Family Preschool

🌟 Teacher Spotlight: Meet Kim Tolomay! 🌟

If you’ve spent any time in our 2/3-year-old program, you know just how special Teacher Kim is! 🧸🎨

Kim’s journey with Family Preschool runs deep. She first walked through our doors as an FPS parent back in 2016! From there, she joined our Board in 2018, and we were lucky enough to have her officially join our teaching staff in 2020. Having been a parent, a board member, and a teacher, she truly knows and loves our school inside and out! 🏫💛

🎻 Get to Know Teacher Kim:
🏡 Hometown: Syracuse, NY ❄️

🎓 Alma Mater: St. Bonaventure University

🎻 Fun Fact: She plays the violin! 🎶

🎬 Favorite Movie: Fried Green Tomatoes 🍅

📚 Favorite Children’s Books: Harold Loves His Woolly Hat by Vern Kousky, How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills, and The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. 🚜📖

💡 Her Teaching Philosophy:
Kim centers her classroom around one of her favorite Fred Rogers quotes:

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning." ✨

💬 Why She Loves FPS:
"I feel privileged to be a part of this cooperative community. I have watched my children thrive in this play-based learning environment and I am excited to share that experience with other families. Family Preschool truly is the 'village' we are all seeking as parents of young children."

Kim embodies the spirit of our cooperative "village" every single day, creating a safe, joyful space for our littlest learners to discover the world.

Thank you for your decade of love and dedication to FPS, Teacher Kim! 👇 Show her some love in the comments below! 💛👇

🌟 Teacher Spotlight: Meet Alyssa Llodrat! 🌟

We are so excited to celebrate the wonderful Alyssa Llodrat, who teaches our four-day friends! 🍎✨

Alyssa brings an incredible wealth of experience to our classrooms. Before coming to FPS, she spent ten years teaching in public schools, and she has now spent the last three years sharing her deep love of teaching with our youngest learners! 🏫💛

For Alyssa, education is all about deep connection. As she says: "Building meaningful relationships with children is the most important part of what I do." 🥰

✈️ Get to Know Teacher Alyssa:
🏡 Hometown: Hamlet, North Carolina 🌲

🎓 Alma Mater: East Carolina University (Go Pirates! 🏴‍☠️)

🌍 Fun Fact: She loves to travel abroad and has already visited six different countries and counting! 🗺️🧳

🎬 Favorite Movie: Practical Magic... or honestly, anything starring Nicole Kidman or Sandra Bullock! 🔮✨

📚 Favorite Children’s Book: This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen 🎩🐟

💬 In Her Own Words:
"I have been welcomed with open arms and feel right at home."

Alyssa’s warmth, extensive experience, and dedication to building deep bonds with her students make her such an essential part of our "dream team."

We are so lucky to have had her as part of our FPS family for the last three years! 👇 Drop a comment below to show Teacher Alyssa some love! 💛👇

🌟 Meet Our Director: Melanie Schrage! 🌟

If you’ve ever walked through the doors at Family Preschool, you know it’s a magical place where kids thrive, families connect, and community comes first. At the heart of it all is our incredible Director, Melanie! 💛

Melanie joined our FPS family in 2024 after returning to Durham (she spent 12 years here previously working as a Speech-Language Pathologist and even started a school in the Virginia mountains!). We are so lucky her search for a new "school home" led her straight to us. 🏫✨

As Director, Melanie wears all the hats—from supporting our board and teachers to problem-solving and, her personal favorite, getting to play outside with the kids! 🪵🦋

In Melanie's words:
"Every day I come to work here as director, I am aware of what a privilege it is to work with this DREAM team of teachers... FPS is an amazing community built by the collaboration of families and educators all passionate about creating this special first educational experience."

🪵 Get to Know Teacher Melanie:
🏡 Hometown: Wheaton, IL

🎓 Alma Maters: College of William and Mary & UNC-Chapel Hill 🐑

🌳 Fun Fact: She would spend 90% of her time outside if she could! You can usually find her exploring the Eno River, the Appalachians, or Wisconsin lakes.

🎬 Favorite Movies: Anything that's a musical! (She loves the dramatic feelings and show-stopping songs!)

