Team Bios
|
Natasha
I am Natasha and I am the owner/director of Children's Tree House Preschool and Childcare, LLC. I graduated from Winona State University in 2005 with my bachelor degree in elementary education. I found my passion in early childhood education right out of college and I continue to grow and explore new ways in making every child's experience at the center a memorable one! My love for children drove me to open a center in the area with loving staff and a comfortable place to bring your child, giving you peace of mind while your child is in our care. I live in Onalaska with my husband, Rob, and our two children, Breckyn, who was born in 2006 and, Talyn, who was born in 2010. In our free time we love to spend time with our family and friends and work and play around our home. I can honestly say that I have AMAZING staff and I know that this center would not be as remarkable as it is without each and every one of them making a difference in your child's life! It's my obligation to you to find staff that are dedicated, caring & educated to care for your child. Several of the staff have been a part of my “family” here at the center since we opened in 2007, I've had the pleasure of forming lifelong friendships with so many within the center. My hopes are that this gives you a little insight into our “home” and the comfortable, loving atmosphere that the children grow and engage in on a daily basis. We would love to hear from you or have you visit us and all our little friends at our Tree House! |
|
Jackie
Hi, I'm Jackie. I am the Administrative Assistant here at Children’s Tree House. I have worked here since 2007 and in childcare since 2000. I have taught in various age rooms, from infant to school-age, spending the majority of my childcare experience in the 2 1/2 year old classroom. I have been in the administrative position since 2013. My position here lets me work with families right from the start, doing tours, enrollment and children’s files. I love this aspect because I get to form amazing relationships with the families of the center. I also am in charge of setting up field trips and center visitors. I oversee the teachers here at the center. Working one on one with the teachers I get to help them grow and develop into quality caregivers. Which is a very rewarding part of my job, I believe that my role is to guide and inspire staff and students in experiences that challenge as well as educate. I take pride in helping staff understand and build the tools of knowledge that they need to achieve their objectives with the students in their care, as well as their own personal enrichment goals. I feel that building trusting relationships from quality communication and acceptance is an important foundation to have with staff. Appreciating the diversity and uniqueness of the individual person helps me to provide an understanding on how to work with staff, and to know their potential as a developing team. I am a very motivated and creative person with a strong work ethic and a passion for the education of young children. Being the oldest girl of six children and having dozens of younger cousins to babysit for, have both played into my career choice greatly. I love seeing the joy and wonder in children's eyes as they learn something new that I have taught them. I love all the ups and downs of my job. I love that every day is a new day and not one is the same as the last. I get to do something different everyday, get to learn something new everyday. I attended WTC to obtain my Early Childhood Administrative Credential, and I am always looking for opportunities to further my education in The Early Childhood field. I like that childcare is always evolving and there are always new things to learn. I live in Onalaska on a hobby farm on Brice Prairie with my husband, Darryl, my teenage daughter, Gwenny and my very large Bernese Mountain dog, Sampson. I enjoy spending my spare time outside; gardening, biking, kayaking and hiking. My family loves going to movies, checking out new restaurants and taking camping trips to the rustic outdoors. Over the years, Children’s Tree House has become my second home. I really enjoy working here; it's a fun, loving, and safe environment. All of my co-workers are helpful and understanding. Everyone here truly loves each child. All of the staff, parents and children have become such an important part of my life, they are my family. |
|
Chrissy
My name is Chrissy Reichert and I have been part of the Tree House family since 2009. I began part time as an assistant while earning my degree in Early Childhood Education from Western Technical College in La Crosse. After graduation I went full time as lead teacher in the toddler room. As of April 2018, I have taken on the administrative assistant role. My favorite part about working with young children is seeing them develop in all areas, all while having fun playing! It’s very rewarding to see a child reach a goal he or she has been working toward. Each child is different with a unique personality, so there is never a dull moment and I enjoy spending time bonding and building a relationship with each child. I grew up in Indiana with two older sisters and a younger brother. We spent a lot of time playing outside, swimming, and going on camping trips with our family. Some of my favorite things growing up were art, fashion, animals and nature. Just before my fourth grade year, we relocated to Wisconsin, where Onalaska became my home. I spend a lot of my free time reading, cooking and baking, DIY projects, exercising, and enjoying the outdoors. I welcomed my son Rylan in 2012. He has been my greatest joy and I have loved watching him grow into a curious, smart, athletic young man. We share our home with my fiancee, Christian, and our two dogs, Maggie and Brody. Teaching young children is what I’ve found to be my passion. I truly cannot imagine a more rewarding career. Thank you for taking the time to learn about me, and I look forward to getting to know you and your family! |
