Alina Nudelman Of Mind Body And Soul Children’s Society: Working With Young Children And Their Parents In A Holistic Preschool Setting
By Keith Walsh
Alina Nudelman of Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society puts the power of three master’s degrees to work while designing her educational curriculum, and it shows in the results she’s getting. As she explains, “The concept of Mind Body and Soul is about teaching your child ‘how’ to learn before we teach them ‘what’ to learn, and more importantly it’s about teaching them to love learning.”
Alina continues: “While teaching your child academics such as the ABCs and Math, we will also be simultaneously teaching them socially significant skills, such as engaging in dialogue with peers and attending to lessons with teachers. We’ll also be working on behavior, speech, and sensory skills.” It’s this holistic approach that Alina and her business partner Theodor Mikhaylov have devoted so much effort to developing and supporting.
Alina, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, started Aspiring Minds Childhood Development Center in Brooklyn, in 2018. Her three graduate degrees in disciplines related to special needs and general child education, as well as applied behavior analysis, provide the basis for her work. Childhood education also has an element of play, which is why Alina partnered with Theodor to develop the center into a Montessori type of environment. Alina explains, “Montessori education is amazing, because it uses a vast array of materials to build imagination, creativity, symbolic play, and promotes interaction with peers.”
In 2020 Alina partnered with Theodor to create Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society, which now has two affiliated centers in the Brooklyn area, and a third in Long Island. “I wanted to create Mind Body and Soul for years,” she explains. “Most people are offering the standard academics -- English, Math, and some sort of Social Skills class. We’re allowing you to create your own package. We’re offering Math, we’re offering Karate, we’re offering Tennis, in addition to standard academic classes, all under one roof.” Mind Body and Soul also offers special needs education, parent workshops, on site nutritional guidance, and daycare consultation and training.
“It’s a convenience for the parents,” Alina explains. “You don’t have to bring your child to Math class, then to Karate, then to Tennis, then to Dance, all while you’re scrambling to get them to their classes on time because they’re all in separate locations. Even worse, you might find yourself sitting on super uncomfortable wooden benches or chairs waiting for your child to finish class. At our facilities, it’s a one stop shop, for all your child’s academic, extracurricular and social needs.” Alina points out that having your child in one place gives you the freedom to run errands, or simply relax and watch your child on a video monitor in a comfortable lounge, or enjoy personal reading time.
When she told Theodor her concept, it became clear that the building which hosts Aspiring Minds Center could be adapted to create studios and a comfortable lounge where top notch education could take place. Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society is host to tons of classes, including Ballet, Music, Karate, Tennis, Fencing, Math, Language, STEM, Mommy and Me, cooking, and others.
Working With Families
Alina emphasizes the importance of working closely with parents. “In order to educate a child,” she says, “the parents need to work hand in hand with the teachers. That’s where the idea came from, and I envisioned state-of-the-art specialized rooms, a parent lounge and an interactive system, in a way that’s never been done before.” The unique studios are specially designed and dedicated to each class.
To understand Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society, one must go back to its roots. “When I opened Aspiring Minds,” Alina says, “it was originally a special needs center, but it transitioned into a daycare. If you look at our logo, it’s a tree, which symbolizes growth, but that tree is a rainbow. It’s symbolic of autism, because it’s a spectrum.” Developing Mind Body and Soul will allow Alina to pursue her passion project which will be serving special needs children in a dedicated center.
Alina started out studying psychology and political science at St. Johns University, in New York.
After finishing dual bachelor’s degrees in special education and teaching, and a third in applied behavior analysis, she completed her certification. Then Alina worked as an Educational Director with a local daycare, and as a Behavior Therapist in Brooklyn with children on the Autism Spectrum. She continued as a supervisor with multiple Early Intervention agencies, training therapists and teachers, as well as working as a consultant for agencies affiliated with the Department of Education, a role she is still active in. Her plans for Mind Body and Soul include getting nonprofit status to expand the organization to improve lives and outcomes by providing daycare, education, therapy, and parental workshops on a large scale, to families throughout the broader New York area and beyond.
