Tiny hands academy was born from the love and dedication of a local speech language pathologist, Melissa Dunbar. She has been working with children with special needs since 1994. She opened her first classroom in 2013 for children ages 18-36 months. The program grew and she changed locations to provide more classroom time. There she recruited her longtime friend Nancy Whitmore. Nancy had just retired from 32 years of providing love and learning in her home daycare. They taught for a year and then COVID 19 shut down the program.  They then learned that their classroom would need to be relocated due to state social distancing regulations. Determined to continue to provide services to the children in their community they searched for a new location. The First Baptist Church in Glens Falls generously agreed to have the program relocate there. The space had not been used for many years. The team spent endless hours renovating the space. In this process, the idea to expand and add a preschool room for three to five years olds was planted. They recruited Pam Conine, early childhood professional for over 35 years and Jessica French, a home daycare provider for over 10 years, to teach the preschool classes. They continued to renovate and build a complete preschool for children ages 18 months to age 5.  They continue to provide classes for children with special needs through the early intervention program ages 18 months to three. They strive to create an early childhood environment of enrichment, diversity and inclusion for their children.