Morgan and Jonah
Morgan and Jonah are husband and wife duo who have dedicated their lives to offering loving, high quality childcare and creating a supportive community for families and children. They are carrying on the legacy of Jonah’s mother, Maria, who ran her family child care, West Family Daycare, for 30 years. It really is a family business!
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I’ve loved working with kids since I was a kid myself. When I wasn’t babysitting at any opportunity, I was looking after my baby dolls. After getting my bachelors degree from an alternative liberal arts college in Florida, I moved to Boston where I worked for Buffalo Exchange for five years, where learned to have fun, get creative, and run a business.
My passion for alternative schooling models and early education was reignited when I met Jonah and eventually married into the family childcare family. I fell in love with the job right away and quit Buffalo Exchange to work full time with Maria and Jonah. I worked at West Family Daycare for a year before Jonah and I took it over. We became parents ourselves in 2023—I love it, but it’s nothing like taking care of baby dolls!
I’m always finding new and interesting projects to do with the kids; I gauge if an activity is worth doing by whether I’m excited to do it myself. But, one of my absolute favorite things to do with children is just to talk to them. They have so much to say that’s worth knowing. I love the powerful community of parents and children that family childcare creates—keeping up with families after graduation is very important to me. In my spare time, I’m always trying out a new hobby. Right now, I love baking desserts and sewing clothes for Franklin.
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I grew up with children all around. My mom, Maria, founded a daycare in our house when my older brother was born, which she ran for over 25 years. Her mother was also a school teacher--combined we have over 60 years of experience with young children. Her daycare is a place where children feel known and valued for who they are. I learned to work with children as a teenager, and started working in my mom's daycare at 18. I took other jobs here and there, but I was always happiest caring for children. I took over her daycare with Morgan in 2021 and in 2025 we created Townsend Street Schoolhouse. Now I have the privilege of caring for my own son, with my partner, in our own home--creating a space of my own to share the opportunities I was given to foster play, independence, and curiosity in the children I care for.
My work with children is guided by my own educational experience. As a teenager I attended a school where children of all ages were given the freedom to pursue their own education. They believe strongly in respecting the autonomy of children, mixed age education, and self-guided learning. I learned firsthand the importance of trusting children to make their own choices. After all, we only learn what we get the chance to practice. Children who practice responsibility grow up to be responsible adults. Children who pursue their own interests grow up to be interesting people.
As a teacher, I like involving kids in household jobs - cooking, cleaning, hanging signs, fixing things, et cetera. I think working with tools gives children a sense of self-sufficiency. I also love making music. I play guitar and piano, and the kids don't notice I'm not a very good singer. I really love reading picture books and sharing stories from my childhood - ask me for a list of my favorite authors, and most of them probably write for kids. But most of all, I love making kids laugh. The best thing about this job is that when you're doing it right, it feels like goofing off.