Annette Fitzsimmons co-owner of the Ewing Community Preschool along with her husband, Bob, brags about working at the “happiest place on earth. We have the cutest kids in New Jersey. We have the best parents.”
For their daughter, Executive Director Mara Lamond, running the Ewing Community Preschool is the fulfillment of a dream. In fact, Lamond’s high school yearbook named her the person most likely to open a day care center, said Annette.
After graduating from Ewing High School, Mara attended her parents’ alma mater — The College of New Jersey to earn a degree in psychology and education. Mara and her brother, Sean, were raised in Ewing by educators.
Annette was a second grade teacher at Incarnation-St. James Catholic School in Ewing and Bob was a high school teacher and guidance counselor for many years before his retirement from Nottingham High School in Hamilton. Today they are simply known as Netta and Poppie by the children in her center.
Lamond had been a teacher at an area preschool that closed during the economic downturn in 2009. She recruited several former coworkers, and in 2011 opened the Ewing Community Preschool in Trinity United Methodist Church on Pennington Road, across from the entrance to TCNJ.
“We are like a family,” said Fitzsimmons. “Since 1999 they have been teaching together.”
In addition to being the director, Lamond is the head teacher and teaches the four year old class. Students range in age from 2 ½ to 6 years old.
There are three small classrooms with two teachers and no more than 12 students in each class. The preschool is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week, only closing for major holidays. The preschool provides breakfast until 9 a.m. each day, and an afternoon snack. The students bring their own lunch.
After breakfast each class has circle time where they talk about their day, and what they did the night before, it helps them focus on the school day. After circle time they break into centers where they play independently, at this time teachers also work with students on an individual basis, perhaps to work on a project. The students eat lunch and take a nap.
After their nap, they have a snack and more time to play. On most days students go outside.
“The afternoon is relaxed,” Fitzsimmons said. “They have free play and time to work on special projects for the holidays.”
They have been enjoying the warm weather this fall weather, she added.
In the summer, the kids have water play, and last summer the school added a new playground surface with better drainage allowing the playground to dry faster.
Playing is serious work at this age, and the Ewing Community Preschool offers the children plenty of opportunities to play as they prepare for kindergarten.
In addition to five full-time teachers, they also have a part-time college student who comes in the afternoon. They also have a college student who comes once a week to teach music and brings instruments to expose the students to music.
“The parents get to know one another outside of school,” Fitzsimmons said. “The parents volunteer for trips and big events — like graduation in June. We get so many beautiful cards from parents about how wonderful they feel about our care and how they don’t have to worry about their kids during the day. It is a wonderful place. You can’t go and be in a bad mood.”
“They are the best age in the world,” said Lamond, adding that when she started the preschool, her father said he would come in and take care of the books, but he didn’t want to be with the little kids. Now as soon as he comes in the “kids yell ‘Poppie!’ and he plays soccer with them.”
While the Reverend Brian Joyce views the Ewing Community Preschool as a mission of the Trinity United Methodist and supports the preschool, they are careful to point out they are not a Christian preschool and accept children of all faiths.
“We celebrate Christmas,” said Fitzsimmons, “but we focus more on Santa Claus” and less on the religious meaning.
Ewing Community Preschool, 1985 Pennington Rd. (609) 882-1413. Online: ewingcommunitypreschool.com. Call the school to schedule a tour of its facilities. Mid-year openings are available, especially in the younger classes.
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