|
Toni
Hello, My name is Toni and I am a lead teacher in the Pippin room! I started at Children's Tree House in 2017. I have been working in Child Care since 2005. I have always had a passion for working with young children. I entered the field of Child Care to ensure that families receive quality care and education for their children. Being a mother myself, I want every child's care to meet the high standards that I expect for my own children. I love being able to help children grow physically and developmentally and getting to experience children doing things for the first time. I live in Onalaska with my husband Brandon and our three daughters Cambree, Libertee and Cora. In my free time I like to relax and enjoy time with my family. |
|
Shawna
Hello families! My name is Shawna and I am a lead teacher in the Pippin room! I have been with CTH since 2009. I have always had a passion for working with young children. One of the greatest feelings is showing our parents that their children are in great hands when they have to be at work and can't be there themselves to take care of them. A little bit about myself. In 2006 I married my husband Matt. We have two sons together, Braylan, born in October of 2007 and Kamyn born in October of 2012. I also have two step-daughters, Madalynn and Hayley. When I am not at work, I enjoy being outdoors. My husband and I enjoy playing volleyball, going on walks with the kids and spending time with my friends and family. One of our most favorite things to do is watch our kids play sports. And that's just a little about me! |
|
Kari
Hello, my name is Kari and I am the lead teacher in the Sunrise Room. I was a part of the Children's Tree House team from 2010 until 2014 when my son was born. I took 2.5 years off to be a stay at home mom. I came back to Children's Treehouse in 2017. I have worked in the childhood field since 2006. I started babysitting at age 12 and was a nanny at age 16. I absolutely love this job and working with children. It’s the best feeling knowing you make a difference in these kiddos’ lives on a daily basis. Being able to watch them learn and grow and that smile and hug you are greeted with is the best. A little bit more about me; I was born in Weisbaden, Germany. We moved back to the US when I was 3 and lived a few other places until we settled in Holmen, Wisconsin in 1992. I have 2 brothers, one which my parents adopted when he was 14. I have 4 Nephews and one niece. I spend a lot of time with my family as family is an important part of my life. I have an amazing son named Jensen, whom I was blessed with in 2014. Most of my free time is spent with him. Some things we enjoy doing are camping, fishing, traveling, going for walks and playing at parks. I look forward to getting to know you and your family. |
|
Sydney
My name Is Sydney Kennedy and I am the assistant teacher in the Sunrise room at CTH. I absolutely love being around kids and watching them learn and grow. Being able to comfort the kids and put a smile on their faces even when they are happy and sad, makes me feel like I’m doing my job and the kids trust who I am as a person. I was born and raised In a small town In Iowa. I moved her over 5 years ago during my junior year of high school. I graduated In 2018 from De Soto high school in De Soto Wisconsin. I worked a lot during my high school career and was never sure of what I wanted to do after graduation, working at Subway and I at Gundersen as a Dietary aide, and Kwik Trip. When I found out I was pregnant I found CTH and was offered a full time position as a float staff and I knew that was what I had been looking for since graduation and It being something I loved to do. I couldn’t be more blessed with being offered this teaching position that I have always known In the back of my head that I wanted. Being given the opportunity to bring my child to work with me and working alongside the amazing people at CTH has given me the most happiness throughout my short time at Children’s Tree House. |
|
Sami
Hello families! My name is Sami and I am a lead teacher in the Gala room. I started working at Children’s Tree House in 2018. I love working with young children and seeing them learn new things every day. It is so satisfying to see your children understand and use their new knowledge in your classroom. I studied Early Childhood Education at Western Technical College and graduated in 2018. During my time at Western, I was able to work with a couple of different child care centers and see different ways to teach children. My first placement was at Children Tree House and my last placement was at Campus Child Center at UW-L. Both places helped me learn and grow into the teacher I want to be. I grew up in La Crescent MN with my twin sister Kim, brother Chris and mother Tina. My family is very important to me as I come from a very tight-knit family. I have a sassy little cat named Stevie and she is Some of my hobbies include knitting, painting, drawing, and baking. I choose this career after many years of babysitting/ nannying for my family members. During my three years of schooling I worked at Subway and for the last year there I was the Certified Team leader. While in school I was a member of the ABC club at Western and I had the opportunity to go to two different Early Childhood conferences. At one of the conferences, I got to meet and take a picture with one of my favorite children book authors Todd Parr. He has some of the best books to help teach children about different things from how being different is okay and how making mistakes is okay |
