Admin

Founder and Executive Director

Kristel was born and raised in Utah with a few years spent in Las Vegas, Nevada. No matter how long she spent away, she always found her way back home to Utah!
Kristel has been involved in the Early Childhood Education field for 13 years. Her passion for children began at a young age between her siblings, 60+ cousins, and her neighborhood in Heber Valley. She began babysitting at age 8 and was dubbed the "Baby Whisperer" for her knack to get the littles calmed and asleep quickly.

Kristel began her career in Early Childhood Education in high school in conjunction with courses at Dixie State University in 2010 followed by UVU after graduating. After the births of her two children, she began working in childcare centers. Kristel was introduced to the Montessori philosophy in 2012 and quickly implemented Montessori methods in her home with her own children.  She then opened her own state licensed in-home childcare in 2013. 

She wanted to gain experience in all areas of childcare and understanding the business aspect before pursuing her lifelong dream of opening a school when the time was right. She studied Montessori and business for several years until she had the opportunity to study under a private Montessori educator for two years in 2016. She is currently completing her degree and credentials in ECE along with her CDA. Her children have also been enrolled at Montessori charter schools since 2015.

Kristel is a Jill-of-all-trades with certifications as a CNA, Licensed Massage Therapist, Life Coach, Reiki Master, and entrepreneur. She loves holistic health, yoga, meditation, art, music, plants, nature, and above all else, being a mother to her two (soon to be three!) not-so-little humans.

Kristel is so grateful for this opportunity to implement her vision and experience within a child-centered environment. Thank you for trusting in us to be part of your village to care for and teach your children.

Director

 Coming Soon!

Assistant Director

 Cassy is originally from Southern Utah, but has fallen in love with Northern Utah after she and her family moved here two years ago. She and her husband have been married for 6 years and with their two little boys they couldn’t be happier. Cassy and her husband love Disney and spending time together as a family at Disneyland. 

Growing up, her mother instilled a love for children that has never dissipated. Cassy has been a Montessori parent from the very beginning which is a lifestyle that she incorporated into her family life. Her two boys currently attend and thrive here at Inquisitive Minds. 

Cassy strives to ensure each child at IM feels unconditional love. Seeing them learn something new brings her so much joy. If you find her in a classroom, you may see her using American Sign Language (ASL) with the younger students. Incorporating ASL can help children speak earlier and lessen fussiness or outbursts because they are able to communicate their needs easier. 

Cassy is constantly looking for ways to improve herself, the way she teaches, and ways of supporting her team. One of her greatest strengths is her patience and empathy. She loves Montessori because it focuses on each child completely and individually, provides small class sizes, and employs teachers that give the space for the children to grow and learn in their own way. 

She feels every school should implement Montessori teachings! 

 Admin Assistant 

 Alice grew up in a small country town outside of Cambridge, England and moved to the US after high school to attend BYU-Idaho, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences with a minor in Early Childhood Development. Since then she has worked primarily in healthcare administration settings in management at BYU-Idaho, Women’s Care Florida and Intermountain Healthcare. She also worked for several years as a full-time nanny, where she was able to utilize many Montessori principles she learned in her professional education.

She loves working in Early Childhood Education because every day is a new adventure with so many new things to learn and explore! She loves watching our students get to be so hands-on and lead their own learning. Watching them get so excited and passionate about what they are discovering and creating is my favorite! She loves any opportunity she has to be with our students and to give them and their wonderful teachers the support they need to flourish.

Outside of IM, you can usually find her running around with her own little boy, her husband, and their fluffy pup, Charlie. She really enjoys cooking and baking, reading, road trips, and any chance to be creative! 

 Marketing 

 Coming Soon!

Primary Teacher 

Naomi Kerr grew up in Kennewick, Washington and moved to Utah in 2011. 

She attended BYU and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science Teaching. She recently completed a Professional Teaching English as a Second Language certificate at the University of Utah. 

Naomi’s top hobbies include hiking, reading, and playing board games with friends and family. 

Her favorite thing about working in Early Childhood Education is watching the children get excited about learning. They are at a stage where they are brimming over with questions and she loves being able to help them get some answers. One of Naomi’s biggest strengths as a teacher is being able to connect with each student on a personal level and teach information with enthusiasm and empathy. Naomi loves Montessori because of the control the students have over their learning and the hands-on nature of the material.

Primary Teacher

 Being born and raised in a South part of Russia, Liza immigrated to the United States when she was nineteen years old. She has her Associates Degree in Music and is currently enrolled in school to become an elementary teacher. Her long term goal is to become a music professor and open her own music school.

Liza started caring for her nephews and nieces when she was twelve. They made a lot of fun memories together. She now has 10 nieces and nephews and has found it to be very fascinating to see how they grow individually.
Liza was officially employed as a childcare provider when she was sixteen. She thoroughly enjoyed this experience as well as preparing lessons and themed birthday parties for her students.

When Liza became a mother, she understood even more the responsibility of raising children. She believes that the best investment a parent can make is investing in their own children. Being a mother inspired her further to work in this field. Making memories and teaching children while using positive discipline is her main priority when teaching her students.