📚 Favorite Children’s Books: Jangles by David Shannon, When the Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, and every single Elephant & Piggie book! 🐘🐷

💡 Her Teaching Philosophy:
"Teaching children is only a little bit about helping them learn content, and mostly about guiding their development as they learn how to learn and connect with different people, places, and ideas. Listening, staying present, and creating learning opportunities for them is joyful, challenging work! I love it!"

We are so grateful for Melanie's warmth, leadership, and passion for the outdoors and early education. Thank you for everything you do to make FPS a nurturing space for our little ones to grow! 🥰👇 Drop a 💛 in the comments to show Teacher Melanie some love!

🌟 Teacher Spotlight: Meet Stephanie Pinkin! 🌟

"Each day is a new day to have a positive experience with school and feel connected with and seen by a teacher." ❤️

Stephanie spent years in school training to be an educator, but she found that "parenting school" wasn't always as accessible. That changed when her daughter joined the FPS 5-day program. Stephanie fell in love with the Project Approach and the way our school builds a village for young families.

Now, she leads our Five-Day Friends! She believes that the foundational work—feeling seen and safe—must happen before any other learning can take place.

🧶 Crafting Connections
A Maryland native and UNC Chapel Hill grad, Stephanie brings her love of crafting into the classroom! She loves crocheting and sewing clothes and toys for our kiddos—especially when they connect to the books we’re reading. 📖✨

🤝 The Co-op Vibe
For Stephanie, FPS is a place where parents find their own confidence.

"The vibe here is unlike any other school. Everyone assumes the best of each other, assists in ways that work best for them, and is just plain there for each other. What more could a family with young children want?"

✨ Get to know Stephanie:
Hometown: Gaithersburg, MD 🦀

Favorite Movie: A tie between Home Alone and Up! 🎈

Book Nook: Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems. It’s a household favorite that perfectly captures the sweet connection between parent and child.

🎨 LEARN ALONGSIDE US: At Family Preschool, we don't just teach your children; we support you. Stephanie is a perfect example of how our community helps parents thrive!

🚀 ENROLLING FOR 2026-27: We have limited spots in our 3-year-old program for the 2026-27 school year. Come join the magic!

🔗 Apply here: www.familypreschool.org

🌟 Teacher Spotlight: Meet Amber Griffin! 🌟

"If you create a 'YES' environment and take a step back, kids will teach you more than you teach them." Meet Amber, our wonderful Bumblebee teacher! Amber’s journey at FPS started in 2021 when she was looking for a play-based space for her daughter. With a degree in Elementary Education (with an emphasis on math and science!), she stepped into our 1-year-old classroom and never looked back. 🐝

✨ The "Why Not?" Philosophy
Amber is a firm believer in letting kids lead. Before saying "no," she always asks herself "Why not?" If there isn't a good reason to stop the exploration, she lets the learning happen! It’s that autonomy and trust that makes her classroom such a magical place for our littlest learners.

🌊 Sunrise & Snuggles
When she isn’t at FPS, Amber is all about her family. An Ohio native who now calls the South home, she’s been known to put her sleeping kids in the car at 2:00 AM just to drive to the beach and watch the sunrise together. 🌅

✨ Get to know Amber:
Hometown: Kettering, Ohio 🅾️

Favorite "Movie": Does Bluey count? (In this house, absolutely!) 🐾

Book Nook: "What Do You Do With an Idea?"—a book that grows with you through every phase of life. 💡

The FPS Magic: "I love how welcoming and inclusive it is. Children of all abilities and families of all types make up Family Preschool."

🎨 A PLACE TO GROW: We love that our teachers are also parents who "get it." Whether they are navigating the toddler years or the transition to Kindergarten, our staff is in it with you.

🚀 JOIN OUR 2026-27 VILLAGE:
Our 3-year-old program still has a few openings for the 2026-27 school year! Come meet Amber and the rest of our incredible team.

🔗 Apply online: www.familypreschool.org

🌟 Teacher Spotlight: Meet Susan Richards! 🌟

"I love everything at FPS!" — This is the answer Susan usually gets from her preschoolers, and honestly? She feels the same way!

Susan’s journey at Family Preschool began 10 years ago as a parent. She fell in love with our co-op community and the Project Approach, and we were lucky enough to have her join our teaching team shortly after. Today, she leads our 3 and 4-year-old program with a heart full of experience and creativity.

