High-Quality Care
Research has shown that children get high-quality care when the caregiver is “attentive to the child’s needs, responsive to her verbal and non-verbal signals and cues, stimulate his curiosity and desire to learn about the world and are emotionally warm, supportive and caring.”
Mrs. Manpreet – Owner/Operator
Raised in Sacramento, CA, Ms Mani grew up in a family that saw growth, both personal and professional, in education. Learning came not only from teachers and professionals but also from colleagues and peers. It was that strong foundation that led Ms Mani to earn a Bachelors in Environmental Economics from UC Berkeley and later an MBA from Drexel University. As of Spring 2018, Ms Mani completed 12 introductory credits of Early Childhood Education Courses.
Ms Mani’s career began in the environmental sciences. She spent 9 years working for the State of California pursing the state’s energy and air quality goals, and later in the private sector ensuring entities knew how to meet and manage their air compliance requirements.
While continuing her work for the environment, Ms Mani met her husband and soon the two welcomed a baby into their family. Wanting to instill a strong foundation of early education and learning in her own daughter, Ms Mani, being the well-prepared mother she is, began to research preschools within the Sacramento area. While doing so, Ms Mani found an extreme need for early education programs in East Sacramento that balanced learning the ABCs with learning how to be strong and kind individuals. She wanted to find a preschool that would not only fulfill the academic needs of her daughter (and now a son too), but also be a place where her children could learn how to be emotionally confident and self-sufficient through play. Soon, Ms Mani began a two-year-long passion project to create and develop Creative Spaces Preschool. A space where children are treated as unique human beings, where children feel secure, autonomous, and competent. And, of course, a space that is committed to being as safe, non-toxic, and environmentally responsible as possible.
Please visit Creative Spaces to learn more!
Photo Cred: Ashlee Gadd Photography
Ms Lizzy – Program Director
Ms. Lizzy has worked in the field of Early Childhood Education for over 10 years. She has her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Child Development from CSU Sacramento as well as her Program Director permit through the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Ms. Lizzy comes from a large family. She is the second oldest of 11 children. Growing up, it was her responsibility to help raise and care for her young siblings. From this experience, it has drawn her towards a career working with young children. She believes in creating a fun, safe, and nurturing environment for children and providing the support they need in their exploration, discoveries, and creations through hands-on experiences. Working in the field of Early Childhood Education has taught her patience, flexibility, and openness to new experiences.
During her free time, Ms. Lizzy enjoys reading, experiment with cooking, and traveling. She moved to Sacramento 10 years ago and was only planning to stay for a couple of years but fell in love with the city and decided to make it her home. Some of her favorite children’s authors are Laura Numeroff, Eric Carle, and Dr. Seuss. Ms. Lizzy is very excited to be part of Creative Spaces Preschool!
Ms Gloria – Teacher
Ms. Gloria grew up in Santa Barbara and moved to Sacramento in July of 2021. She graduated from Santa Barbara City College with an Associate of Science in Early Childhood Development and a certificate in Infant/Toddler Development. Ms. Gloria always knew that she wanted to be a preschool teacher since the time when she herself was in preschool. Her preschool teacher was the reason she wanted to teach since Gloria saw how much she enjoyed it and made the classroom feel like a second home for her students, which is what she strives for as well. Ms. Gloria plans to go back to school for her Bachelor in Early Childhood Education and English as well. One of her long-term goals is to be an English teacher in South Korea which is why she’ll be getting her Bachelors in English. Ms. Gloria speaks both English and Spanish and is currently learning Korean. She is the oldest child in her family and a first-generation college graduate. During her free time, she enjoys reading, catching up on any shows, exploring, and getting to know Sacramento. Ms. Gloria is looking forward to developing close relationships with the children at Creative Spaces as well as their families. She is excited to be part of Creative Spaces Preschool and continue her journey as a teacher!
