Alameda’s Newest Colorful Preschool: Arcoiris
Written by Sophie Santos ‘27
Just two months ago in February, a new preschool opened in Alameda called Arcoiris (ahr-koh-ee-rees), which means rainbow in Spanish. Arcoiris is similar to other preschools with the play, learn, eat, nap routine, but what sets it apart from other preschools and daycares is the very pronounced care and detail that goes into everything the kids use and do, the open careful and loving environment, the provided lunch and snacks from Monday through Thursday, the bilingual teaching, and more.
The director of Arcoiris is Joycie Shinzato, who has been teaching kids for over 15 years in Home Childcare and has her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and a degree in Child Development. She loves teaching and working with kids, so opening her own preschool was such an exciting event. She says, “It has been a dream to open a more structured, play-based setting with an open concept flow.”
Joycie Shinazato is an amazing director who put lots of thought and love into her preschool and is also an amazing teacher who cares so much about the children. She cares very much about the kids learning how to be independent while also being able to bond and socialize with other kids. She also makes sure the kids are never feeling alone or stressed by teaching them how to handle their emotions and providing them with what they need to not get anxious. “I often remind children about their feelings and how to try to regulate themselves,” she says.
Arcoiris is located at 1301 Marina Village Parkway suite 100 in Alameda and is open to kids from 2–5 years old and is open Monday through Friday from 8–5. The preschool had a great open concept with a big room and a kitchen as well as different themed playrooms for the kids to interact and play with. It also has an outside area where they spend around an hour each day with playhouses, tables, and activities. There are many different areas inside such as a big rug they do circle time and nap time on, an indoor play structure, a reading center, an art room, a big kitchen, and all of the different themed playrooms where they get to interact with toys while they learn math, science, and social studies.
Arcoiris also has a bilingual Spanish/English curriculum, which is great especially for their age because teaching them both Spanish and English while they are still learning to speak is a lot easier than teaching them one language first and then the other when they are older which is what most schools expect and follow. Shinzato carries out the bilingual curriculum by using both languages when speaking to the kids, asking them what objects are, playing music, and having both English and Spanish labels and signs around the area.
While having a bilingual curriculum, Arcoiris also focuses on a play-based curriculum with an emphasis in emotional and social development. A play-based curriculum means incorporating playing into their learning. For example, when they are playing with toys they are also learning how to say them in Spanish, and when they are using objects they are learning how to count them. Arcoiris also emphasizes the children’s emotional and social development by doing all of their activities together such as dancing and reading circle and teaching the kids to treat each other with kindness and respect. It is very important to Shinzato that the kids get along and learn how to interact with each other in kindhearted ways. “I would love for children to learn to be more proactive in helping each other, being kind to one another, and speak their mind. It is important to me children are able to socialize and include other friends and help each other while another friend is hurt or simply needs help,” she says.
Preschools and daycares can seem really hectic and loud sometimes, but I cannot imagine Arcoiris becoming like that because of the kindness the kids are taught which takes credit for all the different ways Shinzato has to calm them and bond with each other. One of those methods is the calming corner which is a bench with a bear in one of the corners of the open concept. Shinzato shared, “Calming corner where children go and talk to bear, bear is not a toy to play with, he is a friend that will help them if they need a hug, they are crying and even having a great day, they can go and express their feelings. Teachers don’t send them there, children know it is available for them if they need it.” Some schools have a peaceful table or a quiet corner where the kids get sent to when too emotional, but at the calming corner they have a choice and they can go when they feel like they need it, which teaches them how to control their own emotions and how to handle emotions on their own without being forced or told.
At Arcoiris, students also learn basic activities that help them grow individually such as having their own small chore schedule, setting the table, cleaning up after themselves, and more. Those activities contribute to some of the Montessori but they also have a Reggio Emilia approach where they focus more on collaborative learning. They teach Reggio Emilia by bringing the natural world inside the classroom with minimalistic colors and nature inspired decor and materials and having the kids play and do art together.
Another part of Arcoiris that makes it a little different from other preschools is that since there aren’t currently many students because it is new, the kids aren’t separated by age. As kids get older, it becomes more important for them to mainly be around kids their own age so that they don’t act too much outside of their age but when they are younger, it can be a good thing being around kids that are a little older than you because the younger kids can learn from the older kids and the older kids can learn how to treat younger kids.
My favorite part about Arcoiris is how wholesome the environment and the kids are. When you go there, it doesn’t at all feel like a rowdy or unorganized place that some people think of when they think of daycares and preschools. There is so much love and care within the preschool’s walls from the warmhearted kids who treat each other like siblings to the stuffed toys that Ms. Shinzato made herself for the kids. Everything has so much thought put into it and you can absolutely tell as soon as you walk in. Shinzato is such a kindheared and patient teacher and the kids are so friendly and fun to be around. It’s so easy to appreciate everything at Arcoiris from the toy pieces to the people because they make sure everything gets the attention and care they need.
Finding a preschool for your kid can be really tough because there are so many parts you have to consider such as friendly teachers, other kids they’ll be around, the environment, and what they’ll be taught. When considering Arcoiris, you don’t have to worry about any of those parts being negative and you won’t have to worry about your kid ever feeling anxious or lonely. Arcoiris is such kind and beautiful place with so much to offer and great ways to teach little kids about themselves and the world they are growing up in.
