About Us

We are a family in NE Portland opens our hearts to other families who want to join us on our path of learning and growing. We offer a solution to families who:

• want a safe and loving place for their children to be,
• want to stay connected with their children and their care,
• are searching for childcare that offers an alternative to mainstream schools,
• want to connect, learn and share resources

Currently there are four of us in our core family. We are all musical, creative, literate and bilingual Spanish/English (with varying proficiency and style).  We love food, music, stories, art and learning about how the world works.  We do our best to take care of ourselves and be a part of the place we’re in. We choose local, sustainable, organic and seasonal whenever we can. We feel best when we connect with community, live mindfully and love unconditionally.

Kristen has worked for seven years as a bilingual outreach specialist with the library, doing literacy outreach to 0-5 parent groups throughout the county and maintaining their web site in Spanish. She was a nanny to twins who are now in college. She has taught thousands of children and adults, ages 5-95, in Math, Spanish, English, History, US Culture, Communication, Media Literacy, Television and Film Production in her roles as tutor, teacher, academy director, World’s Fair guide, and certified literacy trainer. She has a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Telecommunication Arts and Film from the University of Michigan. Her current interests include cooking, gardening, pre-colonial native american culture.

Ben has worked in Public Access television for the past seven years as a facilities specialist and trainer, helping the public create their own TV programs. He is a musician who plays songs he loves by heart after just hearing them a couple times. He was a nanny for two years to three children ages 2-6, and worked as a mentor at a halfway house for teens. He has taught adults and children communication, video production and editing for the past 15 years. He has a B.A. in Psychology from U.C. Davis and an M.A. in Telecommunication Arts and Film from University of Michigan. He makes excellent bean burritos and loves to play music on the guitar, piano, and the Hammond A with a Leslie speaker.

Julian has attended Polish School, Spanish School, Hummingbird School, Mountain Valley Enrichment Space and The Children’s Gym for varying periods of time. He is currently interning at PCM TV and enjoys spending time as an inventor, cook and musician.

Eva attended Spanish School and The Children’s Gym. She has an exceptional talent for connecting with other people with her words, expressions and whole self. She has a keen eye for design and beauty.