Christine McNally is a heartfelt leader and educator in our space and has been doing childcare for close to 25 years, since 1998. You may also recognize her from appearing on stage at the Child Care Success Summit, telling her story and sharing her amazing video for hundreds of engaged listeners. In this episode, Christine joins Kris to talk about her school, Under the Magic Pine Tree, a small Early Learning Center in Gardnerville, NV that is currently serving a waitlist with 92% enrollment. Christine talks about why she saw a need to open up her own daycare after a low-quality experience with another care center, how she keeps her positive mindset, and why she feels everyone is a rockstar in child care. Christine also provides some great resources for curriculum and marketing, and fills us in about her famous Great Dane that was a show dog!
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Here Are the Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- [6:02] Christine talks about opening Under the Magic Pine Tree, a small Early Learning Center in Gardnerville, NV. She has three classrooms licensed for 48 children and serves kids nine months of age until they go off to kindergarten. Currently, there is a waitlist and enrollment is at 92%.
- [8:33] Christine has been in early childhood education since 1998 and started at 19 with her own in-home daycare after she felt her son wasn’t getting proper care. She tells a horrifying story about the low quality of care that a daycare tried to pass off on her son, and Christine knew it wasn’t good enough for her son or other parents.
- [12:39] Her fun fact is that she loves going on an RV trip, and even went on an extended one for four weeks, getting to see many beautiful sights.
- [16:33] Christine shares what sets Under the Pine Tree apart from other early learning centers
- [19:44] Christine shares how she manages to always keep a positive mindset, keep her energy up, and uplift her team.
- [24:14] Christine submitted an incredible entry for the Child Care Rockstar Contest last year and was chosen as a finalist to present her story on stage in front of the entire audience in Las Vegas. She shares what that experience was like and how stepping out of her comfort zone to apply has helped her grow
- [34:33] As a founder of the Nevada Child Care Association, Christine talks about what initiatives we can expect in the future from them.
- [36:21] Christine shares what her definition is of a Child Care Rockstar.
