Meet the Learn & Grow Team!
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Here at Learn & Grow we are so proud of our staff. Each and every one of them brings something special to our team. Many of our staff has chosen caring for children as their lifelong career. One thing our staff members all have in common is their love for children!
Allie has been the director of L&G since 2022 and she really does a wonderful job. She does everything within her power to make sure this center operates safely and smoothly. This daycare is such an enormous part of her life. Allie loves to build relationships with all the families that attend our daycare, and she even works in the classrooms where and when she is needed. Allie works with parents well to make sure that their children get the special care that they deserve. If you have any questions regarding issues or questions about the center, Allie is who you should contact.
Owner/ Director/ Teacher
Allie Bachler
"Hi, my name is Allie. I am the owner, director & a teacher all rolled into one. I have four beautiful children that keep me busy outside of the daycare along with 2 siberian huskies and 2 cats. Kody & I have been together for just over 4 years and we bought the daycare from his grandparents who ran this location for over 45 years. I have had the pleasure of working at this location for 2.5 years and started my teaching career alongside my mother-in-law at her child care center a few miles south on Hwy. 65. I grew up in a huge family, surrounded by 20+ cousins for every birthday, holiday and general get togethers so I always knew I wanted a large family myself and I am so happy i got started when I did. While my children bring me a different type of love and happiness at home, I couldn't imagine a better job than walking in and being greeted by all of the children in our daycare and helping each and every one of them learn, laugh, and grow every day they come in."
Kathy has been around longer than any of us at L&G! We are so proud to have Kathy with us. Her experience is priceless. She really does well running the infant room, the babies just adore her. Working with 4 or more babies for 8 hours a day can be very hard as many of you probably know, and she does it with ease! We hope Kathy stays with us until the day she retires!
Lead Infant Teacher
Kathy Lammers
"Hi, my name is Kathy! I am the Lead infant room teacher here at L&G. I have been with L&G for over 30 years!! I have watched generations of families come through this center. I really enjoy getting to know both the families and the children that I care for. Besides a childcare teacher, I am a mother and a grandmother. Kids have always been a huge part of my life! My favorite parts of working in the infant room are connecting with the babies and watching them learn and grow, hitting all the special milestones that babies reach in the first 16 months of their lives. It is so special to watch each baby learn at its own pace to walk, use their voice, sit up, crawl, and so much more!"
Lannea is an amazing toddler teacher. She goes out of her way to make each day special for the toddlers! She takes time outside of the classroom to come up with new fun art or sensory projects. She also does an amazing job decorating the room with the children's art so all the parents can see what their child and their child's friends have created. We are so fortunate to have her on our team as she truly makes this center a better place! We hope she stays with us for years to come!
Lead Toddler Teacher
Lannea Nordby
"My name is Ms. Lannea, I am the lead toddler teacher here at L&G! I have been working in childcare coming up on 5 years now! I also have my certificate to own my own daycare. I love what I do and wouldn't change it for the world! One of my favorite things to do with the kids is art and I love to show off their work!"
Hannah has become an essential part of our team. She is a very kind and gentle with the children and we are very proud to have her run our preschool room in the morning to mid afternoon!
Lead Preschool Teacher
Hannah Olson
"Hi, I'm Hannah! I've been with L&G Child Care since August 2022 and I am one of the Lead Preschool Teachers. I have been working in childcare for about 4 years now and i am currently on my fifth year of teaching. I am also currently enrolled at Rasmussen University to obtain my associate degree in child development. I hope to earn my bachelor's degree and open my own in-home daycare one day! My favorite activity is leading and planning arts and craft projects with the children! I really enjoy seeing them be creative and turn their imagination into art! I also enjoy leading our morning group in preschool."
Kaylee has been a huge asset to our team. Learn and Grow would not be the same without her! Kaylee is always trying to come up with new exciting activities for the kids to try out and the kids have a blast as a result.
Assistant Preschool Teacher
Kaylee Bachler
"Hi my name is Kaylee, I am one of the many lovely staff at L&G. Some things about me are, I love to hike and explore! I'm very family oriented, and I would love to be either a kindergarten teacher or a children's therapist. I have always loved working with kids, I come from two very big families being the oldest in both, I've always had little ones around me! I've been babysitting since 12 years old, volunteered at my church (in the preschool group and now I have been working here for about 2 1/2 years. Some of my favorite things to do with the kiddos is group games, sensory play, and trying out new interactive learning activities! My favorite thing about my job is getting to know each individual child and watch the kids grow and use the skills that i have taught them."
