We believe that raising thoughtful, brave and kind critical thinkers takes skill. So we carefully select our contributors with purpose and from a wide range of disciplines. The bar is high – deep practical experience mixed with years of academic learning blended with unique talents for specific content areas and developmental ages.

Our goal is to empower parents with expert, evidenced-based knowledge that is practical and relatable. Our articles are written by early childhood experts, and our toys and learning tools are expertly sourced by education professionals. No ads. No sponsored recommendations. Just original content from professionals who have dedicated decades to honing their craft.

Paige Abramson Hirsch

Teacher + Education Consultant + Parent

Paige Abramson Hirsch is an elementary school teacher turned lawyer turned educational administrator who currently works as an educational consultant supporting school districts and charter schools. Paige studied psychology with a focus in child development at Tufts University and holds a JD/M.Ed from the University of Minnesota.

Jan Bird

Teacher + Parent

Jan is a First Grade teacher and literacy liaison at Marin Country Day School, an independent school in northern California. After teaching many years on the east coast, where she was fortunate enough to work with many talented educators, she moved west and is enjoying her work teaching students to be independent thinkers and learners. She is passionate about developing avid readers and writers and is always thinking about building efficient, accurate and flexible mathematicians.

Jessie Thomas Brugos

Teacher + Early Childhood Professional + Parent

Jessie is an educator who served as the Director of Community and Civic Engagement at Menlo School for 12 years. In 2012, she was awarded the Dorothy Boyajian Honored Teacher Award for her efforts in promoting the importance of justice, civic engagement and diversity awareness through her teaching. Jessie holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts University, and a Master’s Degree from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College.

Dr. Chandler Chang

Early Childhood Professional + Parent

Chandler Chang, PhD is the Founder and Clinical Director of Therapy Lab and Therapy Lab Kids. Dr. Chang has almost two decades of clinical experience, including at UCLA and NYU’s Child Study Center. She has a passion for incorporating science into psychological practice with a PhD in psychology from the University of Georgia and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. She loves watching The Great British Baking Show with her two sons and trying new recipes.

Kim Christensen

Early Childhood Professional + Parent

Kim is a speech-language pathologist with her own practice at SF Speech for Kids. She has worked with children and adults for more than 15 years, and has advanced training in autism spectrum disorders, apraxia of speech and nonverbal children. Kim graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in sociology, and has a Master of Science in Communicative Disorders from San Francisco State University.

Elizabeth de Roo

Teacher + Early Childhood Professional + Parent

Elizabeth de Roo has been the Co-Director of the Christopher Robin Preschool in Los Angeles, California since 2003. She leads several parenting workshops in her L.A. community, and was previously an elementary school teacher. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has teaching credentials from San Francisco State University.

Petra Fraties

Teacher + Parent

Petra has over 12 years of experience in early childhood education, most recently as a teacher at Cow Hollow School in San Francisco. Petra received an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from San Francisco State University and has a B.A. in Child and Adolescent Development from San Francisco State University. Petra frequently presents at conferences, including the California Association for the Education of Young Children Conference and the Teach For America Bay Area Education Conference.

Saeda Fuller

Teacher + Parent

Saeda Fuller is the Lead Teacher of the two to three-year old class at the renowned preschool Pacific Primary in San Francisco. She has been teaching at Pacific Primary since 2007. Saeda previously taught at Cross Cultural Family Center, and worked as a Program Director helping to launch a childcare and youth program for Survivors International/Iraqi Community Association, an organization serving refugee families. Saeda is proficient in Arabic and steeped in education credentials in international relations and early childhood development.

Misasha Suzuki Graham

Content Area Expert + Parent

Misasha Suzuki Graham is the co-creator and co-host of Dear White Women, an award-winning podcast dedicated to tackling difficult topics that are often avoided among parents and children, including race, gender, new perspectives, political hot-button issues and U.S. history. She is a practicing attorney and social justice advocate.

