Parenting Takes a Village

Tania talks to Kyle about the importance of exercise and sports with children 

Kyle Boyd is a former teacher who is leading fan development for the Seattle Kraken. He took on this new role after eight years of teaching history and social studies and is on a mission to ensure access to hockey for nontraditional hockey communities throughout Greater Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Kyle grew up in Eden Prairie, MN, and started playing skating at the age of four. After graduating from Dartmouth College with a degree in History in 2012 he joined Teach for America in St. Louis, MO. After his time in TFA Kyle taught at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge MA, as well as Lakeside School in Seattle. As a classroom teacher and coach, he has seen firsthand the power of connecting with kids through sport. He sees hockey to encourage youth to step outside of their comfort zone and use on-ice and off-ice experiences to impart life lessons. The Seattle Kraken will be the 32nd team in the National Hockey League and have recently completed the Kraken Community Iceplex their practice and community rinks in Seattle. Kraken Community Iceplex will serve as a hub for youth hockey programming in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest Region and will be the largest NHL practice facility within a major cities’ limits. This year Kyle has led efforts to market the team to new hockey fans, and engaged local school districts, community nonprofits, and after-school partners to bring hockey to communities new to the game. As Fan Development leads for the Kraken he oversees the work of building a diverse and avid fan base across the state and region. Kyle is excited to work with a variety of community partners to address the gap in equity and access around the sport of hockey. When he is not focused on hockey, Kyle enjoys films (especially documentaries) and is still an avid historian. Kyle lives in North Seattle with his wife Archi, and the two were married in October of 2019.

Tania talks to Aly about Stuttering and Speech Therapy 

Alyssa (Aly) Vildósola, M.A., CCC-SLP (she/her) is a speech therapist, new parent, and recent addition to the North Seattle community. She realized early in her career that the most invigorating and rewarding work she could do was with kids who stutter and their families, an area most professionals, unfortunately, shy away from. In 2020 she opened a private practice to prioritize her work with this community and has been thrilled with her slow but steady progress. Aly is co-raising a bilingual (and cute!) child who attends the Northleaf Multiage Spanish class on Saturdays.

Julie Zindle | Over the last 17 years of working in many models of Early Childhood Education, I’ve discovered what appeals to me most about the co-op model, and RVCP, in particular, is that we—children, parents, and teachers—are all contributing and learning together.

Cecelia Linsley | Both of my children have been very shy and slow to warm to strangers, especially when they were very young. With my first, there were people who would ask me, “What’s wrong with her?” And I would think, “Really?! NOTHING is wrong with her!” So it was a relief to start at RVCP where she was accepted for who and what she was/is.

Lauren Graham | I first came to RVCP as a parent and found the philosophy, community, and parent education to be invaluable to my family. As a teacher, I value the work that we do at RVCP because we have an environment where all children and grown-ups belong.

https://www.rainiervalleycooppreschool.org/

Tania talks to Heather Harman about co-parenting and separation.

Heather's coaching is informed by my other roles in life, as a parent, an educator, an activist, and a woman on a never-ending search for meaning, connection, expression, knowledge, life experiences, culinary and travel adventures, artistry, and more. Heather is on a mission to empower people, serve my LGBTQIA+ community, and help kids reach their full potential by helping parents reach theirs.

Please add the following resources to Heather's episode:

Heather Harman's website:

https://www.heatherharmancoaching.com/

Tania talks to Monica Harris about the importance of music in early education.  

Monica has been teaching for over 25 years: first by teaching folks how to sing, and then later fell in love with teaching Co-op! She has a Bachelor’s of Music from the Oberlin College-Conservatory of Music, as well as a Master’s in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Roosevelt University. She, along with her two children, participated in cooperative preschool for 7 years before becoming a teacher. Monica designs the curriculum and helps manage the classroom activities, and circle time is her specialty. She is very tuned in with each and every student and allows for class flexibility based on each student’s abilities and energies. Kids love her Huggy-Boo!

Tania talks to Melanie about Parent Involvement in School

Melanie Kay was born and raised in Idaho and attended Utah State University (go Aggies!) where she earned a bachelor’s and teaching certificate in Family and Consumer Sciences Education. She taught child development, cooking, sewing, and financial literacy to students in grades 8-12 for two years before meeting her husband and uprooting to Seattle; quite the change! Fast forward 9 years and now Melanie enjoys baking cakes, sewing quilts, teaching piano lessons, and being a full-time mom to four kids under 8. She loves being a part of the coop community and the associations nurtured there.

Tania talks to Megan about the Division of Household Labor 

Megan Wiebelhaus, LMHCA is a therapist working with teens and adults with ADHD, Autism, high sensitivity, and high intelligence. In her over six years of mental health work, she's: helped teens and adults struggling with addiction, taught classes on assertiveness and self-esteem, supported foster care kids and their caregivers, worked with clients one-on-one in school and camps, and even facilitated a Dungeons & Dragons social skills group! She startedMeganWiebelhausTherapy in 2021.Megan lives in Seattle with her spouse, two children, and her abiding desire for a cat. She likes book clubs, new recipes, smart conversations, public speaking, and finally finding enough time to organize her closet.

Tania talks to Tami about the awareness and understanding that children are not small adults.

Tami Brockway Joyce (she/her) is a parent educator, actor, podcast host, community activist, small business owner, and all-around dilettante, though raising her two kids is her favorite vocation.  She has a bachelor of arts in Theatre from the University of Washington, is a graduate of The Brian Utting School of Massage, the Seattle Midwifery School (now the Bastyr Simkin Center) birth doula training, and the Foundation for Healthy Family Living infant massage instructor program. Catch her comedy podcast, The BROADcast with The Famous Filson Sisters wherever you listen to podcasts.

North Seattle College Parent Education Instructors, co-op teachers, Dean of workforce instruction, associate dean, and Parent Education Instructor coordinator come together to send a message of gratitude. We encourage you to a challenge of gratitude for a month.  Have a gratitude journal to write all the reasons you are grateful for, make a gratitude list, gratitude poems, or text/call someone for a month to give gratitude.  

Research shows that incorporating the practice of gratitude strengthens the heart, mind, and soul.  Visit our northseattlecoops.org to see references to research about gratitude practices.  

Arya, 14 years old, reads the labor acknowledgment.  

Thank you to all the participants who participated in the creation of this episode.

Tania talks to Matt about respectful communication with children

Matt McKenzie is experienced educator with more than fifteen years’ experience teaching in the preschool setting. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Early Childhood Education and currently work as the director of PRLC Preschool in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. He been a guest lecture at North Seattle College in their ECE department on the topics of curriculum implementation and administrative roles in the field. Besides his full-time job, he work on several projects that include student support at NSC and a program called My Brother’s Teacher – an organization aimed at increasing the number of men of color in the field of Early Childhood Education. He was born and raised in Seattle and his wife and they have two young children: Cameron (2.5) and Maya (4 months). His passionate about creating systems to ensure every child gets the best start in life and is equipped with the skills and tools they need to thrive. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, hiking and exploring outdoors, and cooking.