If only you could keep your precious little one at your side at all times. Sadly, you have many things to do – things which could not be made easier by the presence of a small, curious, noisy, and, if we’re being frank, silly person.
But you don’t want to deposit your bambino at just any daycare or preschool. You want them to spend their formative days in a place where they’re encouraged to learn, grow, make equally silly friends, and gain the confidence they’ll need to excel over the course of their entire lifetime.
Yellow Brick Road Early Childhood Development Center is that daycare and preschool. Whether their attentive teachers are helping babies as young as six weeks to develop their sensory thinking and motor skills, or preparing five-year-olds for a brilliant year of kindergarten, they’re providing the best childcare Eden Prairie, Plymouth, Minnetonka and Maple Grove have to offer.
Jessica Johnsen co-owns Yellow Brick Road alongside Kylie Schrader. She was just recently named Acquisition International’s Influential CEO of the Year, a distinction she owes to her unique background in childcare and business.
“I’ve always loved kids,” said Jessica. “Growing up I babysat my cousins and worked at the Sunday school in my little hometown in Iowa, always hoping to become a teacher one day. But I also looked up to my mother, so I went to college to become an accountant like her.
“Fortunately I was able to pursue both of my ambitions by working at Colorado State University Early Childhood Center, a lab preschool which provides quality education to children and student teachers alike. I soon asked my parents if I could add a second major. They told me to do whatever I wanted, so long as I finished doing it in four years.
“Very few people have degrees in business and childhood development, although they combine perfectly in my line of work. The accountant in me strives to keep childcare affordable. I believe every parent should be able to afford the all-important investment in their child’s future.
“Even so, I refuse to restrict our budget for selecting, training and coaching our staff. Yellow Brick Road’s people are our greatest expenditure. Caring for our teachers ensures that we provide the supportive, patient, encouraging and compassionate environment children flourish best in.
“We spend a tremendous amount of time developing children’s social-emotional skills, as those are key to becoming a good member of society. We help our students learn how to sit down and play nicely with their classmates, and not to have a meltdown because of something someone else did. The world needs more people who know how to make friends, and who understand that no one else is in control of their emotions save for themselves.
“In that sense we’re not just teaching children what to learn. We’re teaching them how to learn.
“Children who grow with us learn their ABCs, their 123s and their colors, of course, although we do give our teachers free license to develop whichever curriculums their students will find most engaging. For example, just behind our location in Eden Prairie flows a stream that attracts lots of natural wildlife. The children there are fascinated by the foxes and birds that come to visit (and the turtles they’re constantly reminded not to bother), so they love learning about our animal friends. On the other hand, the students at our Minnetonka location recently witnessed a nearby construction project, so they’ve all become experts on bulldozers and dump trucks.
“I’m most proud of our work whenever I see our students expressing empathy. We teach a boy on the spectrum at one of our locations. He’s pretty nonverbal, and has a harder time doing basic activities. I saw one of the boy’s classmates poke him during one of my daily on-site visits, just to get a rise out of him – but three others immediately stepped forward to ask him to stop. Our kids’ willingness to help each other out just amazes me.
“But we can’t take credit for all the kindness our children bring to our classrooms. Eden Prairie is Yellow Brick Road’s newest location, and the people here have all been so gracious toward us. Several members of the community have already visited to present at our classrooms, and many more drive by the playground just to wave and say hello. I couldn’t have asked for better partners in raising these kids right!”
Yellow Brick Road is located at 12760 Anderson Lakes Parkway in Eden Prairie. You may learn more about their unique approach to early childhood education and enroll your child at ybrecdc.org.
