curriculum.  Pastor Dan reads each class a children’s book (chosen by the Director) which relates to a particular social value.  He usually includes conversations, role-playing, and role-modeling to help children learn how to behave responsibly & respectfully towards themselves and others.
SPANISH PLAYGROUP
Senora Jodi	Senora Jodi’s Canta Conmigo “Sing With Me” Spanish Playgroup introduces children to the Spanish language and culture.  With her guitar, CD player and various props, she teaches Spanish songs and basic vocabulary through children’s songs, games and dances.  Every class is like a jubilant mini-Fiesta with music and movement and laughter and fun. Through language immersion, repetition and interaction in fun activities, Jodi makes Spanish a part of children’s everyday life.
HEALTH & HYGIENE
Nurse Barbara	Nurse Barbara helps to teach children about good health and proper hygiene.  Barbara uses whatever modalities are appropriate to reinforce her lessons: children books, visuals, medical instruments, props, children’s cartoon videos, games, art projects, etc. She covers a variety of health topics from hand washing to nutrition, exercise, and dental health.  Learning good habits early will help children grow into strong, healthy, happy people.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION & FITNESS
Ms.Patrice	Ms. Patrice is a certified youth fitness trainer and she is passionate about instilling a love for physical activity in children. In her “HOP, SKIP & JUMP” phys ed class, Patrice brings a variety of child-size sports equipment, fitness games, and activities to introduce and teach fundamental exercise & physical fitness skills.  As with academics, physical development is a series of building blocks. For your child to be successful- basic motor and perceptual skills need to be learned, and that’s what she teaches, with a focus on FUN! FUN! FUN!