Linda Groszyk

Early Childhood Professional

Linda Groszyk, M.S., CCC-SLP is a social cognitive specialist and a nationally certified speech-language pathologist who specializes in social communication, executive functioning, emotional regulation and accent modification. Developing her expertise over the past 20 years, Linda spent the first part of her career working in the public school setting and she now works in her own private practice, ProSocialCoach.com. Linda graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and earned her Master of Science degree in Communication Disorders at Pennsylvania State University.

Jetta Jacobson

Teacher + Early Childhood Professional

Jetta Jacobson holds a M.A. and teaching credential in Early Childhood Special Education from San Francisco State University. She taught in a fully inclusive preschool for 20 years and now shares her knowledge and experiences as an Instructional Coach for San Francisco Unified School District. Jetta also teaches early childhood courses at San Francisco State University.

Stacy Keane

Teacher + Parent

Stacy is a recognized Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) teacher with a Masters in Education from Loyola University. She has almost 15 years experience teaching young learners at Forest Bluff School in Lake Bluff, IL. She contributes extensively to the curriculum and coaching platform at Monti Kids.

Megan London

Teacher

Megan London is a teacher at The Little School in San Francisco, CA. She has worked with two and three-year-olds for 17 years. Having spent most of her childhood and adult life in San Francisco and the Bay Area, she is passionate about educating young children with a lens on diversity, empathy and compassion for others, critical thinking and problem solving skills and strong self-image. She believes children should feel empowered, capable, and resilient while making sure to bolster emotional literacy, vulnerability and self-reflection

Maggy Mendoza

Teacher + Early Childhood Professional + Parent

Maggy Mendoza has been sharing her love of math with children and families since 2002. She received her B.A. in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley and her M.S. in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana University. Maggy currently focuses on assessment and intervention with students in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bryn Potter O’Shea

Teacher + Parent

Bryn Potter O’Shea has been working with young children and their families since 2004, and is currently a Headstart teacher and a professional development facilitator. She holds an M.A. in Education with a focus on early childhood education. Bryn has facilitated workshops for the CAEYC, Teach for America, Headstart, the California Department of Education, the Innovative Teacher Project, and San Francisco State University. Her writing has been quoted in the Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (NAEYC, 2010), and the California Department of Education’s Preschool Program Guidelines (2015).

Lani Rosen-Gallagher

Teacher + Early Childhood Professional + Parent

Lani is the Founder and Head Yogi of Full of Joy Yoga, a yoga studio for young children and families. Lani has a Master’s in early childhood education from Lesley University and holds numerous yoga certificates. As a former elementary school teacher with a deep passion for yoga, Lani has taught children in Boston, Brooklyn, Nairobi, San Francisco and Connecticut.

Karin Soriano-Bilal

Teacher + Parent

Karin is a teacher, parent and creative who revels in the beauty and magic of childhood. She has a B.A. in Political Science from University of California, Irvine and an M.A. in Global Teacher Education at New College of California, San Francisco. Karin has taught toddlers to pre-teens in public and private schools in San Francisco and Los Angeles for 17 years. Currently, she teaches Second Grade at Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera.

Saba Vlach

Teacher + Early Childhood Expert + Parent

Saba Vlach was an elementary school teacher for 17 years in Dallas-Fort Worth (Kindergarten to Grade 2). She is currently a teacher educator at the The University of Texas at Austin, and has a PhD in Language and Literacy Studies.

Shannon White

Early Childhood Professional + Parent

Shannon White, M.S., OTR/L, received her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. She has provided comprehensive therapy to children with an emphasis on sensory-integration and corresponding output-related challenges. Her post-professional training has covered a variety of therapeutic methods including approaches focused on self-regulation, motor-based deficits, handwriting and academic skills, visual perceptual development, social communication and peer relationship development, among others.

Doug Zesiger

Teacher + Parent

Doug Zesiger is currently a Kindergarten teacher at Marin Country Day School. Doug’s innovative classroom work has had a profound effect on students and parents for over 35 years. He has developed a unique approach to creating characters and stories that help young learners actively participate in solving their own problems. His magical approach can be found on his new web series Stinky Tales.