Owner/Preschool Guide :: LouAnne Sather
Hello Everyone!
I am LouAnne Sather and am blessed to be making this transition from my mixed-age child care to a nature-based preschool. Children have always been the center of my world. I started my career working with special needs children at St. Joseph's Children's Home and moved on to my work as a pediatric LPN at St. Mary's. After starting a family, I chose to stay at home to raise my own six beautiful children, during which time I spent many hours volunteering in the Proctor Public Schools. I entered the child care world 20 years ago and felt that a home-based family child care was the closest care I could give someone else's child. Starting in my home, I decided I could serve children better by having a separate space in which to spread out and serve more families. Through this expansion, I went on to gain my Early Childhood degree. During this time, I have worked with special needs children through the foster care system and held a close relationship with Bethany Crisis Nursery, providing care for children in crisis on a short-term basis.
Nature has always had a special place in my soul. Whether its walking trails through the woods or swimming in the lake, I am happiest outside. I also have a strong passion for gardening. While I was raising my children as a stay-at-home mom, my husband and I started and ran Sather's Organic Gardens. Throughout my husband's horticulture education and research on our behalfs, growing and buying organic and local foods has always been an important part of our lives.
Though my child care program has always included a strong balance of the great outdoors, I have been so inspired by the current movement in nature education that I am excited to be more intentional about melding my two loves: children and nature. I have always believed that a calm spirit, acceptance, and some humor will bring out lots of smiles.