Rodi Daycare Center in Bronx, New York is directed by Sonila Preka. Their daycare center runs by a theme-based curriculum that in Sonila's words; "implements academic growth and social emotional development, [Rodi Daycare] provides additional classes in Music and Zumba" They also have professional instructors that come in to work with the children. They also have trips and an outdoor space/playground where the children spend time everyday. For this week's spotlight article, we'll be interviewing Sonila on Rodi Daycare's activities, personal experiences and overall view of parenthood and the childcare industry!
Nowadays, it's hard to find a school for our children that's able to balance both quality education and extra curricular activities. Though it seems that Rodi is awesome at executing just that, flawlessly. In fact, in Sonila's opinion, what separates Rodi form the other daycares in their neighborhood is the service and the tuition. She says that they are notorious in creating and maintaining the lines of communication open between the teachers and the parents and also among staff. "Our parents continue to keep us posted way after their children graduate from our school. We have families that moved out of state and even out of the country, and we are keeping our communication going." She then confidently states, "...As for the tuition, we are the most affordable daycare in the neighborhood (and that is coming from the parents, not us)!" They even have a testimonial page on their site you can check out!
With all of the fun-filled activities that Rodi does on a daily basis, it's almost safe to assume that the daycare staff form bonds with the children and their parents, which in-turn create good memories & experiences for everyone. We asked Sonila about her proudest moment in educating, to which she told us; "I cannot recall one particular moment when I have been proud educating children, as these moments are many. I take pride in everything that parents share with us about their children and how they try to be us at home, to them running out of the house to get to school. It fills my heart with happiness when parents tell me that their children get up on a Saturday morning to come to see Ms. Sonila. I have other children that try to dress up like me or that are yelling to their parent to drive faster to get to school faster. Every beautiful smile in the morning is a little achievement for me!"
Being around and educating children that much only grants Sonila more insight on not only being a good educator, but a good parent as well. In fact, she holds parent-teacher conferences twice a year at Rodi that happen in May and November. With all the insight she's learned, we asked Sonila about the biggest mistakes she sees parent make and how they should fix them. To which she responded, "One mistake that parents make is having high expectations for their children. Another one is comparing children to other kids that they know or to their siblings. How these things can be fixed or avoided is for parents to keep in mind that each child is a unique individual, that learns, develops and grows at a different pace from other children." Which we agree with wholeheartedly. In fact, her best tip for parents is to We then asked Sonila about her involvement with Rodi Daycare and how it all came to be for her, she answered; "I live in this neighborhood and when I saw a new daycare opening up, I called and asked for an employment opportunity. I have always wanted to and did work in Education! When I met with Rodica Chiacu, the owner of the daycare, she believed in me and my capabilities from the start and offered me this great opportunity, to work with young children. The result...I love what I do!"
Being the Educational director, We also asked about Sonila's goals for Rodi Daycare this year, to which she said "Our goals for this year is to continue to serve our families with the highest level of professionalism and care. Another goal that we have is to enrich our classrooms with multi-ethnic babies, dolls, special needs equipment and other materials, in order to encourage our children to explore relationships and inclusion. A new thing that we are planning to add this year is a daily morning routine that includes Aerobics & Fitness. We will work on developing strength and stimulate brain development through exercise which includes catchy tunes for warming up, cardiovascular workouts, cool down and stretching."
If you would like more information about Rodi Daycare Center, visit their website at www.rodidaycare.com,
call them at (718) 601-0403 or email them at [email protected]
