About Us
How Tasha Picked Me Up Way Back In 1986
I
t was July. I was supposed to be going to drivers education class, but there was a public swimming pool halfway between my house and the school. After a few days, I decided that hanging out at the pool would be a much better way to spend my time.
One day I saw a beautiful blond sitting alone at the pool. She was reading a book and looking all "Madonna" in her purple one-piece swimsuit and black sunglasses. I asked some kid to go spit a mouth full of water on her and tell her I said hello. The kid approached her, his cheeks puffed out with water. She persuaded him not to spit the water on her with "The Look" and a well worded threat. He cracked. He pointed across the pool at me and made his escape.
I bravely approached her and we started to talk. A while later we were in the pool talking and joking around. I went 90% of the way in for a kiss. She came the final 10%; the softest, sweetest, most electrifying kiss of my life. We've been together ever since, and I get those same kisses every day.
About Us
We've been sweethearts since she picked me up way back when (She tells the story different, but I built the web page). We have two children, Tyler and Zoë. We started working with children as volunteers in a community center. We worked with school age children; helping with school work, playing in the gym, and just hanging out. That was back in about 1988. We both ended up working for the agency that ran that community center. When we burnt out and quit in 2003, I was the director of a child care program and Tasha was my assistant. That program had opened 10 years early in a church basement with one enrolled child. When we left, the program was housed in a $1,000,000 facility and served over 100 children per day.
We became family child care providers after burning out and leaving the center. We have been doing that since April of 2003. We run a program focusing on emergent learning in a play based environment. The best thing about our program is the great kids we get to work with each day. Our days are spent with laughs, conversation, play, exploration, discoveries, and fun. We enjoy creating an environment conducive to "light bulb moments"--you know, the moments where kids grasp new ideas. It is wonderful to get to see them rediscover the world.
About Jeff
Jeff is a shy guy who loves getting up in front of people and talking about things he is passionate about like early learning, provider self care, infants and toddlers, and almost everything else related to the profession of early care and education. He loves working with the kids in their program during the day and sharing what he learns form them in books and presentations.
He loves being a father and seeing Tyler and Zoë blossom into such wonderful teenagers.
In his spare time, he enjoys working on their 100+ year old house that has been home to four generations of their family.
He is a former board member of the Iowa AEYC and served on the board of the NAFCC. 
About Tasha
Tasha much prefers being home being a mommy to
Tyler and Zoe and working with the children in our program to writing books and speaking. However, her thoughtful insights, great ideas, and other contributions play a huge part in making those things possible and successful. She is the anchor that keeps Jeff form floating away and the glue that holds everything together.
