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<p>KINGSTON TWP. &#8212; Having outgrown its former Dallas home, the I&#8217;m Big Now preschool has moved to a larger site, allowing space to expand services and offer elementary school programming, said Christine Mitten, the school&#8217;s director of education.</p><p>The 22-year-old early education facility moved July 1 from its previous location in the Hartman Insurance Plaza off Route 415 in Dallas to a second-floor space, which formerly housed Rock Solid Academy in the Westmoreland Business Center at 106 S. Lehigh St., Shavertown.</p><p>The move will allow the school to expand current programs for preschoolers but also add programs for first, second and third grades as well as an infants and toddlers.</p><p>I&#8217;m Big Now will remain the name of the preschool, but the school-aged program will be called Back Mountain Academy, Mitten said Wednesday.</p><p>The Back Mountain region is limited as far as educational opportunities for children, she said, noting there is the public school system, but not much else.</p><p>&#8220;People are driving their children downtown (Kingston and Wilkes-Barre) to take them to school,&#8221; she said.</p><p>She hopes the Montessori teaching philosophy that sparked a love of learning in so many previous students will continue with older children.</p><p>&#8220;We want them to be excited to learn,&#8221; Mitten said. &#8220;They (the students) are capable of so much. We motivate them by using their interests.&#8221;</p><p>The school&#8217;s curriculum combines a balance of hands-on and traditional book learning.</p><p>&#8220;We also adopted families during the holiday season and hold food drives to show the children the importance of being part of a community,&#8221; said Mitten.</p><p>The new site will provide a variety of outdoor spaces, including a wooded area where children can learn about plants and other environmental topics; an outdoor play area for scooters and tricycles; and a running area, Mitten said.</p><p>Enrollment is ongoing, but Mitten said she has a limit of 12 children per one teacher for the school-age courses and 10 in the infant and toddler program. The first day of instruction for the new school is Sept. 6.</p><p>The idea to expand services was a frequent request by parents, Mitten said. When the space became available, the idea developed into a reality.</p><p>&#8220;Many parents would tell us that &#8216;they wished their children could stay with us longer,&#8217;&#8221; she recalled. &#8220;Parents are excited to see us grow.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Christine Mitten, director of education at I&#8217;m Big Now and Back Mountain Academy in Shavertown, announces new elementary programming and a new school location for the 2017-18 school year. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_New-Back-Mountain-School.jpg</photo0><caption0>Christine Mitten, director of education at I&#8217;m Big Now and Back Mountain Academy in Shavertown, announces new elementary programming and a new school location for the 2017-18 school year. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

I’m Big Now and Back Mountain Academy set to open for 2017-18 school year