Stephanie Krause - Owner/Provider/Teacher

Stephanie took a Child Development class in high school, and has been learning about play and its benefits ever since. She earned her BS in Human Development and Family Science from Oregon State University in 2000. She opened Bloom as a fully child-led, play-based preschool and childcare late in 2008, and has since taken on a personal mission to study all things play. She is crazy about play and passionate about supporting each individual child precisely where he or she is developmentally. She enjoys sharing her passion with other providers at various conferences and trainings on the topic of play. Stephanie is a mother runner who enjoys finding outdoor adventure of all sorts with her husband David (whose mad skills in finish carpentry are an asset to the preschool) and their two teenage boys (whose energy inspires her to keep life moving). She is pretty convinced that her golden retriever, runner buddy Lola (who also functions as a therapy dog in the preschool) is the best dog in the universe.

Lauren Morris - Teacher/Substitute Provider

Lauren has been a presence in our program for over eight years. She began to learn about child development through classes at her high school here in Bend. She first came to Bloom as a student volunteer in January 2009, and we were so pleased to have her stay with us after her high school graduation that same year!

Lauren's committment to strive for what is best for each child drives her to continual growth in understanding each child as an individual. She works daily at supporting the children in their world of exploration and relationship building at Bloom. Her presence in our program has been a wonderfully steady support for children and their families for many years now! 

Kimberly Fisher- Teacher/Substitute Provider

Kim obtained her degree in Human Development and Family Science from Oregon State University. She has worked in a variety of settings with young children, and believes deeply in the importance of play. In her pursuit of finding a way to work with children that would fully embrace play, Kim contacted our program to learn more. Fortunately her timing was perfect as we were looking for someone to join our team. 

In our program Kim's calm and steadiness is a tremendous support for the children. Her flexibility in doing whatever it takes to meet the children's needs has been an incredibly valuable asset in fitting so well into our staff team. We are so grateful that Kim's vision for Early Childhood Education aligns so well with our own, as we look fowrad to keeping her on our team and not letting her get away!