Our Mission

At Pee Wee Preschool, our philosophy is that children are miracles. We believe that children need to feel safe to explore their world and try new things. Second, children need to feel nurtured. They need to know that they are special and unique. Their hurt feelings count, their sadness is comforted, their joy is shared and their accomplishments are praised. Children need to be stimulated academically. They need to be exposed to age appropriate curriculum that will allow them to be successful. They need to have opportunities to express their creativity. Children are social and as they move from parallel play to cooperative play, they need to be guided towards socially acceptable behaviors. Children need to be children. They need to play and pretend and embrace this amazing time in their lives. At Pee Wee Preschool, in Paradise California, we embrace our role in providing a nurturing environment for this sacred time in their lives.

Our Beginning

Pee Wee Preschool was founded by Mary Ann Cleary in 1981. It all began in her Butte County living-room with only 9 children, including her eldest son. By 1990 Pee Wee was run out of Craig T. Memorial Church, and had become the most successful preschool in the Paradise area. In 2009 her dreams for a custom-built facility came to life with the construction of our current location on Skyway in Paradise.

Since the Camp Fire on November 8, 2018, Pee Wee remains the only independent preschool in Paradise. Mary Ann has remained a trailblazer on the ridge through this tragedy. She is committed to providing a secure and familiar childcare environment to the local children affected by the fire.