About
Who We Are
Choosing a preschool or child care center for the early care and education of your child is one of the most important decisions you will make as a parent, and one that can have a profound impact on your child’s future! El Mundo de Niños is much more than a Spanish immersion child care center. We are a Family run preschool, licensed by the state of Wisconsin. We are a community of bilingual families and educators who come together to share our love of language, discovery and play with our children so that they develop linguistic connections, strong relationships and the self determination to explore and discover the world around them.
Walquer and Kate moved to Madison, WI from Lima, Peru in 2012, with 2 small children. Not satisfied by the bilingual early childhood options in Madison at the time, they opened La Casita Azul in 2014, a licensed in-home bilingual preschool and day care center serving 8 children. Soon after we recognized that many more families were in our same position, trying to find quality, play-based Spanish immersion preschool and child care experiences, as well as a way to support their children in their bilingual language development from birth. Walquer and Kate put their hearts and souls into creating a safe, clean, comfortable, and engaging environment where children learn Spanish naturally, through play and everyday experiences, from bilingual teachers and peers.
About the Teachers, Walquer & Kate
Walquer Rojas has always been an integral part of our program and a familiar face to all the children here at El Mundo de Niños. Walquer was born in Cusco, and raised in Lima, Peru. Walquer has dedicated the past 20 years to learning about and working with children in many different capacities. In Peru, Walquer worked for 10 years with children and adolescents as a social worker, mentor, and teacher at Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II, an orphanage sponsored by the church. Most recently he worked for 5 years as a Special Education Assistant at Midvale School and was a beloved member of the school community. Since 2020, Walquer has joined El Mundo de Niños full time, and has enjoyed immersing himself in the AnjiPlay philosophy and daily reflection about the children’s learning and his role as a teacher. Walquer is the in-house chicken whisperer, soccer coach extraordinaire and is responsible for bringing to reality many of our large and small building projects!
Kate Woodford has spent the last 15 years learning and growing as a bilingual teacher After completing her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Wheelock college in Boston, she worked for 3 years as a bilingual 2nd grade teacher in Lima, Perú at Colegio Altair. She moved back to Madison, her hometown, and began working as a 1st grade dual language immersion teacher in MMSD and studying for her masters degree in bilingual education at Edgewood College, which she completed in 2017. After completing her M.Ed., she dove deep into learning about the AnjiPlay philosophy, including traveling to Anji, China for a week long study tour, to learn from seasoned AnjiPlay teachers and administrators. After that, she has continued collaborating with educators all over the USA and across the globe who are all passionate about implementing AnjiPlay practices in their classrooms. She has a lifetime WI DPI teaching license in Early Childhood Ed. & Bilingual Education. In her spare time, Kate loves to travel, spend time in nature, make art and strengthen her skills on aerial silks.
A Preschool to Discover & Learn
El Mundo de Niños is a private, family-run Bilingual, Spanish immersion, preschool and child care center in Madison, WI, lovingly developed and nurtured by Kate, Walquer, Joaquin, Natalia, and Santi Rojas Woodford.
Our Vision
We strive to love and respect children and their innate capacities for learning, exploration and discovery in a way that honors diversity and promotes cultural awareness.
We strive to create an environment of immersed language learning implemented by highly qualified teachers who are native and/or bilingual Spanish speakers. We aim to foster the natural development of Spanish language skills and bilingualism by creating an environment where children have intrinsic motivation for using language through communicating with teachers, friends and family.
We strive to give children the freedom to self determine their own learning in a natural progression over time. We support this by intentionally designing an open-ended, minimally structured environment, where adults step back and provide the children with ample time and space to become fully engaged in a play world that belongs to them!
We strive to offer a healthy, safe, nurturing environment where emotional, social, physical, and intellectual development are organically developed through song, dance, stories, self determined play, and exploration.
We strive to create a community of bilingual families who feel at home at our preschool and participate in their child’s language and cultural early childhood learning experience.
Our Environments at El Mundo de Niños
Choosing a preschool or child care center for the early care and education of your child is one of the most important decisions you will make as a parent, and one that can have a profound impact on your child’s future! El Mundo de Niños is much more than a Spanish immersion child care center. We are a Family run preschool, licensed by the state of Wisconsin. We are a community of bilingual families and educators who come together to share our love of language, discovery and play with our children so that they develop linguistic connections, strong relationships and the self determination to explore and discover the world around them.
Join our Community!
What We Offer at El Mundo de Niños
AnjiPlay Curriculum
The AnjiPlay approach is based on the philosophy that an environment of love, support and care allows children to take developmentally appropriate risks. These physical, emotional and intellectual risks provide children with a sense of joy and deep engagement in their own learning and pursuits. The children reflect daily on their play through drawing, conversation and photos/video documentation, creating lasting knowledge and building the foundation for an interest in future learning.
The AnjiPlay approach is based on the philosophy that an environment of love, support and care allows children to take developmentally appropriate risks. These physical, emotional and intellectual risks provide children with a sense of joy and deep engagement in their own learning and pursuits. The children reflect daily on their play through drawing, conversation and photos/video documentation, creating lasting knowledge and building the foundation for an interest in future learning.
Daily Schedule
7:30AM - 9:00AM
¡Bienvenidos al Mundo de Niños! Self Determined Play ~ Indoors
9:00AM - 9:30AM
Friendship circle and movement activities, Seasonal themes, + snack
9:30AM - 11:30AM
Self Determined Play ~ outdoors
11:30AM - 12:00PM
Play Stories & Play Sharing
12:00PM - 1:00PM
Lunch Read Aloud & Play Sharing Reflections
1:00PM - 3:30PM
Rest Time
3:30PM - 4:30PM
Snack, Self Determined Play ~ indoors or outdoors ~ ¡Adios!
What Our Families are Saying
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Preschool Hours
Monday - Friday
7:30AM - 4:30PM
Saturday & Sunday
CLOSED
Our School Year
August - June
Discovery Language Community
All rights reserved. El Mundo de Niños, 2022