Tami Barbour, Owner & Director, opened Wee Friends in August 1996
MS in Education from Indiana University at South Bend, Indiana.
BA in Elementary Education from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana.
I am married to Charles and we have 2 fabulous children, Kaitlyn and Chase. My children attended Wee Friends through Kindergarten, Good Shepherd Montessori School gsms.org from 1st to 8th grade, and both transitioned into public school for their high school years. My son is currently part of the CTE program at John Adams High School and my daughter graduated from Adams in 2018 with an International Baccalaureate Diploma and now attends the University of Notre Dame. I am the volunteer photographer at South Bend Animal Care and Control (SBACC). I love getting to know each animal so that I can capture his or her personality in a compelling adoption photo. In my free time, I really enjoy carpentry, and outdoor activities like camping, canoeing, and hiking.
Other…
- 2004-2022: Board Member-at-Large, Board President (2005-2014), Community Coordinated Child Care
- 2002- 2005: Adjunct Faculty Indiana University at South Bend
- 2006-2011: Instructor and Advisor for CDA (Child Development Associates)
- 2004-2009: Board Member-at-Large, Early Childhood Professionals of Northern Indiana (Board President 2005-06)
OUR PRESCHOOL CLASSROOM
Mindy Shephard, Preschool Classroom Teacher, joined Wee Friends in January 2012
Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Indiana University
“I started at Wee Friends in 2012 and after working with infants and toddlers for the first three years, I transitioned into the preschool classroom in 2015. I took over the Kindergarten curriculum in 2016 and truly enjoy leading this program each year. Our Kindergarten is unlike any other and I whole-heartedly believe that young children learn best when the curriculum is individualized and structured around child initiated interests. I am challenged every single day and undoubtedly learn just as much from the children as they do from me.
In my spare time, I enjoy being with family, travelling, and various sporting events. Recently, I became a consultant for Beautycounter which is a safe, toxin-free personal care line. This pairs well with the Wee Friends philosophy of making sure that we’re only using safe nontoxic products and serving healthy unprocessed foods. Through Beautycounter we can also make sure the products we are putting on our body are just as safe! Here’s a link to my Beautycounter personal page: https://www.beautycounter.com/melindashephard“
Linsey Tankersley, Preschool Classroom Teacher, joined Wee Friends in January 2023
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Grand Valley State University
“I am a mother of three and have been happily married since 2006. I began my education in early childhood as a stay at home mom for three children. When my children were younger, I opened my home to two other families and their children. As the children I cared for outgrew home care, I chose to work outside my home in order to be a part of a larger early childhood education community. For 2 years prior to Wee Friends, I was a lead early preschool teacher at a Granger early childhood program. While there I was nominated as Teacher of the Year for my facility.
As an educator, I value teaching children how to learn above teaching them what to learn and enjoy creating lessons tailored to children’s natural interests. I value hands on activities as teaching tools that stimulate young imaginations and creative problem solving skills. I work to create activities that engage multiple senses simultaneously, as current research has shown it to be necessary for healthy brain integration. I favor activities that involve group rhythm and synchrony. I love to teach meditation and mindfulness practices to young children, which includes deep breathing instruction alongside yoga poses to help children find inner calm and to listen to their bodies.
In my free time, I make wood cuts as printmaking was my emphasis in college. My art subject matter deals with connection to the body and to nature, meditation, and transformation. I love the outdoors and traveling to remote places with my family for backpacking or canoeing trips and to experience the exquisite beauty of the natural world. I have been a gardener for ten years and enjoy preparing meals from my garden for my family. I love life on our family mini-farm raising my children and chickens, and growing vegetables. I enjoy reading about a wide variety of subjects and natural history, biology, psychology, philosophy, religion, and poetry are among my favorites. I absolutely love to learn and to share both my knowledge and my love of learning with others.”
Jena Vaught, Preschool Classroom Teacher, joined Wee Friends in August 2022
Bachelor of Science in Human Services, Purdue University
Minor: Communication and Psychology
“I am from the Crawfordsville/Lafayette area of Indiana. I graduated from Purdue University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services, as well as minors in Communication and Psychology. Before I joined Wee Friends I worked at Bauer Family Resources for almost 2 years. At this non-profit organization, I worked with children grades K-6th after school as well as during the summer. Specifically, I helped facilitate tutoring and teaching socioemotional lessons. I enjoy working with kids because no one day is ever the same It keeps me on my toes and I love seeing the growth in each individual child. In my free time I enjoy reading, watching sports, and outdoor activities such as hiking.”
OUR INFANT TODDLER CLASSROOM
Rebekah Cole, Infant Toddler Classroom Teacher, joined Wee Friends in May 2016
Bachelor’s Degree in General Studies, Indiana University and Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood, Indiana University
“I grew up in the South Bend/Granger area. I am married to my husband Carl and we live in River Park, just one street over from Wee Friends. I attended IUSB and graduated with an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood in May 2002 and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in General Studies in December 2002. Prior to Wee Friends, I worked for 13 years as an Associate Teacher at the early childhood program on Notre Dame’s campus. During my time there I spent time working with children in a variety of classrooms.
In my free time my husband and I enjoy going to a different Major League Ballpark each year and I enjoy Zumba/Step Zumba, running, and being outdoors.”
Albertina Estrada Martinez, Infant Toddler Classroom Teacher, joined Wee Friends in July 2022
Associate Degree in General Studies, Ivy Tech Community College, May 2022
“My name is Albertina, but I go by Tina. I currently live in Mishawaka, but I was born in Mexico and raised in San Diego, California. I began my undergrad journey at the University of Notre Dame, but transitioned over to Ivy Tech Community College when I had my son, Amaru. I’ve been married to my husband, Adam, since 2020. I graduated in May 2022 with my Associates degree in General Studies. I was previously a paraprofessional at a special education intermediate school. I am bilingual, with certification/seal from the state of California. I’m excited to start my journey at Wee Friends and can’t wait to see where it takes me.”