Ava primarily works in our toddler room and she has been such an amazing Aide. The kids simply love her as she is such a kind gentle person. Ava would win the award for being the most bubbly staff member as she just about always has a smile on her face! We truly hope that Ava stays with us for years to come!
Teacher's Aide (Toddlers)
Ava Hartvigsen
"My name is Ava and I have been working at Learn & Grow Child Care Center for about a year and a half now. I always knew I had a special connection with kids, and that connection grew stronger growing up with my family fostering kids. My family fostered kids for about 6 years and it was an amazing experience for me! I am currently doing online classes at ARCC so I can work full-time at L&G. I plan to use my love and passion of caring for children in my future career wherever life takes me!"
We have known Emily for many years. She is actually the godmother of our very own Dakota, and we couldn't have made a better choice. She really has a way with children. Emily is hardworking, dependable, and she really is just an awesome person to be around.
Teacher's Aide
Emily Lehman
"Hello! My name is Emily. I have been with my husband for 10 years but I recently got married. No kids of our own, but nothing brings me more joy than the kids in my life inside and outside of the daycare. I started at L&G in October of 2023 thinking I was just going to substitute here or there but I ended up loving it! I have such a passion for watching the children learn and grow up with us! I am currently working on pursuing my CDA to become a teacher in the infant room. In my spare time, I like to be with my 7 animals as well as fish, kayak, and explore the outdoors."
Solbee is the newest addition to the L&G team, and we are very excited to have her. While hiring we had many interviews and Solbee far exceeded all the other candidates. She is very kind, hardworking and great with the children!
Teacher's Aide
Solbee Denucci
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Kelly is our lead preschool teacher in the afternoons. Kelly has a lot of experience in childcare as she has worked at multiple childcare centers over the years. She actually works at both Learn & Grows! Kelly does a wonderful job leading groups, which is not an easy thing to do with 10-25 kids at a time!
Preschool Teacher
Kelly Ranallo
"Hello, I'm Kelly, I have been with L&G since 1996. Starting out I worked only at the other location. The family that runs L&G has been so good to me. I even took care of one of the current owners when he was just a preschooler! I am a preschool teacher, which is the room that I enjoy the most, although I have worked with all the age groups throughout my childcare career. I love the preschooler's imaginations and getting messy with all kinds of projects! I enjoy doing arts and crafts and dancing books. I try very hard each and every day to learn something new and I love when the kids teach me something. I am also a house cleaner, and I work at the other L&G location in the mornings! I love to fish, play "bags", and being around people in general! My family and friends are important to me just like every child that I care for."
Mady is a great childcare worker! She really does a good job keeping the room under control despite there being over two dozen children.
Teacher's Aide (Preschool)
Mady A.
"Hi, my name is Mady. I have been with L&G for 2 1/2 years! I work in the preschool room as well as prepare lunch for the center. I love getting to know all the kids and watch them grow. Preschool is a great age because the kids are really starting to get the hang of a lot of the fundamental skills, whether its talking clearly, walking and running carefully, reading/ writing and so much more!"
We are so fortunate to have Kathy as a mentor and predecessor. She has certainly earned the right to never work another day in her life, but she cares so much about this childcare center that she continues to help if necessary! We hope she enjoys her retirement and has peace of mind knowing that her legacy is in good hands!
Founder/ Previous Owner/ Previous Director
Kathy Elvidge
"Hi, my name is Kathryn (Kathy). I am the previous owner/ director of L&G. I founded the daycare center in 1977 at another location in Blaine. We have watched this city come a long way since then! I am currently retired but from time to time I will help out around the center or simply just come visit. We sold the daycare to my grandson and our granddaughter-in-law in February of 2024. We grew this daycare from the ground up and we are so grateful to see our legacy continue for many years to come! Nowadays my husband Dennis and I are focusing on spending time with family, traveling and just simply enjoying the retired life. Dennis and I are so confident that this center will continue to help this community and its families while shaping today's youth to become well rounded young boys and girls!"
At Learn & Grow we do our best to help new employees fit right in. We know starting a new job can be stressful and we try to make you feel right at home on day one! Childcare is one of the most rewarding industries because, we are helping shape the youth of the community. The future literally depends on our youth, and we intend to help make it a bright future!
Teacher
Now Hiring!!!!
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