Welcome to Lil Bebe Academy, a Nature Based Reggio Inspired: Licensed Family Home Playschool located in Illinois and in operating since 2009.

Accepting children 18 months or older

My name is Suzette Salmon; I am an author, inspired learner, and educator.  I am always on the quest to learn, play, and find simplicity and calm.

I believe children should enjoy their childhood! Why rush the process?  Do you remember your age when you mastered counting to twenty? Do you remember the first time you knew the color of an item or its shape, or did you know when you colored within the lines?  I don’t either! However, I remember the fondest memory of my primary school days: playing in the graveyard.

Another reason we swap worksheets, rote learning,  and memorization for simple, authentic learning – it is what we do best.  At Lil Bebe Academy, we get off the fast track and take the slow, joyous, free-willed road of unscripted play and learning.  We leave behind the demands of the world, statistics, or benchmarks.  We (the children and I) harmoniously create a learning environment that evokes joy, laughter, love, compassion, and RESPECT.

Children get dirty! And I encourage it.

We are outdoors any season, all season.

We joyously learn with unconventional materials – a mortar and pestle is an excellent addition to the classroom environment.

Children are given permission to learn with their interests.

They build skills even on cold days.

The children’s learning activities are not confined to the indoor classroom, we engage in outdoor learning.

Our little backyard has been enough for the six children.

Our indoor classroom feels cozy and includes many natural items – we love to take the outdoors indoors.

Our indoor classroom in 2020 – It looks different now but this picture is still worth showing.

I operate a nature program so we are always learning about insects, pollinators etc.

Our light table is one of the most played-with furniture in our home daycare.

Our free range kids

Recycle Vintage pieces for the classroom environment – we love recycling items.  You can usually find me at a thrift store or in the woods after a long day at work.

Be gentle and kind – they grow fast! Here is my daughter with one of my now graduates.

It is my hope and prayer that each child who has blessed my life will leave with happy memories.  May they come back and share their stories, and travels and tell of the adventures they made along the path called LIFE.  May they remain focused in this distracted world, and may they have the confidence to BE.

It is my wish that the children of Lil Bebe Academy will never see the world as ordinary – Love, Miss Sue – Suzette Salmon