About Us
Who We Are
Who We Are
Our Story
Our Story
The Playhouse was born when I started taking care of children when my daughter was a toddler. We explored the neighborhood and beyond together. I loved spending time with the children and later decided to grow the Playhouse by finding it a dedicated space. Since 2017 the Greenpoint Garden Playhouse, GGP for short, has provided care to many children in the neighborhood. Our space and program are constantly evolving to accompany the many wonderful and unique children who come to us each year, but we maintain our focus on nature and exploration as well as our commitment to provide quality care. We serve up to 16 children aged 20 months and up.
Kasia Kaim-Goncalves, Founder/Director
Why People Choose Us
Why People Choose Us
Play-based Environment
Play-based Environment
Children are explorers by nature. Our program provides an environment that includes a variety of materials for the children to learn and have the opportunity to ask questions. Playing is the child’s job and we believe it is the organic way of learning.
Food
Food
GGP participates in a food program which follows USDA meal patterns. Our program provides breakfast, snacks, and lunch. We use organic produce and put together a healthy menu with a variety of foods. We encourage the children to learn about the importance of nutritious foods, gardening, and composting.
Outdoors
Outdoors
No matter the weather, we encourage the children to go outside and explore nature through it’s changing seasons. We are lucky to have a beautiful backyard space and we take full advantage of the multiple playgrounds around us.
Excellence - Quality Stars NY
Excellence - Quality Stars NY
GGP is the only program member of QualityStarsNY in our zip code, a voluntary state initiative which strives to improve education for children 0-5. Young children in participating programs have access to excellence and their families can trust the level of quality in the programs they choose. More info: https://qualitystarsny.org
Meet Our staff
Meet Our staff
Kasia Kaim-Goncalves
Kasia Kaim-Goncalves
Founder/Director
Kasia is originally from Poland, but has lived in Greenpoint for many years. She has been working with young children since 2009, both in the neighborhood as well as in an international setting. Kasia loves camping, being outdoors and traveling, all in the great company of her family and friends. Kasia is a momma to a tree-climbing explorer and a loving home buddy as well as a wife to a fellow nature lover. She holds a BA in Classics from CUNY Baccalaureate Program and is currently pursuing a MS in Early Childhood Education from the renowned Erikson Institute.
Sarah Ficken
Sarah Ficken
Lead Teacher
Sarah has been an early childhood teacher for almost three years; prior to GGP, Sarah worked at a Reggio-inspired and nature-based preschool as a lead teacher in the Pre-K classroom for 3’s to 5’s. She believes in a play-based, gentle and respectful approach with children, and is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach.
Sarah loves to make art, particularly paint and sculpt, and extends this interest into creating process art with children. She also enjoys being outdoors, caring for her house plants, and playing board games (especially Scrabble). She studied literature and creative writing at SUNY Purchase; while there, she also studied various art mediums such as: performance art, video art, and puppetry.
Lead Teacher
Sarah has been an early childhood teacher for almost three years; prior to GGP, Sarah worked at a Reggio-inspired and nature-based preschool as a lead teacher in the Pre-K classroom for 3’s to 5’s. She believes in a play-based, gentle and respectful approach with children, and is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach.
Sarah loves to make art, particularly paint and sculpt, and extends this interest into creating process art with children. She also enjoys being outdoors, caring for her house plants, and playing board games (especially Scrabble). She studied literature and creative writing at SUNY Purchase; while there, she also studied various art mediums such as: performance art, video art, and puppetry.