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By Keith Walsh
Alina Nudelman of Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society puts the power of three master’s degrees to work while designing her educational curriculum, and it shows in the results she’s getting. As she explains, “The concept of Mind Body and Soul is about teaching your child ‘how’ to learn before we teach them ‘what’ to learn, and more importantly it’s about teaching them to love learning.”
Alina continues: “While teaching your child academics such as the ABCs and Math, we will also be simultaneously teaching them socially significant skills, such as engaging in dialogue with peers and attending to lessons with teachers. We’ll also be working on behavior, speech, and sensory skills.” It’s this holistic approach that Alina and her business partner Theodor Mikhaylov have devoted so much effort to developing and supporting.
Alina, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, started Aspiring Minds Childhood Development Center in Brooklyn, in 2018. Her three graduate degrees in disciplines related to special needs and general child education, as well as applied behavior analysis, provide the basis for her work. Childhood education also has an element of play, which is why Alina partnered with Theodor to develop the center into a Montessori type of environment. Alina explains, “Montessori education is amazing, because it uses a vast array of materials to build imagination, creativity, symbolic play, and promotes interaction with peers.”
In 2020 Alina partnered with Theodor to create Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society, which now has two affiliated centers in the Brooklyn area, and a third in Long Island. “I wanted to create Mind Body and Soul for years,” she explains. “Most people are offering the standard academics -- English, Math, and some sort of Social Skills class. We’re allowing you to create your own package. We’re offering Math, we’re offering Karate, we’re offering Tennis, in addition to standard academic classes, all under one roof.” Mind Body and Soul also offers special needs education, parent workshops, on site nutritional guidance, and daycare consultation and training.
“It’s a convenience for the parents,” Alina explains. “You don’t have to bring your child to Math class, then to Karate, then to Tennis, then to Dance, all while you’re scrambling to get them to their classes on time because they’re all in separate locations. Even worse, you might find yourself sitting on super uncomfortable wooden benches or chairs waiting for your child to finish class. At our facilities, it’s a one stop shop, for all your child’s academic, extracurricular and social needs.” Alina points out that having your child in one place gives you the freedom to run errands, or simply relax and watch your child on a video monitor in a comfortable lounge, or enjoy personal reading time.
When she told Theodor her concept, it became clear that the building which hosts Aspiring Minds Center could be adapted to create studios and a comfortable lounge where top notch education could take place. Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society is host to tons of classes, including Ballet, Music, Karate, Tennis, Fencing, Math, Language, STEM, Mommy and Me, cooking, and others.
Working With Families
Alina emphasizes the importance of working closely with parents. “In order to educate a child,” she says, “the parents need to work hand in hand with the teachers. That’s where the idea came from, and I envisioned state-of-the-art specialized rooms, a parent lounge and an interactive system, in a way that’s never been done before.” The unique studios are specially designed and dedicated to each class.
To understand Mind Body and Soul Children’s Society, one must go back to its roots. “When I opened Aspiring Minds,” Alina says, “it was originally a special needs center, but it transitioned into a daycare. If you look at our logo, it’s a tree, which symbolizes growth, but that tree is a rainbow. It’s symbolic of autism, because it’s a spectrum.” Developing Mind Body and Soul will allow Alina to pursue her passion project which will be serving special needs children in a dedicated center.
Alina started out studying psychology and political science at St. Johns University, in New York.
After finishing dual bachelor’s degrees in special education and teaching, and a third in applied behavior analysis, she completed her certification. Then Alina worked as an Educational Director with a local daycare, and as a Behavior Therapist in Brooklyn with children on the Autism Spectrum. She continued as a supervisor with multiple Early Intervention agencies, training therapists and teachers, as well as working as a consultant for agencies affiliated with the Department of Education, a role she is still active in. Her plans for Mind Body and Soul include getting nonprofit status to expand the organization to improve lives and outcomes by providing daycare, education, therapy, and parental workshops on a large scale, to families throughout the broader New York area and beyond.
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