SPROUT WITH NATURE

Inspiring Children to Grow Through Nature and Art

Our Services

*Working/consulting virtually with children and parents individually or in groups. *Visiting your home or sites and working with individual children or groups of 6 children or less. *Providing child care at your location days, evenings, or nights (based on previous bookings and availability). *Sick day coverage for your kids. *Long term (vacation away from home) services for 2 days or more (based on previous bookings and availability). *One on one consultation (helping parents to manage challenges and behavioral issues. *Arts & Crafts instruction and projects.

About Us

My name is Ms. Oksana, and I have been working with children since 2006. I hold a degree in accounting-economics but my passion for working with kids surpassed my interest in accounting. So, I switched career fields and have been educating different ages from 3 months to 12 years old for the last 14 years of my life. I became accredited as a teacher in California in 2012, but I now work as an on-call Child Care Consultant and Educator on the Wheels in Virginia.

I have several units of Early Childhood Education (ECE) classes and over 400 hours in ECE, workshops, webinars, and in person observations and keep my professional development up to the date. I have current certifications in CPR, First Aid, Medical Administration Training (MAT), and have a current Background check. I am also currently working as a substitute teacher at a Montessori and nature based institution.

I have taught many different philosophies such as Montessori, Waldorf, Dr. Beckey Bailey’s Positive Discipline Philosophy/Conscious Discipline, Play Based Curriculum, Learning Through Play, Emergent Curriculum, and Reggio-Emilia philosophies. By using different philosophies, I will walk your child through different approaches, which will help your child to feel comfortable and “school ready” around any school! I work individually or in groups. I strongly support age mixing activities and age appropriate projects. I am more than happy to provide many outstanding recommendations from former/current supervisors and parents.

In my free time I love nature and animals. I love to read, write, learn about holistic approaches, do art, work on indoor and outdoor design, listen to music, do many physical activities (yoga, tennis, swimming), camping, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and experiment with cooking. I have visited 11 countries around the world and more than 35 states around the USA. My husband proudly served in the US Air Force and US Army, and I truly respect our veterans.

Our Philosophy

I believe in respect, a safe and nurturing environment, positive attitude, clear boundaries, and focusing on “DO” instead of “DON’T” because negative messages focus the child’s attention on negative tasks and confuse the child with directions.
I know when it’s time to step in or step out and bring balance that children need. Children need discipline. The main thing is to always acknowledge the child’s feelings first, and from there, we can redirect the child positively into directions that can be helpful to the situation he/she is in.

Children mirror adults. Therefore, it is very critical how we interact with them and behave in front of them in challenging or thriving moments. I observe your child first and learn what he/she likes at that moment. From there, I can decide what theme we can work or focus on and that helps to build a stronger connection between us. This is how an emergent curriculum supports and boosts the natural curiosity of the child and helps the child to stay focused on a chosen theme. Moreover, we can add deeper layers to the theme and work on long term projects. I encourage children to learn how to make decisions on their own without interrupting (unless needed).

I have taught many different philosophies such as Montessori, Waldorf, Dr. Beckey Bailey’s Positive Discipline Philosophy/Conscious Discipline, Play Based Curriculum, Learning Through Play, Emergent Curriculum, Reggio-Emilia and developed a phenomenal ability to use them productively. All of them bring great elements for the development of children’s fine and gross motor skills, language, social-emotional traits, self-help skills, problem solving and cognitive ability.

Curriculum

Involving children in different literacy activities and acting out different stories by using our imagination and artistic play tools and our bodies; cognitive learning through senses, games, science, cooking and sensorial explorations; yoga and other physical activities; learning how to resolve problems with a friend on our own with teacher support is the plan. I use natural and recycled materials for our artistic activities. Hands on projects improve cognitive development and eye-hand coordination. Also, if a child isn’t able to finish or achieve the result he/she wants during the project, it is helpful to repeat it as many times as needed or simplify it by using different techniques. Supporting a child to achieve the task builds stronger self esteem. Also, starting our day with familiar or new greetings songs, physical dancing games, literacy time, art project, and dramatic play is our routine.

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Testimonials

Oksana’s name is gold in our household–parents and child alike. We were fortunate to have her as our child’s teacher for a year and were delighted for her when she branched out to form her own consulting service. We recently called upon Oksana to help navigate the Northern Virginia private school scene. We never considered private school but due to COVID and work commitments, we had to change direction and found ourselves flat-footed. Oksana was encouraging and informative, giving suggestions for admissions interviews that really helped on “game day.” Even more than her work to ensure my child was ready was her calming influence on mom. Happy to report both schools offered contracts during a particularly competitive year. In no small part to Oksana’s help, we were able to select the best choice for our child. Oksana is equal parts warmth and knowledge. She is our family’s first choice whenever we need consult a knowledgeable and trustworthy child development and education expert. – Shawna D.

