When I was very young I began my career in child care by babysitting occasional evenings or weekends. One family had a daughter, who I took care of often starting when she was about 3. As she got older, we would talk about going to school and what it would be like. Finally, it was time for Kindergarten screening. The little girl asked her mother why it was called kindergarten. Her mother, rather than launching into a detailed explanation of Froebel and children's places to grow, turned the question back to her daughter... "Why do you think it's called kindergarten?" The little girl shrugged, and looked thoughtful for a minute, then replied...
"I think they should call it LizaGarten instead!"
LizaGarten isn't the easiest word to read, and is harder to spell, so over the years, one transformation has been to simplify the name. Welcome to Liza's Garden!
As I've studied early childhood education, and worked in the field, my business model has developed, and transformed, but it has always had the same main objective: to provide a setting where people can learn and grow in a way that will also give children freedom to explore and learn about their world. By ensuring that caregivers have the best training available, the quality of care is elevated, and my objective can be met.
Liza's Garden Staff:
Liza Mortimer
I am the founder and primary trainer at Liza's Garden. As a teenager, I lived in a family child care home with my mom as the provider. I babysat to earn money for travel, but I also enjoyed it. At 16, I went away to college and completed my AAS in Early Childhood Education, before transferring to SUNY Geneseo and completing my BSEd in Elementary Education with an early childhood annotation and a human development concentration. Over the next few years, I worked an a Child Care Center, as a nanny, and for the NYC public school system as teacher in an impoverished part of Brooklyn. When my husband and I started our family, we knew that I needed a career that would allow me flexibility to be with our children as much as possible. For five and a half years I worked as a Family and School age child care registrar before setting out on my own as an independent trainer.
Jean McMillan
Jean is my mom, as well as a former employer of mine, and the other half of a great training partnership. Jean is technically retired, but I can't get her to act that way most of the time. You may see Jean's name mentioned as a co trainer, or as a presenter of one workshop while I present another one.
What about Helena that posts all that information?
Helena is just Liza's opinionated alter ego, don't mind her...
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Please note for special training requests, privately send a message using contact form (at bottom of page), by using Liza's email address, or call on the phone!