We were lucky to catch up with Raquel Ledesma recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Raquel, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
In 2019, my whole world was shaken to the core. I lost my sister suddenly. It was the worst time in my life, a punch to my stomach. My heart shattered. My sister and I shared the same love for young children. My sister’s death was and still is an incredible pain that cannot be described and that hurts deep. I went to a dark place. A place I’ve never been before, nor ever want to go back to.
I knew I could not live life in this dark place anymore. God had so much more for me to do on this earth, and I know my sister would want me to continue on. I had to heal. I went to counseling, found a good therapist and attended workshops that helped me find the joy in my pain. Taking my hurt and turning it into something positive was something I needed to do. I have so much love to give, I had to find a place to give it to.
In 2020, The world shut down due to covid 19. The preschool I was working at had to close doors and teachers lost their jobs. Again, my world turned upside down. I have never been let go of a job, and I completely understand why this happened and it was no fault of my own, but I still felt defeated. I had a choice, I could go back to that dark place again, that place of loss, grief, pain or instead of wallowing in my sorrows, I can take action and do something positive to support others and also create joy not only in my life, but in the lives of others that are locked down at home as well. I decided to take action. It was scary, I was nervous, I came up with tons of pros and cons, but I went with what my heart was telling me to do. I came up with a simple plan and I posted to my Facebook. I said something like, “Hey friends and family, is anyone with littles interested in circle times on zoom with me?”, added a few pics of my previous classes and hit the button to post on my Facebook wall. The response I got was incredible. I was shocked, excited and nervous all at the same time.
This was the beginning of Lovely Little Learners online preschool! I created a plan that gave children and families 4 weeks of themed curriculum, 4 prerecorded Circle Time videos that children can watch anytime, and a live zoom circle time at the end of the week to share what we learned and share our fun projects with each other. I packed together curriculum boxes with supplies and directions on how to do each project that went with our weekly theme. I would prep these boxes to be ready for the 1st day of the month and stack the boxes on my porch. Parents would then pick up their child’s boxes on a Sunday afternoon so we can start on the 1st Monday of the month.
Parents loved it because it was easy to pull out a project to do with their child during quarantine, spend quality time with their child and knew their child was learning based off age-appropriate curriculum. Children loved it because the curriculum boxes were full of fun bright themed activities, they were able to make friends via zoom, and they got to be in school even though it was virtual! I loved it because I was able to work again, get creative and follow my heart and passion to help others. It was basically, preschool in a box and everyone loved it!
When mandates started to lift, and some schools were opening slowly, some of my students’ parents were asking me if I could go to their home and teach their child one on one, or in a pod with a few other children. I would have loved to help them out, but I couldn’t commit to that. Being a mom myself, and a foster parent to a newborn at the time, my time was very limited. But I started talking with my husband and talked about opening up our home and running our own preschool. We have an extra room in the back of our home that leads to the backyard that was always our kid’s playroom, then it became the art room, then it became our workout room, and most of the time it was the room we throw things in to store when company comes over. With lots of hard work, this room became our little classroom. My family helped me clear things out, we painted the walls a fresh coat of white paint and we decorated the room with bright, warm colors to make an inviting environment for all children and families that come through our program.
Because our space is limited and for licensing reasons, I am only able to enroll a certain number of children in our school, so we had a wait list and some parents had asked me to create curriculum packets for their child while on the waitlist. Unfortunately, because I was now running and operating my preschool in person, on top of being a mom and wife and all the things in between, I didn’t have the time to create those curriculum packets anymore. But this is what sparked my idea for my book. I could put my plans and activities in a book for all children and families to pull out on a rainy day, or any day really and create long lasting memories for years to come. And so, Lovely Little Learners at Home was born.
Some may look at the rainbow associated with the Lovely Little Learners name and wonder why I chose to have a rainbow as our logo. I would say that the best thing that represents our little school is a beautiful rainbow. The rainbow signifies so many things. The beautiful colors remind me that after a storm, a terrible, dark, cloudy event that can possibly destroy things, comes a rainbow letting you know that things are going to be ok. It shows resilience, strength, and hope for a bright future. I know in my heart, every time I see a rainbow, it’s my sister shining down on us and our little school. I know she is proud of me.
In my book, you will find interactive hands-on activities and learning opportunities for families with young children. I have been teaching children ages 2-5 years for over 20 years and have lots of tips and tricks up my sleeve. My hope is that parents can learn how to interact and bond with their child with engaging age-appropriate activities that are full of fun with a learning goal while also making lasting memories with their child.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved small children. When I was a young girl in the 5th grade, my teacher at the time had a baby, and I would always beg her to go to her house so I can play with the baby. I even got to go visit her in the hospital after she gave birth to her second baby, that was such an amazing experience for a 10 year old little girl who loved babies. I think sparked my love for young children! I was always babysitting young children throughout my adolescent life. I got into teaching when I was just 17 years old. I worked as a support teacher for a large company’s childcare center where I learned so much about early childhood education. They even paid for my schooling so I can become a qualified early childhood educator. It was a win win for me as I was just starting out my young adult life. Now, as a mom to 4 kids (2 adult children, 1 teenager, 1 preschooler), foster mom to newborns and early childhood educator, I have found a passion for supporting all families with little ones. I read somewhere that 60% of parents don’t enjoy playing or don’t enjoy fully engaging with their children and think it’s boring. And honestly, I can relate to that because I had a hard time playing with my kids when they were younger because life was just so busy at the time, and there was always something else to do, but, I have learned that the most important work a parent can do is spend quality time with their children. Everything else can wait. My goal is to encourage parents to connect with their child through simple activities whether it’s reading a book together, doing a project or listening to music together to create lasting memories with their child. The impact of time spent with your child will stay with them forever, and that is a beautiful thing.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source of new clients or students in my case has been word of mouth. I have not had to advertise or put out any ads on social media or the newspaper for leads. Eventually, I may have to go that route, but for now I am grateful that current and past families refer me to other families. It means so much that their experience in my program was a good one and that they recommend their loved ones to come to my program as well.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think one of the thing that has helped me build my reputation within early childhood education is being active in my community. Throughout my teaching career, I have worked at different local preschools, one being a local community program for the city I live in. So it’s nice when I can see some of my students and families in my very own neighborhood. I have also sent my children to local schools in our community, so people know me as a mom and a teacher.
I also think becoming a foster parent through our local county has built my reputation when it comes to raising and caring for young children and also connecting and supporting families with young children .Nothing teaches you better than hands on experience, and with raising my own children I have learned so much about creating a connection and bond with my children and creating a safe and nurturing environment that they feel loved and supportive even through adulthood. With fostering newborns, I’m able to see how much need there is for supporting families who go through difficult times in life, and for the newborns, how much love and nurturing can truly help their growth and development. My goal with fostering is not only to provide a safe environment and give love to these newborns just starting out in life, but also to encourage and support their parents towards reunification. I have seen many different scenarios, and they can go different directions, but if I can be a guide or support or just give love to those families who really do want to make a change to be in their child’s life, then I’ll do what I can to support them. This goes back to my passion on supporting families to building long lasting connections, bonds and memories together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lovelylittlelearners.com
- Instagram: lovely_little_learners_
- Facebook: Raquel Ledesma
Image Credits
Ashlyn Kudransky Visuals
Sienna Morales Photography
Jackie Hansen Photography
StillSofia Photography
MomentsbyMiaK
Jed Meyers