About Under the Orange Trees Family Childcare for Santa Barbara and Goleta
Director Ildi Palmer Brings Years of Experience to her Family Childcare
Ildi is the owner and director of Under The Orange Trees family childcare. She is a mom to two sweet boys, Zade and Remy, and wife to bassist Mike Palmer.
Ildi has lived in Santa Barbara since 2005 and has enjoyed being a part of the ECE community in Santa Barbara ever since. She completed her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Santa Barbara City College while working in local programs.
As a student-teacher at Orfalea Early Learning Center (student teaching lab at SBCC), Ildi learned curriculum planning, observation, documentation, and applied theory to the classroom.
Ildi also attended the co-op preschool San Marcos Parent Child Workshop with her older son Zade for three years. As a parent volunteer at SMPCW, she was the head of the Children’s Curriculum Committee and served as the Vice President of the board. There, she learned a lot about developmentally appropriate practice and partnering with families.
For many years, Ildi worked as a substitute and seasonal teacher at The Learningden Preschool. As the Learningden grew and evolved, Ildi learned from the development of the Outdoor Classroom and watched as the school became certified as an Outdoor Classroom Demonstration Site.
At the Howard School in Carpinteria, Ildi taught the pre-kindergarten class and was promoted to Director. This was her first opportunity in a leadership role. There she learned the practicalities of organizing staff, ordering supplies, and planning for the program. There, she held her first parent – teacher conferences, gave tours, and learned what it takes to run a program.
These schools, with their varying philosophical leanings and differing approaches to early childhood education, left impressions on Ildi and helped her to form her own unique teaching style. Now, she is excited to have her own program where she can combine all that she has learned and provide the best quality of care for the community.
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Testimonials
We love Under the Orange Trees child care! Ildi is a loving child care provider who is extremely patient and creative with kids. She meets kids at their level and encourages child-directed play. She is experienced in early childhood care and education. She has taught my son how to be kind and inclusive of others, how to communicate better and be thoughtful, and she has encouraged his creativity and learning. At Under the Orange Trees my son loves playing with the fun toys in the playroom and yard, helping with cooking activities or snack prep, the games they play, the creative activities, playing with the other kids, and he loves Ildi! It is a perfect warm, caring home environment for him. We feel so lucky to be there!Anna Freedland
