Staff

Treehouse staff

Miss Terri - Administrator

Hello my name is Terri Caywood, I am the Administrator of Terri's Treehouse. I have been in this Program for over 20 years, and took over this program 5 years ago, after being the Director for several years. I am a Registry Level 11 and a Trainer of Early ED. Cont. Education.

I get to know every face real well once they walk through my doors and have strong ties with this community. My passion is evident, I very much enjoy the time I get to spend with these children, teachers and families. There's an amazing feeling that overcomes me when a parent comes back to visit and recall, smiling, when I was their teacher a generation ago. I know how important it is to have quality early education and care for the Northwoods and will never forget that this is our Mission. Our Programs supports the resiliency of our future and we will continue to set the bar of expectations which can only be gained through growth with Reputable values that reflects our Philosophy which is aligned with the Nationally Accredited Standards, NAEYC.

Miss Emilymae - Program Director & Administrator

Emilymae King-Ryden is the Program Director at Terri’s Treehouse Early Learning Outdoor Immersion Center, where she has dedicated the past 21 years to nurturing children, mentoring educators, and cultivating a nature-based, play-centered learning environment. Under her leadership, the center has grown into a 5-star rated, NAEYC-accredited hub for outdoor immersion and developmentally appropriate practice.

Emilymae’s journey in early education began as a preschool teacher and evolved through decades of hands-on experience, starting as a high school aid and a young mother. She holds an Early Childhood Technical Diploma, an Administrator’s Credential, and certifications in Working with Children and Nature and Forest & Nature Therapy through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT). Her academic path includes studies at Nicolet Area Technical College, UW-Madison, UW-Platteville, NWTC, and the University of Pacifica, complemented by over 1000 hours of additional training in psychology, survival, health, safety, nutrition, and ecology.

Beyond the classroom, Emilymae is a Group Fitness Instructor, teaching Hula Hoop Toning, Hula Meditation, and Yoga for over a decade. She is also ordained to perform matrimonial ceremonies and frequently presents at workshops, retreats, and community events. Her passion for the outdoors extends to her role as a Community Education Instructor at Nicolet Area Technical College, where she teaches foraging, herbalism, and mushroom identification.

Emilymae is the Founder of Flora and Mycology of the Northwoods and Maecylium Momentos, initiatives focused on ethical foraging, outdoor education, and fostering deep connections with nature. She serves as a Board Member of the Wisconsin Mycological Society, where she is the Chair of Conservation and Stewardship and Co-Chair of Marketing.

At home on the Island of Minocqua, Emilymae lives with her husband, four children, dog, honeybees, and chickens. She is on a personal mission to explore all 1,000 local lakes within a decade—currently at Lake 455—through biking, hiking, swimming, skating, skiing, and foraging. Her goal is to raise awareness and advocate for the protection of the Northwoods’ natural resources.

Emilymae’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that “it takes a village” to raise a resourceful family and a thriving community. As the President of Elemental Roots E.D.U., she is committed to building intergenerational connections, promoting outdoor education, and supporting others in their journey of growth and learning. Her work is a testament to the power of relationships, nature, and community in shaping a sustainable and joyful future.

Miss Kelsey- Preschool

Miss Kelsey came to us in 2020 at the beginning of one of the most stressful times for Childcare Facilities in the Nation. She spearheaded our Preschool Program and firmly set it back on a Play-Based, Developmentally Appropriate programming foundation. She has over 150 continuing education hours, a technical diploma in preschool education, an associate's degree in Early Childhood Education, and is currently in the process of pursuing her Bachelor's degree in early childhood education at the University of Wisconsin River Falls. She is a level 12 on the registry with over six years of experience in the field. Miss Kelsey and her husband have a home in the Northwoods and are raising their daughters Jayla and Cleo with their two dogs. Miss Kelsey has diverse roots and has traveled and lived in many places; we are glad she calls the Treehouse home. Miss Kelsey is a team player, has always been professional in her relationships, and advocates for youth. Although she may not get on Brightwheel often, she connects with each child individually and lets them be creative and expressive. Miss Kelsey loves the outdoors and enjoys hiking, boating, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. Miss Kelsey also loves hula-hooping, scrapbooking, baking, and candle-making for her small business, Somethin Kool LLC. She volunteered at the Children's Crisis Center in Texas and the Animal Shelter in her earlier years. Miss Kelsey's birthday is November 24th.

Miss EmilyKate- Assistant Director

Miss Emily Kate was born and raised in the central valley of California, where she spent her earlier adult years working in a special education classroom. She began pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology due to the field’s wide breadth of interests. After moving to Wisconsin with her family in 2021 and starting work for Terri’s Treehouse she found her niche within this field of early childhood education. Miss Emily Kate has since earned her Bachelor’s Degree as well as her certification as an early childcare educator all while building her skill set within the classroom and all while raising

her son, Calvin. The two of them live on the island of Minocqua where they enjoy getting outside as much as the weather permits, thrifting, attempting new art techniques, and learning more and more about anything and everything around them. Miss Emily is the Co-Director at Terri's Treehouse where she enjoys supporting staff, children and families in an engaging in fun, but organized, play-based learning activities with her students each

day Miss Emily is diversified in the classroom daily and continues her education on this pathway. She has her Bachelors Degree in Sociology.

