Robots and Mud Pies π Preschool

How did you come up with the name, "Robots and Mud Pies π Preschool"?

          When we started planning our preschool, we knew we wanted a STEM focus.  And we knew the curriculum would be play-based and child-led. So we wanted to convey these concepts in our name. We brainstormed words that could be in the name including "Explorers," "Engineers" and "Scientists." Finally, Brenda suggested "Robots" and Barbie added "Mud Puddles". While playing with the words, we changed it to "Robots and Mud Pies" We felt that the combination would include the STEM focus while still being clear that we would be playing and getting dirty. We added the pi symbol when we noticed the 'pie' connection and were happily surprised when we realized our initials where a type of inclined plane (RAMPP).

Where did you find your logo?

           Barbie's nephew, Ryan Gallini, is a graphic designer and he donated his time and talents to create our logo. Thanks, Ryan!!

Is Robots and Mud Pies π Preschool part of a franchise?

           No, we are the one and only RAMPP.

Do you plan to expand? Can you open a preschool in Chesterfield (or Mechanicsville)?

           We do not plan to open more preschools. Brenda and Barbie still want to spend most of their time in the classrooms. Adding more schools and more teachers would require too much time away from the fun. (And to be honest, we prefer hoola hoops over jumping through zoning, building code, and landlord related hoops.)

Can you open an elementary school or kindergarten?

           No (see jumping through hoops reference and add board of education hoops).

Are you open in the summer? Do you have summer camps?

          We are not open in the summer. We follow the Henrico school calendar and close in mid-June and then reopen the day after labor day. At this time, we do not have summer camps. Some time in the future, we may decide to have 2 or 3 weeks of summer camps, but for now, we are enjoying our summer vacations (after years and years of working non-stop.)

When did you open RAMPP?

        We opened our doors on September 3, 2013 with 7 children enrolled. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Do we have to live in Henrico to attend RAMPP?

       No! We have had children attend from all over the Richmond metro area, including Chesterfield, the City of Richmond, Hanover, Goochland, New Kent and Charles City. Since we are located near the Glenside exit of I64, families find it easy to get here. And they'd discovered that our innovative curriculum makes it worth the drive!

Do you have an afterschool program?

             No, we only accept children up to the point when they go to kindergarten (so until 5 or 6 years old). We do have an afternoon session for preschoolers.

Do you accept full time children? What are the hours and rates?

              We do accept some full time children. Our full day hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some children come five full days while others come fewer days for the full day or have a mixed schedule with some full days and some half days. Because these schedules vary depending on the families' schedules, we do not list our full day rates online, please email us for that information.

Do full day children just repeat the morning activities in the afternoon? What do they do from 12:00-1:00 between sessions?

               Because our curriculum is play-based and child-led, our morning and afternoon sessions do not usually do the same activities. At times, they may read the same book at meeting time or a child might choose to paint at the easel or build with blocks during both sessions. However, usually the children choose different activities throughout the day. Also, when the children are studying specific topics (projects), the afternoon and morning children most often will have different interests so they will work on different projects. A full day child who is really immersed in one topic, though, would be allowed to work on that same project all day or any part of the day if she wanted.

               Between sessions, the full day children eat lunch (provided by the parent), then they rest or play quietly until the afternoon children arrive. If a child needs a nap, we have a space where he can nap away from the other children, supervised by an adult.

Can I enroll  my child at any time during the year, or does everyone have to start in September?

               We allow families to enroll at any time during the school year (though we do not usually have children starting after May 1 for the current school year). If you are interested in learning more, email us and check out our enrollment pages.

I have more questions! No problem. Just email us at admissions@robotsandmudpiespreschool.com or call us at 804-447-3329 or message us on Facebook!