Jennie Fuller
Jennie Fuller is the very proud owner of Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too. Her own 3 children (Lauren, Zach, and Chloe) are the primary reason Jennie decided to open Early Explorations in 1996. Her journey began when searching for childcare for her own children as she transitioned back into the working community. Jennie had been a preschool teacher, and a curriculum coordinator at a nationally accredited childcare center in St Louis prior to having her own children, and it quickly became evident that the high-quality early childhood program that she had once worked in was not as common in her own hometown. Her desire to find the best care for her own children quickly developed into a quest to open her own childcare center where both an educational platform and a nurturing environment would be provided for the children of the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon communities, as well as peace of mind for parents like herself.
Early Explorations opened its doors in July 1996 in a 2,000 square foot, renovated office building in Ginger Creek where childcare and preschool were provided to 54 children. Word quickly got around in family circles about the hands-on learning curriculum, strong family relationships, convenient location, and nurturing staff, therefore in 1998, a second Early Explorations opened in Glen Carbon, and in 2001 the Ginger Creek location relocated to an 11,000 square foot childcare facility in University Park at the SIUE Campus where 136 children are nurtured and educated each day. Following suit, in 2005, the Glen Carbon location split off and became Early Explorations Too as it relocated to its existing location in a 10,300 square foot childcare facility, where 146 children are nurtured and educated each day.
Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too have continued to strive for excellence in the field of early childhood education, and Jennie is extremely proud of the milestone achievements over the years:
Illinois State Board of Education
Preschool For All
2001 – Present
National Accreditation Commission
National Accreditation
2013 – Present
Gold Circle of Quality
Rated by ExceleRate Illinois
2014 – Present
As Jennie now begins to look towards retirement, the 3 children who drove her desire to open a high-quality childcare center for the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon community are beginning to take over the reins. Lauren has her bachelor’s in early childhood education from National Louis University, and now resides in Scottsdale, AZ. Zach is married to an early childhood educator, Morgan, who is the site director at our Edwardsville learning center, and has his master’s in accountancy from SIUE, and is taking over the financial side of Early Explorations through his employment at West & Co CPA firm. Chloe resides in Tempe, AZ and is attending Arizona State University where she is majoring in entrepreneurial business studies, is a member of Delta Gamma, and works at Early Explorations during school breaks. Together with Jennie, the family looks forward to providing another generation of high-quality early education in the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon community.