“My boys are so lucky to have Miss Oksana in their lives. Each time she is with them they receive 100% of her attention. Her passion for children and their development is evident in the way she interacts with them and the guidance she also gives to me as a parent. She truly loves what she does and we are lucky to have her in our lives.” -Rebecca

Ms. Oksana taught our son (now age 6) in preschool and has cared for him and his toddler-age sister (2) pin our home. She has developed a special bond with both of them through her kindness and genuine interest in them. She is always enthusiastic and has many ideas for activities that are well planned and stimulating for children’s development. She clearly enjoys supporting children grow and has a strong knowledge of child development – she is able to be joyfully playful, while also teaching and gently supporting and enforcing boundaries. She has helped to ignite our children’s interest in nature, art, and the world around them. Ms.Oksana observes and notices individual qualities in children and develops a real connection with them. Our children are so lucky to have her! – Elizabeth and Michael C.

“Ms. Oksana was a phenomenal teacher and nurturer for our daughter. She had a way of connecting with her that no one else did and really helped her overcome what she was struggling with.” -Danielle R.

My family met Oksana when my younger daughter was a toddler and was lucky enough to be put in her preschool classroom. Oksana was warm, thoughtful, caring and incredibly devoted to the children and families in her classroom. She was the perfect combination of firm and loving which I greatly appreciated as a parent. Oksana was incredibly creative and really saw each student as a remarkable individual that had boundless potential. She took the time to really get to know my daughter deeply and understand the things she liked and was curious about. This allowed Oksana to develop curriculum that truly reflected the needs and interests of the children in her class. My family was heartbroken when Oksana left California and moved to Virginia. It felt like a member of our family had moved away. We are still in regular contact with Oksana and we treasure the relationship we have been able to maintain with her all of these years.
-Dr. Sarah Capitelli, Associate Professor of Teacher Education , University of San Francisco

Parents – One child did NOT prepare me for my second. The first is shy and reserved the second is rambunctious and uninhibited. Ms. Oksana was not only able to make a deep connection with both of them as their teacher, but teach them in a unique way that suited their personality and learning style. She clearly loves children and teaching! Her montessori-esque style, allows children to develop a passion for learning.
-Kristin Weatherley (Mom of Oz 4 and Sam 2)

Ms. Oksana is an extraordinary educator with a genuine love of children. My son lights up when he hears that he will be seeing her. She creates interesting and age-appropriate hands-on learning experiences for children, and encourages them to explore. She takes the time to really get to know children, and meets them where they are to celebrate their strengths and help them grow through their struggles. She is also wonderful at communicating with parents. I always heard fun and funny details about my son’s day, and any challenges that my son had during the day were conveyed to me but never in a punitive or hurtful way. If feels great getting such a full and complete picture of how he engages with someone not me, and her open smile and communication put me at ease as much as him. I cannot recommend her enough for any childcare needs! -Alison Lesht

“My kids loved Oksana when she was their preschool teacher and later their babysitter. She was great with the kids, reliable, and always wonderful to work with.” – Susan

Ms.Oksana was a very communicative teacher with us, which was always appreciated. She showed our daughter lots of affection, while also creating good boundaries and holding firm (in a warm way) to help enforce rules and discipline. Our daughter had an obvious respect for her, while also deeply caring about her. Ms.Oksana had a true connection with our daughter which always meant a great deal to us. Ms.Oksana cultivates a relationship with each child, specific to his or her needs and personality.
– Katie

We were so fortunate to have had Ms. Oksana work with our son (who was aged 3-4 at the time). Her patience, kindness and ability to reorient his energy was the exact guidance he needed to be able to calm himself or way from having some of those typical big toddler emotions. Oksana always encouraged his exploration both indoors and primarily outdoors that built his confidence to be autonomous and explore things for himself, but to trust in adults when and where he needed help. As a parent, we were always grateful for updates on our son’s development (the good, the bad and the ugly), which enabled me to better support his personal growth, boundaries etc at home. In short, Oksana is wonderful with children in helping them to become thoughtful and kind human beings in this world within certain boundaries.”
Sending you all the best. -Nicki

Ms. Oksana is a wonderful teacher and caregiver who has an incredible sense of what is best for children. She is sincere, authentic and kind; she has supported the emotional growth of my three children; and I have learned how to be a better parent from her as well. Her passion for children is a gift to us all. – Nora Knox