Ms. Meghan is the Founder and Lead Teacher at Secret Forest Playschool.
In 2010 when Meghan's son was born she realized there was a need for a play-based nature program in the Duluth area. As an advocate for play Meghan made it her mission to develop a program that would offer a rich, meaningful experience to children in a nurturing environment. After researching what programs in other parts of the world were doing Meghan opened Duluth's first play-based nature program, Secret Forest Playschool in the fall of 2012.
Since opening Playschool Meghan has been able to fully appreciate that when you provide freedom with guidance that children are able to set their own limits and they become unstoppable! Meghan says "This approach speaks for itself... real learning is happening here. I give children the chance to take personal responsibility, to assess a situation, take a risk and learn from the outcome. Giving them this control results in the child feeling more confident and they continue to be motivated and challenge themselves."
Today Meghan's passion for preserving childhood continues to grow! Her wish is "...that the play continues well past these days.”
Meghan had an AAS degree in Sign Language Interpreting and worked in the public schools for seven years prior to opening Playschool. She is a mother of two, Sawyer and Hazel. Her husband, Cody, works as an engineer and pilot at Cirrus.
Ms. Nikki is the Friday teacher at Secret Forest Playschool
Nikki is a mom to three wonderful boys Jackson, Rylan and Bode who have been lucky enough to attend Secret Forest over the last seven years. She says "Watching this program grow and being part of this amazing community has been such a privilege and an inspiration."
In the fall of 2018 Nikki started her own program for school aged kids called Tischer Treehouse where her mission is to provide unstructured nature based play to children in a safe and nurturing environment while fostering children's physical, social, emotional, creative and intellectual development through play. Nikki is excited to be able to continue her program while also being a part of Secret Forest.
Nikki has a secondary education degree from the College of St. Catherine's with an emphasis in social studies. In college, she worked as a camp counselor developing and running summer camps. Her and her husband Joe, moved to Duluth in 2007 from Colorado where she was a trainer for American Family Insurance. She then worked at Cirrus Aircraft before her son Jackson was born in 2010. Nikki was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom for the last eight years before opening Tischer Treehouse. In their free time you can find the Welle family, skiing, mountain biking, hiking, golfing, camping or coaching various sports the boys are involved in.
Nikki is a mom to three wonderful boys Jackson, Rylan and Bode who have been lucky enough to attend Secret Forest over the last seven years. She says "Watching this program grow and being part of this amazing community has been such a privilege and an inspiration."
In the fall of 2018 Nikki started her own program for school aged kids called Tischer Treehouse where her mission is to provide unstructured nature based play to children in a safe and nurturing environment while fostering children's physical, social, emotional, creative and intellectual development through play. Nikki is excited to be able to continue her program while also being a part of Secret Forest.
Nikki has a secondary education degree from the College of St. Catherine's with an emphasis in social studies. In college, she worked as a camp counselor developing and running summer camps. Her and her husband Joe, moved to Duluth in 2007 from Colorado where she was a trainer for American Family Insurance. She then worked at Cirrus Aircraft before her son Jackson was born in 2010. Nikki was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom for the last eight years before opening Tischer Treehouse. In their free time you can find the Welle family, skiing, mountain biking, hiking, golfing, camping or coaching various sports the boys are involved in.