Who we are

My name is Claire and I am a mother, teacher, and artist. I attended San Francisco State where I earned my Bachelors in Technical Theater, a preliminary Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and an Early Childhood Education Site Supervisor Credential.

I’ve been working with preschool-aged children since 2005, and I created Slanted & Enchanted in 2011. I’d love to share a little bit more about my professional journey so that you can get a sense of who I am and the kind of space Slanted & Enchanted is.

Early days

My journey in education started as a big sister and, by the time I was 10 years old, I was working as a mother’s helper and beginning to babysit. I was a nanny throughout high school and college, and as a young costume designer trying to make things work in the city, I took on multiple early childhood teaching roles while simultaneously pursuing additional credentials from San Francisco State.

I worked at a home-based preschool in Twin Peaks for four years, followed by a corporate childcare center.

It was through these formative experiences that I dreamed up a preschool of my own.

A new school

I opened Slanted & Enchanted Pre-K in 2011 in my own home. The name was inspired by a Pavement album and our location on a steep San Francisco hill. Quitting a full-time job and renovating a rental to accommodate a preschool was a huge leap of faith, but the school was a success and, within two months, we were full.

After several years of living in the city, in fall of 2019 I brought Slanted & Enchanted back to my hometown of Benicia. Our new location opened right when COVID started, so we had to quickly adjust to meet the new needs of our community.

What we focus on

As those needs continue to shift, so have the ages of the children we serve. Though specific birthday cut-offs may shift from year to year, creating similarly-aged groups of play partners is our guiding star.

If you had asked me what I was most proud of when we first opened in 2011, I would have said it was the art and theme-based curriculum which introduced emergent math and reading skills. Social and emotional learning was there, but it took a back seat.

But during the pandemic, we saw a big increase in anxiety and big emotions. The strategies that had worked in the past were not working anymore. The state of California increased funding for mental health services and my staff and I were lucky enough to be able to work remotely with a therapist in order to make social and emotional learning a much more visible and intentional part of our program.

So if you ask me what I’m most proud of about our program now, it’s our focus on creating a positive and safe space for social and emotional learning.

Our team and you

I am also tremendously proud of our steady and dedicated team of teachers and the solid relationships that they build with the children. In a world full of distraction and constant bids for our attention, we are raising a generation who need presence, communication, and strong relationship skills to grow physically and mentally healthy.

Our small and individualized environment allows families and teachers work as a team to create a smooth and steady transition into the broader world of education.

As I hope you will come to know, Slanted & Enchanted is a very special place where your family will feel at home and your little one can blossom and grow.

Testimonials

We feel so incredibly fortunate to be a part of S&E. We have sent both of our children to Claire’s school and the amount of thought and care that goes into every detail, every single day, continues to blow our minds. We appreciate how much she values each unique spirit that walks through her door everyday. Our children have loved their experience here— and we’ve all made some great friends through this wonderful community she has built.

-Anne Lauck De Santis

Since our 3-year-old started at Slanted & Enchanted, we have seen huge strides in her emotional intelligence, confidence level, and intellectual milestones like counting and letter recognition. S&E has given her the gifts of critical thinking and compassion for her peers and I never worry about her after drop-off. I know that she is safe, loved and getting a balance of thoughtfully directed enrichment activities and free play that just can’t be duplicated at home or in traditional classroom-based preschools. We absolutely love this place!

-Carly Waterstraut

There are few things in our life that we feel more evangelical about than the magical space and dedicated staff of Slanted and Enchanted.  During the two years our child has been there we have watched him explode in confidence, skills and compassion. Claire and her fellow teachers at S&E have created a nurturing world where children can truly thrive, interests are supported, curiosity is activated, and kids are motivated to learn and try new things, respect others, accept differences, honor boundaries, and become well rounded emotionally intelligent people.  We feel so incredibly fortunate to have found this very special place.

-Dan and Esther Wilch

The daily newsletters have made it possible for a working parent like me to feel a part of my daughter’s day, and to engage her in conversation beyond “What did you do today?” with the common response, “I played.” Instead I can ask more detailed questions, “Did you garden? Who is Jackson Pollock? Can you write the first letter of your name?” It’s very special and truly one of the best parts of my day

-Jen Pitts

Any child fortunate enough to spend a year or two in Claire’s inspired pre-school program can be assured of at least two things: an absolutely wonderful experience and a great foundation for future learning ...Our daughter has blossomed and thrived while at S&E, and the credit goes to Claire, the program she has developed and the gifted staff she has assembled.

-Howard Becker

We had the good fortune to be one of the first families to join Slanted & Enchanted and I felt wonderfully fortunate to be able to eventually send both of our sons there. I cannot imagine a more nurturing and stimulating environment for kids of that age and I’m delighted at how well it prepared our oldest for Kindergarten.

-Keith Fahlgren

Where do I begin?! Our experience at Slanted and Enchanted has been so wonderful. Claire and her staff have created such a sweet, loving, and independence-building environment for the students (and parents!).  There are so many sweet little touches that they incorporate for the kids to feel wonder and magic in the ordinary. There is a steady consistent structure that the kids can count on AND the teachers are flexible to roll with organic learning/enrichment opportunities that may arise. 10s across the board-can’t recommend highly enough.
-Allison Romero

“While we try to teach our children about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” -Angela Schwindt