May 2017 Company-Wide Teacher of the Month

May has been full of pre-kindergarten graduations, saying good-bye to children that have been with us since they have been infants, but also welcoming new families! Little Sunshine’s Playhouse is full of educated teachers who truly care for each of their students and want them to succeed in kindergarten and life. The following teachers were nominated by their Program Directors and Assistant Directors for Teacher of the Month:

Miranda Warner, Springfield 1
Kristen Marshall, Springfield 2
Jennifer Winter, Springfield 3
Brooke Brackett, Rogers
Nicole Larsen, Scottsdale
Brianna Huffman, Ozark
Elysia Green, Colorado Springs
Lynda Rodriguez, Southlake
Vanessa Tapernoux, Gilbert
Joy Kranwinkle, Lakeway
Nicole Eichhorn, Littleton
Nicole Matas, Willowbrook
Yvonne Comeaux, The Woodlands
Naomi Louis-Charles, Alpharetta

Congratulations to all of these nominees! We are very thankful for all you do for the children in your care every day!

Our May 2017 Company-Wide Teacher of the Month is Jessie Jandernoa from our University City, Missouri location. Jessie is the lead Toddler teacher in the Wonderland classroom. Jessie’s supervisor, Katherine, had the following to say about Jessie:

“It is difficult to find Ms. Jessie without a smile or a kind word for anyone around her. Jessie first joined our team as an assistant in our toddler classroom and when a position for a lead role became available, Jessie was quickly promoted. Since being promoted to her lead role in our toddler classroom, Jessie has shown great strength in the areas of creativity, positive communications with children and families, and classroom management. Jessie is extremely intuitive into the needs to young children and is highly knowledgeable when it comes to managing a toddler classroom effectively! Jessie creates a classroom environment that promotes creativity, imagination, and utilizes plenty of fun sensory activities for the children. Additionally, Jessie is a great example of how to integrate nature and utilizing the outdoor classroom to further her curriculum throughout the day. She also demonstrates such a love for her teammates, and you can often find her bringing in fresh bouquets of flowers for various teachers. Jessie is organized, dependable, passionate, and a positive team player.”

Jessie began working with young children at an early age by babysitting her younger siblings and neighbor children. In college, she took an early education course which inspired her to switch her major. She started working as a preschool teacher after college for infants, toddlers and 2-years old and fell in love with the profession.

When asked what she enjoys most about working for Little Sunshine’s Playhouse, Jessie replied, “The daily reminder to appreciate the wonders of the world. To a child, everything is new and exciting! Their pure joy when spotting a bird or airplane in the sky is contagious, and I can’t help but smile right along with them. Also, the daily hugs and endless love is what makes this the best job ever!”

Jessie works as the lead teacher in the Wonderland Toddler classroom. “This is such an incredible age to work with because we get to teach them to walk, talk, sing, and more! Milestones happen every day!” Jessie also said there’s nothing like hearing a toddler say “I love you” for the first time, after practicing with them for a while. She loves doing sensory projects with her children. “They get so excited to play in sensory bins of nature, sand, homemade play dough, and more, but I have to admit that I love it too!”

Outside of work, Jessie loves to spend as much time as she can outdoors, watching the sunset, climbing trees, reading, or rollerblading through Tower Grove Park. When she is inside, she likes listening to music and crafting. “I love to paint, make jewelry, draw, create sculptures and make candles.” One thing that people may not know about Jessie is that she has shaved her head twice for the St. Baldricks Foundation which funds research for childhood cancer.