Miss Tammy- Lead Toddler Teacher and Supervisor

Hello, my name is Tammy Garasha, and I live in Eagle River. I attended Nicolet College, where I focused on Childcare and Development, and I am proud to hold a Level 10 on the Wisconsin Child Care Registry, reflecting my dedication to professional growth and excellence in early childhood education.

Miss Tammy has been a valued part of the Terri’s Treehouse community for over 22 years, where she began as a Lead Toddler Teacher. With 27 years of experience working with children of all ages and abilities, she brings a wealth of knowledge, patience, and understanding to our program.

In addition to her classroom experience, Tammy serves as our Supervisor and Scheduling Coordinator, playing a vital leadership role within our team. She is a trusted mentor to staff, offering guidance, support, and encouragement while helping maintain a positive, organized, and nurturing environment. Tammy takes great pride in ensuring that our program runs smoothly each day, with strong attention to detail and a commitment to keeping everything tidy, structured, and welcoming for both children and staff.

Outside of work, Tammy enjoys spending time outdoors and has a special love for animals—especially birds. She cares for her cockatiel and often helps tend to her best friend’s chickens. Her calm, caring nature carries through both in and out of the classroom.

We are incredibly grateful for Tammy’s leadership, dedication, and the many ways she helps make Terri’s Treehouse a supportive, well-organized, and caring place for everyone.

Miss Kim- Provider

I'm Kim Spankowski. I'm joining Terri's Treehouse after realizing early retirement from my career in early childhood has become a bit boring for me and I truly miss working with young children and teachers! I have a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in early childhood from UW-Whitewater and have taught all ages from infants to 4K before being a Center Director and then Education Director at my previous center of 27 years. I've been an advocate for learning through play my whole life. I truly believe a child's work is their play and that my role is to create a rich play environment to make sure that happens. My husband and I live in Minocqua where we're getting settled into a new chapter of life 'up north'. Our two young adult children are enjoying their careers and friends in Milwaukee and Nashville, so we look forward to road trips to spend time with them. In my free time I love baking, boating, hiking (especially if it involves finding waterfalls), snowmobiling in the winter and creating activities for kiddos in the classroom.

Kim comes from a pool of experience working with all ages she thoroughly enjoys hands on learning and is always coming up with ideas to enrich learning. She primarily works in the Preschool room but also has been helping administration with maintaining Accreditation having experience running Early Education Programs that are accredited through the NAEYC.

Miss Connie- Substitute

Miss Connie began at Reeds Treehouse in 1994! She was Emilymae’s mentor and has worked with Miss Tammy, Miss Terri, Miss Bailey. She piloted a lot here and has returned to one of her favorite places. Through the years she has stayed in touch with Terri and Emilymae. They lived in Canada her husband and her ran a resort where Terri would do hunting trips. Miss Connie is now a grandma of 5 children and enjoys being closer to the next generation. She loves watching them play sports and spending Thursday and Friday every week. Miss Connie used to take the PreK group here and really loved the mentorship role. Connie is a level 7 in the Registry with over 20 years of experience! She held memberships WECA NAEYC and has been on childcare boards and committees when this use to be a thing. Her birthday is February 24th. She travels frequently to the Greenbay area and loves to fish garden cook and craft/paint. She’s an avid coffee drinker and has come to realize she’s not the morning person she used to be when she open the center at 6:00 am and closed it! We assured her things have definitely changed for the better and staff get plenty of time off and even paid Inservice Days, Vacation days bonuses, stipends, free childcare, and Holidays. She was excited to hear that! Connie will be here Mon-Wed and we are excited to grow and learn from her as well. Miss Connie and the rest of the Treehouse are looking through the achieves to find some nostalgic pictures and dusting off her file we can’t wait to have her here!

Miss Rainey- Cook and Support Staff

We are excited to celebrate Miss Rainey’s one-year anniversary with us at Terri’s Treehouse! Over the past year, she has stepped into many roles and has truly become a valued part of our team. She is now serving as our cook and is loving the opportunity to support and nourish the entire program in this important role.

Welcome back, Miss Rainey—we are so glad you’re here again!

She even attended here as a child, making her connection to our program extra special.

Miss Rainey has over 10 years of experience working with children through babysitting and caregiving. She has always had a natural love for caring for others and enjoys building meaningful, nurturing relationships with the children in her care. Her compassionate and gentle personality shines through each day.

Rainey graduated from Lakeland Union High School in 2019, where she participated in volleyball, track, and gymnastics. She later worked alongside her dad at C.T.’s Deli, where she developed strong cooking and customer service skills—experience she now brings into her role here. She has certification through the culinary major at Nicolet.

Miss Rainey has completed her Entry Level Early Childhood Education certification and has begun her apprenticeship with Terri’s Treehouse. She is excited to continue her education and plans to begin working toward her degree in education this fall.

In her free time, Miss Rainey enjoys hunting, fishing, and all things Northwoods. She also loves gardening and is excited to be part of our Gathering Garden.