🎨 The Art of Connection
With a background in Art Therapy and Counseling, Susan brings a unique, nurturing perspective to the classroom. Whether she was teaching fine arts in Ghana with the Peace Corps or exploring "Wombat Stew" with our 3-year-olds, her goal is the same: creating a loving foundation for a child's first years of education.

💡 A Lesson for Us All
Susan’s favorite teaching mantra? "Things often do not go as you have planned. When this happens, take a deep breath and let it go. Then try to find joy in what is happening."

✨ Get to know Susan:
Hometown: Cumberland, Maine 🌲

Favorite Movie: My Neighbor Totoro 🐾

Book Nook: Ask her about Secret Pizza Party or The Maggie B. next time you see her!

"Being a parent to a little human can be hard. FPS is a place where we are all working together to offer support and guidance to families. We are truly all in this together."

🚀 ENROLLING FOR 2026-27: Want your child to learn from incredible educators like Susan? We have limited openings in our 3-year-old program for the 2026-27 school year.

🔗 Visit the link in our bio to apply or schedule a tour!
www.familypreschool.org

4/5 day friends have been investigating garden helpers as their spring project! They've learned all about pollination and which insects and birds help to make it happen. Bees, butterflies, and ladybugs have been the focus of their science, math, and reading studies over the past few weeks. Next up is learning about garden aerators, decomposers, and helpful predators!

We had a visitor join us on the playground this morning! How lucky is our little school to share a playground near a wooded area with lots of natural play spaces that allows our friends to see nature right up close!

🌟 Teacher Spotlight: Meet Andrea Rohrbach! 🌟

"Curiosity isn’t just essential for children." — This is the philosophy Andrea brings to the classroom every single day at Family Preschool!

Andrea’s path to teaching was sparked by a part-time job in college working with children with autism. That experience was so profound that she re-enrolled to study education after graduating—and we are so glad she did! Today, she helps our little ones explore, grow, and (most importantly) PLAY.

🇮🇸 From Iceland to the Classroom
Andrea grew up in Seltjarnarnes, Iceland! One of her favorite childhood memories is a unique Icelandic tradition where city kids spend their summers working on farms. Those cherished experiences in nature shaped her belief in the power of hands-on exploration.

🧩 The Power of Play
For Andrea, play isn’t just "fun"—it’s how children learn best.

"Through play, we get to connect with children, see what interests them, and learn about their abilities. Then we can weave next steps of development into that play and watch the children thrive!"

✨ Get to know Andrea:
Education: Lehigh University 🎓

Book Nook: She loves books that get BIG reactions! If a book allows for silly voices or joint exploration, it’s a winner in her classroom. 📖🧚‍♂️

Fun Fact: She usually can’t sit still long enough for a movie, but she loves a good laugh!

"Family Preschool has a warm, welcoming atmosphere and it feels good to be there. We have the time and space to PLAY!"

🎬 WE NEED YOUR HELP! Andrea is looking for movie suggestions that are lighthearted and funny. What should she add to her watchlist? Drop your favorites in the comments! 👇

🚀 START YOUR JOURNEY: Does your child love to explore? We have limited openings in our 3-year-old program for the 2026-27 school year. Come play with us!

🔗 Apply here: www.familypreschool.org

🎈 WE’RE OPEN! (AND THE DEALS ARE GOOD!) 🎈

The doors are open and the tables are overflowing! We are officially kicking off our Huge Family Preschool Garage Sale. Check out these photos for a sneak peek at the incredible selection we have waiting for you!

⏰ Today’s Schedule:
9:30 AM: Early Access for FPS Families!

10:30 AM: Doors open to the General Public!

📍 Where to find us:
Family Preschool
4907 Garrett Rd., Durham, NC 27707
(Located at the back of the ERUUF campus)

✨ Highlights from the floor:
Clothing: Huge variety from Newborn to 5T—pajamas, coats, and play sets!

Gear: Strollers, high chairs, and baby essentials in great condition.

Playtime: Educational toys, building blocks, and books galore.

Everything is priced to move, and the best stuff goes fast! Please bring your reusable bags and come ready to find some treasures.

Spread the word! See you there! 🛒✨