In Liza's free time, she enjoys spending it with her family. They like swimming, going on hikes, and traveling. They also enjoy watching anime and eating Ramen. Her personal hobbies are to play piano and the accordion (which the students at IM love!) Her favorite composers are Claude Debussy, Frédéric Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. 

 When learning about the Montessori style, she found it great that the Montessori curriculum provides a freedom children need so they can explore and investigate new things, but also provide security and stability in a schedule that children thrive in. She also appreciates that children learn to respect themselves and others around them. She teaches children during their Gathering Circle where they can all feel united and  motivate students to help one another. 

"Our students, management team, and teachers are incredible here at IM, which is why I appreciate and enjoy working here!"

Pre-Primary Teacher

 Coming Soon!

Pre-Primary Teacher

   Coming Soon!

Infant Teacher

 Kaitlyn is from Eagle Mountain, Utah. She recently graduated with her Bachelors degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University-Idaho. She has spent the last 10 years working in all areas of child care and spent 3 years studying American Sign Language and loves teaching babies to sign and communicate. She is also certified in First Aid Mental Health for children.

Kaitlyn's hobbies consist of dancing, cooking, reading, writing, and being with her family. She loves to talk and laugh with friends and family and has a little dog named Bo who is her world and her baby. She quite literally loves him as her own child.
Kaitlyn is kind, caring, and absolutely loves children. Children love and gravitate to her as she is quite the baby magnet. You will always find her with a baby on her hip! Her best quality is how wonderfully she can make you feel as if you are the only person in the world. She believes you can always find a reason to smile. 

Kaitlyn believes in cultivating every child's imagination and loves to take them on adventures in everything they do.
Her favorite part of Montessori is the independence it gives children to grow as an individual person. She loves when her students learn something new; the pride that they feel is palpable. She thrives when she witnesses her students understand something that is new to them. Kaitlyn truly loves all of the children she cares for. Inquisitive Minds is a place like no other and will make your children feel beyond loved and cared for.  

Infant Teacher

 Kaitlyn grew up in Kimberly, Idaho and currently resides in Provo. She will be graduating with a Bachelors degree in Child Development at the end of 2021. She has worked as a childcare provider prior to joining IMM.

She loves making one-on-one connections with each child. She found her love of working with children at a young age as she watched and helped her older sisters care for their children. She loves the real life skills a child can learn in a Montessori setting as they play and interact with their environment. At IM, she loves the small, close knit classes that foster stronger connections between the teachers and the children.

In her free time, she enjoys painting, baking, eating what she bakes, reading, traveling, and spending time with her nieces and nephews. She has four sisters and one brother. 

Toddler Teacher

 Megan is from Cottonwood Heights, Utah and loves it. She is recently engaged to her sweetheart and can’t wait to get married and settle down. She and her betrothed enjoy watching movies and spend time together. 

Exploring the mountains and hiking around Utah Valley takes up a lot of her time. Megan comes from a large family and has a lot of younger siblings which is where her love for children sparked. 

She is a born leader and conveys love in every form of her teaching methods. She bonds very quickly with each child and focuses on one at a time every chance she gets. 

She has does an amazing job at classroom management and has exhibited patience that is hard to find anywhere else!

Toddler Teacher

Coming Soon!

Outdoor, Yoga, and Meditation Guru

 Coming Soon! 

 Facility Assistant

Hailey has been home schooled since 6th grade in a Montessori home. She is the oldest of 5 siblings and is currently working on finishing high school. Hailey enjoys a variety of hobbies including drawing, sewing, crocheting, organizing, and painting. She aspires to be an author. Hailey enjoys getting to know the students and learning how to prepare classroom spaces. She describes herself as hardworking and orderly. She loves Montessori because students are free to learn about what interests them. She loves that they are met at their own level and learn at their own pace. 

Floating Teacher 

 Corinne is from Mesa, Arizona and recently moved to Utah. After graduating from high school, she worked at a Montessori school for a year and nannied for two wonderful children. She is passionate about working with children and helping them learn and grow in a healthy environment. In her spare time, Corinne loves going to the movies, spending time with friends, camping, and hiking 

Support Staff

 Jessie is from Eagle Mountain, Utah. She will be attending UVU to study nursing in the fall and is currently in the process of obtaining her CNA. Her ambition is to work at Primary Children's which lead her to working with children right away after her sister, Kaitlyn, began working at Inquisitive Minds. 

She loves working with our students and their imagination and hope makes her glow. She has 4 siblings and is the second youngest in her family. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and reading. 

Activities Coordinator 

Ariel is from Eagle Mountain, Utah. She will be attending SUU in the fall to study theatre. She grew up loving kids and was the kid that carried a baby doll around everywhere she went. 

Ariel is the second youngest of six kids and currently has two nieces and a nephew that she adores. Her favorite thing about working at IM is getting to play with the kids and getting to know them individually. Ariel obviously loves The Little Mermaid and loves when the students call her the REAL Little Mermaid. She spends her free time reading books, doing theatre, and watching movies with her cat. She has an addiction to soda shacks and has one at least once a day.  

Opening Coordinator

 Coming Soon!