|
Darien
Hello! My name is Darien, and I am a lead teacher in the Gala room. I started working at Children’s Tree House in July of 2019, and it has been nothing but amazing. I love to be around children everyday and watch them learn, develop, and reach new milestones. Getting to see all of the children makes my day, every day. I love to see all of their bright smiles when we do art projects and have dance parties. I graduated from Westby High School in 2019 and immediately wanted to start looking into childcare. I grew up in Chaseburg, Wisconsin, a small town with less than 300 people. My nine siblings kept me on my toes every day, and I babysat the younger ones quite often. “A sibling is the lens through which you see your childhood,” as I am ten years older than my youngest sister, I tend to see quite a bit of my childhood through her. My mom and step dad moved to Virginia in 2018, but my dad and stepmom still live in Chaseburg. I moved to La Crosse with my boyfriend after we graduated high school to be closer to work and school. In my free time I love to paint, cook, and spend time on the phone with my mom, my grandma, and my little sisters, as well as just relaxing, watching Netflix, and going on hikes! |
|
Nicole G
My name is Nicole and I am extremely excited to be a part of this fantastic staff here at Children’s Treehouse. I am a lead teacher in the Honeycrisp room. Being in the toddler classroom has been a fun, and crazy, experience. I started here in September of 2018 and have had such a great time. I am currently am enrolled at UWL working toward finishing my bachelor’s degree in elementary education. When I am not in school or working, my main job (and favorite job) is being a mom to an adorable little boy, Cooper John. Cooper and I live in La Crosse with Cooper’s Dad, Payton. In our free time we love hanging out outside and going swimming. I also am the assistant coach of the Onalaska/Holmen/Aquinas/GET Girls Swim Team! |
|
Brianna
Hi Families, my name is Brianna and I am a lead teacher in the Honeycrisp room. I have been working at Children's Tree House since October of 2016. I am one of the lead teachers here and I love working with children and being apart of their daily adventures. I grew up in the town of Wisconsin Dells with my two sisters and two brothers. In August of 2016 I decided to move to La Crosse to further my education at UW La Crosse. In 2017 my husband and I welcomed our son Bentley into our family, and then our daughter Freya in 2019. It has been the greatest blessing of my life to become a mother and I wouldn't trade it for the world. In 2018 we purchased our first home together. I knew childcare was the right career for me when I began babysitting, tutoring and working with children of all ages as I was growing up. I studied early childhood for two years at UW Baraboo and here at UW La Crosse. I love being apart of your children's daily routines and making each day special for them. Every child is unique in their own way and my favorite part about child care is being able to watch your children grow and learn everyday in their own way. It's an amazing feeling and so rewarding to know that I am helping your children grow and providing them with the absolute best care they deserve in the process. One of my favorite parts of the day is being able to be apart of their excitement and creativity as we do our daily activities. Thank you for reading about me, I am looking forward to getting to know your family! |
|
Jesi
|
|
Hailie
|
|
Sara
Hi families, My name is Sara. I am a lead teacher in the Ambrosia room and have been at the center since 2016. It is so rewarding to watch these kids soak up everything like a sponge. The excitement they show when they present us new things is one of the most rewarding feelings! It is so much fun to see the world through their eyes. And to be apart of their learning journey is incredible. Teaching has always been a dream of mine. I am so excited to be a part of the amazing tree house family. I spent a lot of time babysitting my younger sisters, my nieces and nephews, godchildren, neighborhood kids , and my parents friends children. Spending that much time with kids, I knew I had a huge soft spot and a desire to help mold our future generations. A little bit about myself. I was born and raised in La Crosse, and I have a large and blended family. I am one of 8 kids. I was born and raised in La Crosse, then moved to West Salem when in was really little. I currently live in La Crosse with my fiancée and our daughter, Maevyn. Our daughter loves to go outside, so as long as weather permits, we are enjoying the great outdoors. I am also a die hard Packers fan ( Go Pack Go!). I try to spend as much time as I can with my friends and family! |
|
Sarah
Hello everyone, my name is Sarah and I am a lead teacher in the Ambrosia room. I started working at Children’s Treehouse in 2018. I really enjoy working with all different ages of children. I love how pure, innocent, and carefree children are. I love being able to form relationships with the children and just watch them grow and learn. I have taken several general classes at Western TC along with several early childhood classes. I’ve taken all of my infant and toddler classes and a few other early childhood classes as well. I live in Coon Valley with my dog, Kingston, and my cat, Eve. I was born and raised in the La Crosse area. I’m the second youngest of 6 kids, 3 brothers, and 2 sisters. My family means the whole world to me and I can’t imagine life without any of them. I love spending time outside, fishing, camping, hiking. I also enjoy spending time inside napping, eating snacks, doing puzzles, and playing board games. |
