09/01/2026
Meet the Heart Behind Woodland Friends
If you’re new here, I thought I’d share a little bit about the person behind the preschool you see here.
I’m the founder and educator of Woodland Friends Preschool, but long before Woodland Friends had a name, there was simply a dream.
After more than 25 years of working with young children, I knew exactly what I wanted to create: a small, nurturing place where children could truly be themselves. A place where they weren’t just another name on a roster, but where they were known, listened to, understood, and celebrated.
I wanted a preschool that felt like childhood should feel.
Warm. Peaceful. Joyful. A little messy. Full of questions, imagination, fresh air, muddy hands, laughter, and wonder.
Then Hurricane Ian changed our community — and changed me, too. Watching Englewood experience so much loss and uncertainty made me think even more deeply about the kind of place I wanted to create.
I wanted to build something that felt like a little bit of hope.
A place where children felt safe.
A place where families felt welcomed.
A place where relationships mattered.
A place where there was time to slow down and simply be a child.
And that’s how Woodland Friends was born.
Today, I get to open my home and my heart to a small group of children each day, and I honestly feel incredibly blessed to do what I do.
I get to witness the little moments that often become the biggest ones, the first time a child feels confident enough to try something new, the friendships that begin to bloom, the muddy adventures, the questions that make me smile, and those quiet moments when a child realizes, “I belong here.”
That is why Woodland Friends exists.
Because I believe the early years matter deeply. And I believe children deserve to spend those years feeling safe, respected, capable, curious, and loved.
Thank you for being part of this little woodland community and for trusting me with such an important piece of your family’s story.
