Our teachers are Vocationally Certified Parent Education instructors.  They have their four-year degrees and are employed by Lake Washington Technical College.  Their knowledge, together with the experiences shared by hundreds of parents who have attended their classes, make them a reassuring resource for any parent.  In fact, the teachers here at Redmond Toddler Group are our heart and soul.

 

Amy Mikkelson teaches the pretoddler classes (K & P). She has an amazing background; she is a registered nurse, accredited lactation and childbirth educator. Miss Amy has been teaching childbirth and early parenting at Evergreen Hospital for nine years. Prior to Evergreen, she has held pediatric nursing positions at hospitals as well as pediatricians offices for over 15 years, so she has seen it all! She is utterly at ease with babies and toddlers and has a huge repertoire of new songs for us to learn. Miss Amy is also a “graduate” of the Lake Washington Toddler Group, which she enjoyed a few years ago with her two sons (now in elementary and middle-school). RTG is thrilled to have Miss Amy on its teaching team!

 

Anita Jefferson is bursting with energy and enthusiasm for her 2-3 year old classes, even after teaching at RTG for 20 years! It’s clear to her toddlers that she is a kid at heart. They are very responsive to her animated songs, joyful dances, and creative art projects. As fun as Miss Anita is, she is equally firm in her enforcement of the rules in her classroom. This is a great balance for the children as they rise to the challenge of getting ready for preschool. Miss Anita is also an amazing resource for interesting books and clever activities. Miss Anita was a student here too; and her two grown children are doing well.

 

Ann Gugat is very excited about teaching here at Toby School this year.  It is a place near and dear to her heart after completing 5 years at the school with her children.  Her son and daughter have very fond memories of “Toby School” and they all still value the enduring friendships made here.  Ann has also been a volunteer teacher for health and parenting classes for homeless mothers and have taught English, childbirth education, and health in Nicaragua and Guatemala in the past.  She went to midwifery school in Seattle and started practicing as a midwife in 1998.  One of the most enjoyable portions of midwifery for Anne was the health education aspect.  She felt that if she was able to empower her clients to take control of their own health care that they would be better advocates for children down the road and more confident as parents.  Anne stopped practicing midwifery full time since the birth of her second child and started a infant class that grew from birth to 6 weeks to birth to 6 months then to a year (no one ever wanted to say good bye).   She’s really looking forward to spending time with all of the wonderful parents and their delightful toddlers here at RTG.

Ms. Anita, Ms. Ann, and Ms. Amy

with Toby Bear

Teachers

Redmond Toddler Group