Ms. Jessica – Teacher
Ms. Jessica started her path of working with young children as she was going to school and planning to work with elementary-age students. She began teaching in a preschool classroom and discovered a love and passion for early childhood education. Ms. Jessica strongly believes in a child and teacher-directed approach and providing young children with social skills that they will carry with them throughout their childhood and into adulthood. In 2014 after she decided to further her education and knowledge in early childhood and began taking classes to receive her bachelor’s in Child Development. She has now been working in early childhood for a little over ten years and still loves every second of it. During her spare time, Jessica enjoys spending time with family, reading, cooking, traveling, and being outdoors as much as possible.
Ms. Bella – Teacher
Ms. Bella has always known that she wanted to work with children from a young age. Growing up, her mom kept Bella’s All About Me poster from Kindergarten on which she had said she wanted to become a teacher when she grew up. Bella first started working with children at her church, in the children’s minister. This is when she truly fell in love with early childhood education. Soon after, Bella was hired part-time at the church’s preschool while she continued to finish college.
Bella graduated with an Associate in Early Childhood Education and was hired on full-time teaching at the preschool level in Sacramento. This October will be 10 years since Bella has been working with children.
Bella is not originally from Sacramento. She grew up in Vacaville but always knew that Sacramento would be her home base for a couple of years. Bella aspires to return to school to teach at the elementary school level. She loves teaching and seeing how much the children grow by the end of the year.
Ms. Kaitlin – Teacher
Ms. Kaitlin is a Sacramento native who discovered her passion for teaching and working with children while completing her community service hours at a Head Start Program during her time in high school. Kaitlin’s experience as a volunteer at a Head Start Preschool helped her to recognize that her heart lies in teaching and chose to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Childhood Development. Kaitlin graduated from Sacramento State University in 2021 and worked as a preschool teacher and nanny throughout and after her time in college.
Ms. Kaitlin loves teaching preschool because she is passionate about helping young minds discover what their interests and passions are through all that a terrific preschool program has to offer. She fondly remembers her positive preschool experience because of the wonderful teachers that nurtured her hopes and dreams and wishes to create the same experience for each child that crosses her path. Kaitlin’s future goals are to return to Sacramento State University to pursue her Credential and Master’s Degree in Teaching. In her free time, she loves to bake, travel, and go to pilates with her friends.
Ms. Monica – Teacher’s Aide
Ms. Monica was born and raised in Gilroy, California. She attended a small Catholic school from kindergarten through 8th grade and then went on to a public High School for four years. Ms. Monica is currently a freshman at Sacramento State, studying Health Science with an interest in pediatric nursing. Ms. Monica has always been passionate about caring for and teaching small children. This past summer she worked at a daycare in Gilroy before leaving for college. She developed such a strong bond with the teachers and students that she continues to get regular updates on the children and keeps in touch with the teachers and parents. In addition, she has babysat since she was able. A fun fact about Ms. Monica is that she was a competitive cheerleader in middle school and also cheered all four of her high school years. As a senior, she was happy to be chosen as one of the Varsity Captains. Miss. Monica also loves animals! One of the hardest parts of leaving for college was leaving her 5 dogs and 3 cats! She comes from a family of animal lovers. Miss. Monica cannot wait to get to know you and watch these wonderful children grow.
Our Teachers
All Creative Spaces teachers meet or exceed California’s childcare state licensing requirements. The preschool teachers have completed required coursework in early childhood education. All of the staff have experience working with young children in a supervised program. In addition, our staff members truly love and understand children, child development, and our learning through exploration-based philosophy.
Learning Facilitators
At Creative Spaces Preschool and Learning Center, children are not taught by a teacher. Instead, the philosophy is that teachers consistently facilitate the child’s learning experience. Teachers at Creative Spaces help children feel secure, appreciated, and interesting. Miss Mani is dedicating her work to ensuring every child at Creative Spaces feels they have earned the trust necessary to initiate their own path for learning through exploration.