Pam Koons - Seattle Correspondent

Welcome and hello to all my fellow Seattle preschool families and those interested in this exciting city! My name is Pam Koons and I am pleased to be your link to the Seattle preschool world. Even though I am originally from the Bay Area of California, I transplanted to Seattle after college and have never looked back.

Armed with degrees from San Jose State University in Early Childhood Preschool Education, Children's Theater and Business Management, 24 years ago I started and directed a small, private preschool/kindergarten (NW Children's School) which quickly grew from 4 to 120 children within the first two years! I soon found myself very busy crossing over from the teaching side to the business side of preschool education, becoming a school principal, education director, business administrator, staff and parent mentor, public relations spokesperson and of course, chief bottle washer! I was very proud that my Preschool was honored with awards for the best private school in the County.

These experiences led me down many incredible paths while also getting to know the community. I quickly became President of the local Chamber of Commerce and served on their board for over 15 years. Last counted, my preschool had positively affected over 10,000 preschool children and their families. What a wonderful life expression to be able to impact that many lives! Now I have the pleasure of visiting the children of my original preschool students! 

A local newspaper reporter once wrote: "When Pam was growing up, her parents always told her she could do anything she wanted to do and she could do it very well." That motto seemed to stick as I journeyed through life becoming very involved with the local school districts, state preschool associations, various parenting and volunteer organizations. If it had to do with preschool, it had to do with me!

While very proud of my preschool and its many successes, the greatest challenge of my life came about in 2004, where I sadly said goodbye after experiencing a serious injury and emergency spinal surgery. Undergoing several years of recovery, yet not one to sit still for any amount of time, the experience gave me quite a difficult road to travel. My family and friends were extremely supportive while I re-gained my health.

This challenge, which I would later see as an opportunity, allowed me to pursue my educational writing and other preschool-related ventures. My love for helping children, parents and teachers would shine through as I began developing an educational consulting site showing others how to start their own preschools and daycares: PreschoolMentor.com, and also the opportunity to volunteer my educational writing abilities for the site, AllExperts.com.

Currently, I am writing preschool curriculum books for teachers, putting together an anthology of many humorous classroom experiences, and editing a start-up manual for new preschool business owners. Say hello to me at MySpace. In my spare time, I love working on my property in the forest, raising German shepherd dogs, going boating and exploring the outdoors, which makes me a true Washingtonian!

If I have learned anything from my life experiences, it is that the most precious aspects of life need to be approached with a hearty sense of humor! My hope for this site is that I can infuse my friendly writing style with that same sense of humor, making you laugh along the way while you are discovering many wonderful things to do with your preschooler. It is an honor for me to be able to share with you the two things that I love the most- preschool children AND the beautiful Seattle area!  

If you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear from you! Please add this site to your favorites and visit regularly- as just like our Seattle weather, things change often! Ready? Set? Let's Go!