|
Maddie O
Hello Families! My name is Madeline Oliver and I am the lead teacher in the Gingergold Room here at Children’s Tree House. I started at Children’s Tree House in 2019. I love having my own room and getting to know the children more and more each day. I love coming to work and teaching the children but also having the children teach me new things. In the classroom we love singing, dancing, reading books, doing yoga, making art and much more! I have taken online book classes to further my education with children and be certified to be a lead teacher. These books have also helped me with learning how to do lesson plans and any other daily things we do in the classroom. Now to tell you a little bit about myself. I grew up in LaCrosse WI until my freshman year in high school and then we moved to West Salem WI. I graduated from west Salem High school in 2017. I am 1 of 6 children, 3 older brothers, 1 older sister, and a twin brother. I also have 7 nieces and 1 nephew. Most of my older siblings haven’t been close by for all of my life due to being in the navy and just living far away but we like to FaceTime and see each other whenever we get the chance. I grew up around children with having nieces since I was 4 and my mom having an in home daycare. I loved to help her and eventually got into babysitting. Things I like to do on my free time are anything outdoors, shopping, watching Netflix, cooking, and enjoying time with my boyfriend, with whom I just bought my first house! |
|
Danika
My name is Danika and I am lead teacher in the Gingergold room. I graduated high school in 2017. I started school that fall at Western Technical College in La Crosse in the early childhood program. I started working at Children’s Tree House in September of 2017. I love being able to work with the children and watch them learn and understand new things! About me: I grew up in the small town of Spring Grove, Minnesota. I’m the youngest of three. I have two shih tzu’s. When I was growing up my parents had owned a restaurant in rural Spring Grove. I was born the first night my parents had opened the restaurant in September of 1998. I have always been around children since I was younger. I had always gone babysitting with my older sister. I started babysitting when I was 12 years old. During high school I was active in marching band, jazz band, concert band, and volleyball. While at Western I was active in The ABC club which is a club through our program which stands for All ‘Bout Children, I was also a part of phi theta kappa. I’m excited to get the chance to work with your children! |
|
Jill
Hello! My name is Jill and I am the lead teacher in the Fuji room. I’ve been with Children’s Tree House since 2012, and in childcare since 2004. I graduated from Western Wisconsin Technical College (yes, I’m that old!) in 2004 with an associates degree in early childhood, and have taken many classes and courses since. I started out as a float, getting experience with all ages before having my own classroom. I was born and raised in La Crosse, and moved to Onalaska in 2012. I live in Onalaska with my husband Nick, our daughter Hennli, and our son Jax. In my spare time, I like to go on adventures with my family. We spend a lot of time on the river, playing outside, and the occasional surprise vacations. I also enjoy crafting, getting together with friends, and participating in local run/walks with friends. Working at Children’s Tree House has been truly rewarding. Not only do I get to see my own children learn, grow, and socialize daily, but I get to help other children do the same thing. The best parts of my days are hearing the funny stories and the things that they say, seeing all of their accomplishments, and knowing that I played a part in each of their lives. |
|
Chelsey
Hello I'm Chelsey and I am the lead teacher in the Jazz classroom! I have been working at CTH since 2014. I look forward to coming to work everyday knowing my little kiddos will have something new to teach me. In the classroom, I love singing different songs to the kids, teaching colors and friends’ names. I love spending time doing many different art projects; the kids love to get messy anyway they can! I try and get the kiddos outside as much as possible when it is gorgeous out. I love playing with the kids outside on the playground. I was born and raised in the La Crosse area. I have five dogs, their names are Rocky, Roxy, Harley, Scrappy and Archer. I also am very passionate about anything that involves the outdoors; I love to waterski, have bonfires, hunt, fish and go tubing. I especially enjoy doing these things because it gives me an opportunity to spend time with friends and family. My family is all super close and we basically have a family reunion every weekend. Before I started working here at Children’s Tree House, I attended Fox Valley Technical College and received my Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education. Other than working at CTH and student teaching, I grew up babysitting and would help take care of my younger brother, Preston and cousins, Kaia and Oliver. Knowing I work well with children I knew this is what I wanted to pursue a career in. Also, my brother was a huge inspiration on me! I graduated from Fox Valley Technical College in May 2014. |
|
Kelli
|
|
Nicole P
