About Us

Founding History

Elzadie, better known as “Zadie,” is the Owner/Founder and Executive Director of Zadie’s Nurturing Den and Zadie’s of the Oranges, Inc., though her less formal title is Caregiver.

Elzadie B. Smith was born and raised in Tifton, Georgia. She, her husband of more than 30 years, G. Winston Smith, and their three children resided in Decatur, Georgia until her husband’s job transferred him to New Jersey. Relocating to Summit proved to be a momentous occasion for the Smith family.

With children aged 10 months to 11 years, Zadie began looking for quality childcare comparable to the hands-on care that her children received in Georgia. It was a near impossible task.

After years of settling for what she considered to be sub-par care and nurturing for her children, Zadie began pursuing her vision of providing superior care for children of working parents. Three months after attending a session of the Program for Parents, a federally funded program which teaches the basics of starting a home-based child-care facility, Zadie was nurturing her first five babies in her home. Quickly, the number of children grew to 20 and Zadie was faced with finding more adequate space. The Smiths would have to overcome many obstacles before the dream could be realized. And overcome them they did. In the fall of 2001, Zadie’s Nurturing Den opened its doors, providing a warm and nurturing place for children.

Today, Zadie’s Nurturing Den is run by Zadie and her daughter, Winifred Smith. This mother-daughter team has made Zadie’s Nurturing Den a state-of-the-art facility for childcare that is unmatched by any other. With their success, Zadie and Winifred have expanded their care into the new Zadie’s House, a state-of-the-art, home-based family childcare operation where infants are nurtured and enriched with early learning experiences, and into Zadie’s of the Oranges, a state-of-the-art childcare facility opening fall 2009 in East Orange, New Jersey.

Our Mission

The mission of Zadie’s is to provide the highest quality childcare in a nurturing, inspiring and academically stimulating environment.

We aim to employ and retain the highest caliber individuals who love‚ respect and value the learning process for children.

We are determined to develop your ’little ones’ into self-confident and self-expressive beings who excel in mastering the basic academic skills needed to achieve life’s success.