It all started when…

I was ten years old, when the phone rang in our farmhouse. I heard Mom say, “No, Judith is busy tonight.” I knew the call was about a babysitting job for my sister and I started to pray.

“You know she’s only ten,” I heard Mom say. "Well, let me ask her. Aleta!”

She didn’t have to call twice. I was right there,  “Yes! Yes! Yes! Let me go! Let me have the babysitting job!” On that first job I took care of Kristen; she was only five-months old.

Growing up on a farm near Eden, SD, a small rural town, I babysat for many families. Most of my time was spent with one family with four boys. Also active in academic and extra curricular school activities, I graduated as the Valedictorian of my high school class and headed to the University of South Dakota. It broke my heart to leave “my kids” behind.

In college, word got around and I had to start a babysitting service because I received more calls to babysit than I could possibly handle. My grades were very important to me; so babysitting my way through school was a good fit. I would get the opportunity to interact with children and families and when the kids went to bed I had some quiet hours to study.

It was during this time that I realized it wasn’t just the babysitting that I loved, it was observing children in all stages of development. It was seeing what toys most interested them and then introducing other toys to expand their interests. I was assisting older children with homework and helping them make connections in their own minds that would guide them through assignments they would have for years to come. I was also noticing the interaction of the various families: What parents did and said, and how their children responded.

After my freshman year of college, I flew to Connecticut to be a nanny for a family with three boys. I was a babysitter and a role model for the children and a support for the parents. I went on to spend eleven summers helping those boys and their family grow. In that time, I grew too. I spent a lot of time at a country club noting the social manners that were expected. I also spent numerous hours at sporting events observing the physical discipline and teamwork required.

I graduated with high honors from the University of South Dakota with an Elementary/Early Childhood Degree. I have always continued my education including Leadership and Etiquette with Rebecca Dunn, Executive Leadership Instructor. I taught in Omaha, NE and Sioux Falls, SD before being inspired to leave the traditional classroom and develop Miss Jaspers' House.