It looks like there was some confusion on the voting process for at www.missionsmallbusiness.com. After you log in you can scroll to the bottom and search for Bella Mente. Right after you log in it says they have added 5.oo to the pool of awarded money but until you actually support/vote for Bella mente we haven’t received the vote. And it is at that point that you can “share” that you have voted on facebook if you want which helps with the networking. Hope that helps! Thanks so much!

Thanks to a program sponsored by Chase and LivingSocial called Mission: Small Business℠, your support could translate into a
$250,000 grant. Receiving a grant would enable us to open a grade school using our current philosophy on children where we could be an inspiration for bigger change in our community. But we need at least 250 votes at missionsmallbusiness.com. Its a very quick process, and if you have facebook there isn’t even any registration process. Thank you so much for your help!

As many of you know, we have a baby boom at Bella Mente! We have 11 siblings and 2 staff babies starting care in the next 6 months. With more on the way In order to accommodate all of our families, we are switching things up in our classrooms! Nothing too drastic, but Look for each classroom’s changes posted on your current classes facebook page by the end of this week! I will also post all changes on the front desk as well. Thank you!

Chase Bank and Living social have come together to create “Mission: Small Business.” They are awarding at least 4 but possibly up to 12 small businesses each a $250,000 grant to help these businesses thrive. It works by having people vote for your business to be one of them that receives a grant. They then take those businesses that pass the first level and their panelists vote as the second phase. They asked us to fill out an application for the grant and I would like to share that here. At the end of these questions I will attach a link that will lead you to the website to which you can vote if you feel so inclined. Thank you so much for your support.

-Lauren

• Tell us about your business; how successful is it and why is it unique?We view children and their learning experiences through a very different lens then most educational communities. We see children as full of potential, competent and capable of building their own theories. We try to focus on the whole child and also each child as an individual. Our approach to early learning takes our education out of the typical box it gets stuffed into and replaces it with an experience that is exploratory, hands on and all encompassing. We have built an inclusive community that is more like a family where we all look out for each other and work together to help the children in our care grow into independent and compassionate people with a true love for learning. We encourage parent involvement so that we can collaborate together and build the best learning environment possible for our children.
• How is your business involved with the community you serve?We teach our children to function as world citizens. By viewing our school as a family atmosphere that is also a the same time an educational experience, we are able to visibly show our kids that what happens outside of themselves and their immediate family is equally as important as what is happening in our small town as well as to our society as a whole. We also expand our curriculum to introduce our children to all aspects of our world from natural sciences, literature, and math to pop culture, wood working, and environmental impact. Our children graduate from our school as inquisitive 5 year olds who want to “Be the change.”
• What would a $250k grant mean to your business plan and how will you utilize the funds to ensure long-term growth and stability?We love realizing the impact that we can make on young children in our community. We understand that because of this we can make a huge difference in leading our society to a brighter future. Our next step is being able to stay in these children’s lives as they grow by opening a kindergarten through 8th grade independent school. In doing this we can have a deeper impact on not only the children and families that we have in our care, but also by giving our community another outlook on education. The youth of today has drastically changed in an alarming way and we believe a huge part of that has to do with educational practices not being able to fulfill what children are needing and craving but also not helping them reach their full potential. Receiving a grant would enable us to open a grade school using our current philosophy on children where we could be an inspiration for bigger change. We set higher standards for our children, for teachers, and for our community. We evoke creativity, honesty, and social consciousness. And in doing this, we create a positive impact on the unpredictable future of our society. We hope to create an educational revolution! Our current school reaches children beginning with infancy, and we are really striving to continue our impact past the 5 years that they are spending with us currently.
• What types of challenges can you identify with your plan and how will you overcome them?We have been looking for a physical space in our area where we could start this venture. We have been looking for buildings for over a year but nothing is able to encompass our vision. Receiving a grant would give us the opportunity to start from scratch and build exactly what we conceptualize for this next step to be able to transpire.
• Describe the talent on your team and how they make your business successful.Working with young children can sometimes be a thankless job that requires endless patience and an amazing sense of Humor. All of my teachers posses these traits as well as a true love of learning, an expertise in capturing what it means to be a child and they have mastered the techniques needed to hold on to that for as long as possible. We create an environment filled with Love and mutual respect and we continually work with each other to help our children build natural problem solving skills that will stay with them in whatever their future takes them.
• Additional relevant information you would like to shareThe children that will grow to be our future need a place where they can continue to be encouraged to make good choices, pay kindness forward, and feel proud and confident about who they are and in who they want to be. We can do this together, it can start here.

Missionsmallbusiness.com

Just an update that if you are dropping your children off before 9:20 am please drop them at the preschool. After 9:30 please head to the school age building. Likewise in the evening if you are picking up before 5:20 please pick up at the school age building. After 5:30 we will be back at the preschool. THANKS!!

ditto http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003646548356&sk=wall

We are going to be moving our daily blog/updates to individual Facebook pages for each classroom. This is the first one that we have added. If you would like to continue to receive these daily updates about the infant room specifically please visit http://www.facebook.com/editprofile.php?sk=basic&success=1#!/profile.php?id=100003639557955and add this classroom as a friend. We are doing this for many reasons including easier/more consistent updates and information specifically about your child’s classroom, better privacy options for pictures and posts, a community type feel where you can get to know other parents and families in your child’s classroom, etc. You will have to be confirmed before you can see updates so please do this soon to stay current with daily information! Thank you so much

We are going to be moving our daily blog/updates to individual Facebook pages for each classroom. This is the first one that we have added. If you would like to continue to receive these daily updates about the infant room specifically please visit http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=wizard#!/profile.php?id=100003616609270and add this classroom as a friend. We are doing this for many reasons including easier/more consistent updates and information specifically about your child’s classroom, better privacy options for pictures and posts, a community type feel where you can get to know other parents and families in your child’s classroom, etc. You will have to be confirmed before you can see updates so please do this soon to stay current with daily information! Thank you so much

We are going to be moving our daily blog/updates to individual Facebook pages for each classroom. This is the first one that we have added. If you would like to continue to receive these daily updates about the infant room specifically please visit http://www.facebook.com/editprofile.php?sk=contact&success=1#!/profile.php?id=100003646817819 and add this classroom as a friend. We are doing this for many reasons including easier/more consistent updates and information specifically about your child’s classroom, better privacy options for pictures and posts, a community type feel where you can get to know other parents and families in your child’s classroom, etc. You will have to be confirmed before you can see updates so please do this soon to stay current with daily information! Thank you so much

We are going to be moving our daily blog/updates to individual Facebook pages for each classroom. This is the first one that we have added. If you would like to continue to receive these daily updates about the infant room specifically please visit http://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy#!/profile.php?id=100003601669131 and add this classroom as a friend. We are doing this for many reasons including easier/more consistent updates and information specifically about your child’s classroom, better privacy options for pictures and posts, a community type feel where you can get to know other parents and families in your child’s classroom, etc. You will have to be confirmed before you can see updates so please do this soon to stay current with daily information! Thank you so much