Kristian
I love all things early childhood. I love the books, the art, the tiny voices, the kids’ mispronunciation of words, the storytelling, and the joy that comes from spending my days with the little humans.
I have earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Boise State University (go broncos!) in Early Childhood Education & Early Childhood Special Education, meaning I am trained in educating children ages birth to age 8 in general education and special education. After graduating, I moved back to California and joined my sweet mama in growing Friends Preschool (see below). Also upon moving back, I applied to Sierra College to be a part of their teaching faculty, was instantly hired, and for 8 years I taught the teachers of tomorrow. Between preschool and college, there was just too much goodness not to share and I decided to start sharing some of our days on social media. As they say, the rest is history.
Other things I love: golden retrievers, Mexican food, extra sour cream, any season that isn’t Summer (ha!), listening to Audible, singing loudly at concerts, buying more paint than I could ever use, sleeping in on the weekends, craft nights with my girlfriends, Grey’s Anatomy (Cristina and Mer are my fave), the color green, all of the glitter, coffee, lap swimming, and my people. I have so much love in my heart that sometimes I wonder how it holds it all in.
Michelle
Miss Michelle is my teaching partner – and my mom (so cute!). She started Friends Preschool over 25 years ago to fulfill her life-long dream of educating young children and has spent the last two decades shaping our little preschool into a whimsical world embodying all that early childhood should be.
Michelle earned her bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State University in Child Development. Due to her love for early childhood education, Michelle studies other educational systems around the world and is an avid reader of educational thought and pedagogy. She travels the world collecting artifacts and experiences to intertwine into her teaching to expose her students to various cultures, traditions, and communities.
Other things she loves: a French baguette with a good brie cheese, extra crispy fries, cooking, big Texas beauty queen hair, all things from Brighton, Caesar salad with extra croutons, gardening (there are never enough hydrangeas), farmer’s markets, bright and happy colors, going to Disneyland, engaging in thought-provoking dialogues, having dinner with friends, but most of all…being my mom. Knowing that her work impacts children is one of her life’s missions and one of her greatest works of art.
What’s Next
Some things have changed since this photo: my mom’s hair is not quite as fluffy anymore and my hair has mysteriously started growing in naturally blonde (ha!). Other than that, we have always been a little team and together we want to make an ever-lasting mark in education.
With a well-established school with strong community roots and a growing presence online, both Friends Preschool (our physical school) and Friends Art Lab (our name on social media) started to grow and quickly branched into a community around the WORLD.
We dream of being a place where you go for inspiration, resources, lesson plans, sensory bins, coloring pages, giant coloring banners, Virtual Preschool, educational insight, current research, and for all things early childhood.
Some things that are on our to-do list include creating conferences for teachers around the world to gather and learn from one another, online video series with continued/professional development for teachers, and growing our blog. Additionally, we are excited about expanding our shop to create even more wonderful products that you can bring into your classrooms and homes. We are working very, very hard and excitedly behind the scenes to bring all of this goodness to fruition and we thank you and appreciate you for being here with us.
xoxo
