BELFAST – The last time I was in preschool, I distinctly remember the furniture being much larger.

When I arrive at the historic Johnson-Pratt house at 212 High Street, I am greeted by rather tiny furniture along with the sound of what seems to be a small pack of wolf pups howling and babbling with excitement.

I follow the howls to a classroom, where I meet Iris and Dennis Hooper — the owners and operators of The Children's Voice Preschool — who are overseeing the early morning rumpus.

The kids don't know what to think of me. Some are cautious and shy, but others are curious and come right up to introduce themselves with a straightforward determination that only preschoolers can exude:

"WHOOO are YOUU!?"

Dennis has some time before breakfast is served and offers to show me around the school that he and his wife have been operating since September.

Previously, the 200-year-old mansion had always been a single-family dwelling. Converting it to a preschool, Hooper said, involved work on the exterior of the house, including the installation of porches, handicap accessibility ramps, and the construction of a large playground on the sprawling lawn behind the house.

The Hoopers also made changes to the interior of the house. Working with the state fire marshal's office, they installed alarm and sprinkler systems to bring the building up to code for use as a preschool. They also made structural reinforcements to the building, installed new kitchen appliances and put in a new furnace with baseboard heat. Dennis and Iris have been busy.

On the first floor, they converted closets into bathrooms and knocked down walls so that each of the classrooms have two exits as required by the state.

Iris and Dennis are both native to the Belfast area, and they spent a great deal of time searching Waldo County for a site for their new school, which is also their home (The Hoopers live in the upstairs portion of the building).

Some controversy followed when they took interest in the Primrose Hill residence.

The building, located on one of the largest lots in downtown Belfast, was originally the homestead of the Johnson family. It later came to be associated with local military celebrity Admiral William Veazie Pratt, who married into the family.

Some neighbors disagreed with the idea of using the landmark building as a preschool, but the Hoopers remained positive and pressed on.

Iris has worked as an educator for over 30 years. A former Head Start teacher, she also worked at the Captain Albert Stevens School and in special education. Dennis began volunteering and working as a teaching assistant for Head Start over twenty years ago. At Children's Voice, they split the labor — Iris focuses on the curriculum, Dennis works as the center aid, helping with day-to-day tasks, cleaning and cooking.

Ten students, all between the ages of two and five, attend Children's Voice preschool program, and one more is starting soon.

In addition to the preschool curriculum, Children's Voice also offers before- and after-school childcare programs and the Hoopers are hoping to establish summer programs and camps in the future.

Iris, the primary educator, is a big proponent of self-directed creative activities, and she tries to infuse these into her curriculum as well as catering to individual needs and alternative types of learning. For her, this is about the children.

Iris can't talk for long. It's just her and Dennis working at the school so she has her hands full. The sound of excited jabber wells up again from the class, calling her back to duty.

"Operating my own school is a lifelong dream," she said, "I want to give this community and their children a nicely organized and affordable school."

Contact Wes Sterrs at wes.sterrs@gmail.com