Cities may sprawl, and new suburbs can offer many attractions for growing families, but in many metropolises like Cairo, there is always a hub close to the heart of the city that harbors creativity, camaraderie, and entrepreneurial spirit. Owner of Urban Toddlers pre-school, Nazli Shahine, chats with us about fostering creativity and ingenuity in children.

CWM: What was the motivation behind founding Urban Toddlers?

NS: I started Urban Toddlers Preschool in September 2009, after I moved back to Egypt with my eldest two children who had attended preschools abroad. I was pregnant with my third child then, and when I asked around about the different programs preschools in my area offered, everyone joked about my questions and said that they didn’t look for programs! They advised me to try to find a “clean place”.  That seemed to be their only benchmark! Some also suggested that I drive to Maadi every day, as there were a couple of good preschools there at the time. Having studied child psychology in university, I took it upon myself to raise the standards of early childhood schooling in Cairo. My aim was to change Cairo’s early education landscape by bringing a new perspective to the preschool experience. I wanted to provide a fresh, new approach to this vital stage in a child’s life.

Did you go it alone, or do you have partners?

I started Urban Toddlers alone. Having said that, the team I started with is still all the same, and we are more than partners! We are connected on many levels, as we share the same dedication, vision and enthusiasm. We have bonded so much over the years, and we are now more of a family. 

What makes Urban Toddlers different from other nurseries?

At Urban Toddlers preschool, we are influenced by a number of early childhood curricula that guide our practice. We integrate many aspects of different progressive curricula that we think fit well with our cultural identity and social needs. We believe in multisensory learning, where children learn by exploring.

At Urban Toddlers we value the individuality of every child and we encourage children to “construct” their own knowledge by pursuing their personal interests and goals, guided by trained adults. During this process, children engage in teacher-and child-initiated learning activities in 6 child development content areas. Within each content area are “key experiences” that foster developmentally important skills and abilities.

Did you find the community receptive to the way Urban Toddlers covers early learning and socialization? 

We aim to develop critical thinkers able to analyze situations and act accordingly. The old fashioned way of making children “learn by heart” or memorize things is something we avoid.  We teach children how to be creative, how to use technology, how to solve problems collaboratively with others, and so on. We live in a time where computers have replaced most of the skills needed in the past like rote learning. A doctor or lawyer today can use the Internet to retrieve information. What is important is how to analyze and appropriately use this information! We don’t teach children to learn by heart, we let them think about things.

And this new approach was difficult for many of our parents to comprehend at first. Many still wanted their children to learn by heart and memorize concepts, instead of fully thinking through things. A big challenge, for example, was to explain to parents why their child’s artwork is not perfect, or why we spend a whole week on the number “1” as a numeracy concept, rather than just repeating the numbers like a song in rote counting.  But, yes, on the whole the community was very receptive. And we welcome parents at the preschool every Thursday from 1:30 so they can sit with their children during the last half hour of the day in the children’s receptive areas or classrooms. So friendships are formed, play dates get organized, and I noticed that these friendships carry on for a long time after children leave my preschool.

What were the main challenges you had to meet? 

I am lucky to be working with children, the positive energy I get every day is what gives me strength to go on and face all the challenges I face on a daily basis.

For as long as I could remember sports have been a part of my life – a non-negotiable part of my childhood, and I have my parents to thank for that! Once I had my children, I found that the only way to survive parenthood was one phone call to “mama”, my sneakers, and a kickass playlist pounding in my ears. That one hour a day took me somewhere which often resulted in an unbelievable surge of energy and release. I wanted to provide people with a space where they could try something new, something intense (I don’t do boring), something safe (given my physiotherapy background), and something that ultimately worked from the inside out; mind, body, heart, soul. B-URN was launched in October 2015.

People who love B-URNing!

My youngest client is 16 years old, and my eldest is 68. I have a soft spot for special cases, so when given the opportunity to help someone using the B-URN method I include my physiotherapy practice. Seeing someone in my class on their first day and watching their progress a few weeks later is my high. It works. You get stronger, fitter, gain confidence in yourself, and you ultimately see a change in your physical fitness and appearance. My trainers are handpicked gems, none of what I have created would be a success without each and every one of them. I’m blessed.

 B-URN is about #thehappy

I believe in feeling good. Once that’s checked off, you’ll automatically start seeing changes in your physical health. Our world is full of stressors and the rate of anxiety and lack of self-confidence is sky rocketing. If people only knew that one bout of exercise is equivalent to popping a Xanax, this world would be a happier, healthier place.

What you get from B-URN is #thehappy, a concept that just came to life on its own, it’s the mental and physical release you get after a good workout. I got a phone call from a client whom went from pre-natal training with me, to post workout B-URN(ing) with me, it went something like this:  “Amina, I’m not sure what’s going on, but after your class I just feel happy!” And in a nutshell, she spelt out what I had been trying to figure out and preach. Sure, I was flattered, but it’s really just pure science.

What protects your body protects your mind. Here’s the scientific why and how: when you exercise, you wake up your sympathetic nervous system, also known as fight or flight response; an increased heart rate and breathing. Strangely enough, the same thing happens when someone goes into a panic/anxiety attack. At B-URN, we get you to experience the symptoms and work through them. We talk you through the physical pain, which might give you an emotional release. We’re basically tricking the body… while its expecting an attack, it ends up with positive association with the symptoms – for me, that’s magic and as BADASS as it gets.

B-URN is all about being yourself and using exercise as a means to just BE. Clients are urged to come in, b-strong, b-weak, b-mean, b-good, just B- themselves for 45 minutes. The outcome is #thehappy … weight loss fat loss and all that good stuff are just given side effects.

In a nutshell, B-URN is my #thehappy.

Getting kids to B-URN

My theory is when you jump, they jump!  Kids need to see their parents setting examples, then it becomes a normal part of their life and they will pass it down too!

The power of the mind

I truly believe that the mind can convince you out of anything, so you’ve got to preempt that and rip the Bandaid off. When that alarm rings, get up, don’t snooze. When it’s time to sign up, just sign up. There’s no perfect time to start “getting fit”, but it’s always a perfect time to B-URN. My trainers motivate, they don’t judge. They do it with heart and passion, and sometimes that’s all you need to start a life changing experience.

Getting personal…

Once you’re on the B-URN mailing list, you’ll hear all about my personal experiences. I’m not the healthiest person in the world, and that’s one thing I try to be transparent about with my clients. I don’t diet, I give into cravings, I have cellulite and stretch marks, and I’m conscious about my body. The only way I’ve stuck to a fitness routine is when I commit to classes, if I don’t pre-plan my workouts, I would probably flake. Also, my children ask me everyday what kind of a workout I did, and I always have to give them an honest answer so that pushes me, too. Lastly, I will only go back to trainers who take me to that “sweet spot”, it’s got to be challenging, it’s got to be fun, it’s got to be one of a kind. If I cry and laugh at the end of your class, you know you’re going to be my new obsession. I’ve had ups and downs, and the funny thing is that exercise has always been the one thing that made the highs higher and the lows non-existent.

Contact info:

Instagram:  @aminanaguib @b_urnegypt @theburnbar

Website:  www.b-urnegypt.com  www.physioegypt.com