Hello families, my name is Nicole and I am the lead 4K teacher in the Pazazz room at Children's Tree House. I completed my Bachelor’s degree at University of Wisconsin-Stout, my degree is in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Psychology. I have worked at different daycares around the Midwest since graduating. I am very happy that Children’s Tree House is now my home and have been working here since 2014! Through my years of working with children, I’ve worked with all ages. I love working with the preschool children, it is an exciting age to be with because they’re full of learning and discovery! I am originally from Maple Grove, Minnesota, but I now call La Crosse my home. I have been married to my husband Justin since 2013. We welcomed our son Jameson in February of 2017 and have been loving life even more. In my spare time, I love to hang out with my friends and experience fun, new adventures with my husband. I also enjoy traveling around the States and seeing/learning about new things! I am looking forward to getting to know you and your family! |
|
Maddie K
My name is Maddie Kinnear. I started working at The Children's Treehouse in October 2018. I first started as a float staff and now I am a teacher in the preschool classroom.I love being able to see all the kids everyday and learning new things about them! I started to babysit when I was 13 years old. I babysat all through high school. I started to nanny in the summer of 2018. I grew up in La Crosse and I lived there for most of my childhood.My favorite thing to do when I lived in LaCrosse was to go bike riding. I also love to go hiking and going on walks. A couple of years ago, my mom, stepdad, sister, and I moved to Melrose. We had a small hobby farm that we lived on. We had a lot of animals on our farm. Everyday I would help with feeding, watering, and cleaning the animals. I just recently moved back to LaCrosse with my older brother and sister. |
|
Hannah
Hello! My name is Hannah and I am a float teacher at Children’s Treehouse Child Care and Preschool. I have been working here since March of 2017 and have loved every second of it. I adore these children and have enjoyed getting to know each one. I am currently a student at Western Technical College and am working towards a degree in Early Childhood Education. Working at Children’s Treehouse has definitely had an impact on me choosing this degree. I was born and raised in Onalaska, Wisconsin and have a large family made up of six girls (including myself) and one boy! I am the third youngest in the line-up so I have many role models to look up to. Since several of my siblings have children of their own, I have gotten to see and babysit them as often as I want! I love when the whole family gets together because it gets so loud and rowdy! I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, playing games with them, going on vacations, reading, painting, singing, eating out, baking, camping, and listening to music. I have been taught to do my best to be humble and kind, and feel the need to continue teaching this in the childcare setting. |
|
Katie
Hi, my name is Katie and I have been working at Children's Treehouse as a Float Staff since 2017. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse with my Sociology major and my French and Art minor. I was also a French tutor for the Multicultural Center at UWL. I really love CTH and feel like family here. The children are amazing and it's fun to watch them grow and learn. As they're learning, I'm learning with them. I was born and raised in Onalaska and grew up with in a family consisting of my mom, dad and my brother. I also grew up with dogs in my house. I love animals and I play with my puppy Jordy when I am home. I like to draw and paint in my free time but also like to binge watch Law and Order and Impractical Jokers. If I'm not doing any of those things, I am hanging out with my friends and family. I also like attending music concerts and traveling when I get the chance. I look forward to getting to know everyone and your children! |
|
Levi
Hello Families of Children’s Tree House! My name is Levi, and I am a float assistant teacher. I began working here at CTH in 2018. I have always had a passion for working with kids as my father owns his own daycare business right in our house. I was also a camp counselor at Fort Little Green Youth Camp & Nature Center for three years and loved every minute of it. In my spare time, I am a musician who primarily plays the drum set and guitar, and very mediocrely attempts to play the piano and bass as well. I have played the drums for many musicals, as well as jazz bands and numerous everlasting/committed/wildly successful pick up garage bands. Secretly, I’m also a huge nerd and love to build and fix computers for friends and family, as well as travel the midwest, compete in the video game Super Smash Brothers (yes, the game with Mario and that green guy). But as far as fulfillment is concerned, developing and guiding children has always felt like the most important passion of mine, and I’m so thankful that CTH and the families who send their children here give me the opportunity to do so every day. |
|
Chai
Hello families! My name is Chai and I am a float assistant teacher at CTH. I come from a family of eight, with two sisters and three brothers. I am the middle child. I was born in Thailand and moved to the US in 2004. I am attending school at UW-La Crosse and majoring in Early Childhood Education. In order to further my knowledge and experience with children, I decided to work at Children’s Tree House. I joined the CTH family in June of 2018. In the past, I have volunteered at the YMCA and helped tutor elementary students after school. My favorite thing to do when I am free is read. Most of the time I enjoy reading stories about adventures. I also love babysitting my niece and nephews when they come over. I have three nephews and one niece. What I love most about my job is seeing the children grow and learn. It is always satisfying to see their progress, especially when they go from crawling to walking. I love giving my whole attention and care to the children to ensure they are loved and safe. |
