Falls Church Merrifield Preschool is founded and operated by Elena Miller. Elena has two degrees and eight years of College and University training in early childhood education and psychology in Russia and Ukraine. The standards, methodologies, and curriculum represent a synthesis of classical methodologies rooted in her education and experience. This synthesis includes principles borrowed from Vygotsky, Waldorf, and Montessori. The three pillars of our educational system are Academic development, Social-Emotional Development, and Life Skills. In developing these three areas, our school provides a balance of structured activities and free play. The school day is designed to provide a healthy rhythm in the daily routine. For Academic Development, we use high quality research-based curriculum materials. For Social-Emotional development, we take proactive steps to teach skills such as sharing, kindness, inclusion, positive attitude, dealing with conflicts, empathy, and other such skills that help them to have good character, be good citizens, and have successful relationships. We are a very diverse school, and the children learn to always have space in their heart for someone new. We teach life skills such as putting on school shoes when entering the classroom, dressing for outdoor play or nap, good hygiene, picking up toys after playing, and assisting staff to set tables and do other tasks. Because we have numerous structured activities throughout the day, the children learn to get in place, stay quiet, and listen to the teacher in an orderly way. This gives the children a distinct advantage, having developed the skills that will help them succeed in Kindergarten. Cooperation is accomplished using consistency, routine, redirection and positive reinforcement. We are an English speaking school, but we incorporate strong multi-lingual education through our Russian and French curriculum. Children are able to absorb languages more easily and naturally when they are young, and we take full advantage of that. Most of the staff is bilingual to support our multi-lingual education.
We are conveniently located right off of I-495, Rte 50, Gallows Rd, and Rte 29 in the heart of Merrifield, just steps from Mosaic District:
8111 Gatehouse Rd. Suite 120,
Falls Church, VA 22042
We are open Monday to Friday, 7:15AM to 6:00PM.
New Years Day, MLK’s Birthday, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day, and the Day after Christmas. If a holiday falls on a weekend, we will post beforehand the day it is to be observed.
We are sometimes closed when the public school system is closed, but whenever it is safe for staff to travel, we try to be open for the convenience of parents.
We serve healthy meals and snacks: a continental breakfast, a professionally catered hot lunch, and an afternoon snack.
