Staff
Mahini Adams, Owner & Director
My name is Mahini and I am the Director and Owner of Leaping Learners Preschool in Bernal Heights. I have about 20 years of teaching experience working with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. I have a Bachelors Degree from San Francisco State in Child Development and a Masters from Grand Canyon University in Early Childhood Education. I am also Montessori trained. I love to create learning experiences that encourage young children to explore their learning environment. We have a yummy herb garden for the kids to help grow, fun crafts that the kids can do both outdoors and indoors. On the weekends I love spending time at the beach and going on picnics with my husband and two young boys. I also love to cook new recipes.
My passion is to teach young children and create a learning environment with various materials that inspires children to learn, explore and to create.
Our Mission
LLP believes in building a working partnership with parents, family and the community to provide a child development program that nurtures a healthy sense of self-worth, fosters the development of skills in all developmental domains, encourages the development of independence and promotes diverse cultural values and acceptance.
We believe in providing a loving, supportive environment where well-trained, sensitive staff appreciate the uniqueness of each child. Staff should encourage children to feel empowerment over her or his life through independence, trial and error and successful challenges.
Our Philosophy
Our program is based on the philosophy that children learn through play. We believe children have an innate sense of curiosity that drives their interest to understand the world and their place within it. Play allows children to identify, explore, negotiate, take risks and create meaning. Research shows that children who engage in high-quality play experiences are more likely to have well-developed memory skills, language development and behavior regulation, leading to enhanced school adjustment and academic learning.
Our educational approach is inspired by developmental theories and teachings of Jean Piaget, Maria Montessori and Reggio Emilio. Our guiding principles include building strong teacher-child relationships and providing a play-based learning environment that encourages developmentally appropriate, inclusive and creative experiences.