We are so thankful to have Miss Rainey back at Terri’s Treehouse and appreciate the care, dedication, and positivity she brings to our children and program every day.

MissJani- Lead Infant Teacher

Miss Jani was born and raised in the desert of El Paso, Texas. She has lived in the Northwoods for 16 years now. She has five children of her own ranging from fifteen to thirty years old. Four of her five children are adopted through domestic adoption, international adoption, and the foster care system.

Miss Jani homeschooled all her kids at some point in their educational life. As her children began to grow and be more independent, she earned an associate’s degree in human services. After earning this, she spent two years working with difficult children and adolescents from trauma backgrounds in the Rhinelander area. She has had much experience with and studied attachment and trauma symptoms. She looks forward to being part of some little one’s healthy development and growth.

Miss Jani loves to cook and would consider herself a “foodie.” She and her husband have been married for 32 years. She has two small dogs and a sassy bird whom she loves. She has been a “baby person” all her life. Being with little ones is her “happy place”. She loves the Northwoods and after growing up in the desert, cannot get enough of the trees and beautiful outdoors!.

Miss Lindsay

Welcome back Miss Lindsay, she has been in school majoring in Education at Stevens Point and we are happy to have her this Summer. We fell in love with her we are so glad everything finally also fell into place for her to work here again! She has a few years of experience and a few more years going to school for education! She is also a mom two beautiful daughters! She is wise compassionate and meant to be working with young minds please officially welcome Miss Lindsay to our Program!

Apprenticeship Program

We offer a range of programs involved in mentoring youth in this field through our Enrichment E.D.U Program please inquire within about these Volunteer programing!

Miss Jaden- Assistant

We are so thrilled to have her join our team here at Terri’s Treehouse. Starting this journey in such an amazing time, we love her energy passion and unique talents connecting with the students already. Miss Jaden was born and raised in Minocqua and attended MHLT, and LUHS graduating in 2021. She attended Nicolet for classes and NWTC for Early healthcare. She enjoys playing soccer, being in the water, hiking, coloring, journaling etc.

She is the youngest of five with four brothers, she says her childhood was a blast with all the big boys around. Her favorite treat is milk chocolate and her Birthday is August 22nd her favorite color is blue. This past year she was caring for an elderly couple with dementia and enjoyed doing end-of-life care. Throughout her time she discovered, that she enjoyed this work and gained patience, understanding, and a lot about the toll of dementia that can take on with a family dealing with these struggles. After losing one of the patients I knew I wanted to find another position that fulfilled me in the way that caregiving did. I have always enjoyed taking care of others and making a difference in someone else life. I am excited to do this here, and this first Summer has been one of the best!

Miss Tayiah

Miss Tayiah became part of the work-study program through LUHS, where she received training and certification in Early Childhood Education. She attended Terri’s Treehouse herself as a toddler and preschooler—not too long ago, it seems! Since then, she has truly grown up and shows a level of maturity well beyond her years.

She is incredibly helpful in the mornings, supporting our infant and toddler classrooms and assisting teachers wherever needed. Tayiah has built strong, meaningful connections with many of the children and consistently demonstrates compassion and care in her interactions.

For over a year, Tayiah has been dependable and supportive in our daily operations. We are excited that she will be joining us more often this summer. In addition to her work here, Tayiah is actively involved in her community and coaches local soccer.

Miss Galina- Assistant

We’re excited to introduce Galina, who will be serving as the interim aid in our Toddler Program while Miss Jani mentors and Galina begins her journey working here at Terris Treehouse. Galina has an opportunity to work shadowing under Miss Jani. Galina will be working closely alongside Miss Jani to ensure a smooth and nurturing daily routine for our infant and toddlers. Galina is incredibly sweet, energetic, and genuinely passionate about working with children—she often jokes that she enjoys being a kid more than an adult! She brings a wide range of experience, including work with Autism Services as a Behavioral Technician, La Petite Academy Childcare, and over two years as a nanny, supporting children with differing needs between the ages of 3 to 8. In her childcare roles, she has also worked extensively with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Galina loves being outdoors and enjoys hiking, paddle boarding, and just about anything that gets her outside—something she happily brings into her teaching by taking children outdoors whenever possible. She has a strong love for hands-on learning, including arts and crafts, science experiments, and interactive activities that spark curiosity. (She also happens to be a big fan of matcha!)Galina believes the most important role a teacher can have is to offer comprehension, attention, patience, and full engagement, creating a safe and supportive environment where children feel seen, understood, and encouraged to grow. We are so happy to welcome Galina to this role and look forward to all the care, creativity, and enthusiasm she brings to our toddler classroom.

Miss Joni- Volunteer

Joni Derdzinski (Joni Clare) is an eclectic professional and Alexander Technique is one of her trades. She completed her 1600 hour certification in 2018 from the Oregon Center for the Alexander Technique in Portland, OR. She is now an instructor in the Northwoods community offering private sessions at Unwind in Woodruff. While health and wellness are of great interest to her she is also a mother, songwriter, private vocal coach, and teacher’s aid at our learning center. Miss Joni is also sound and vibrational therapy certified. She is super helpful in developing a well balanced menu and setting the bar for quality early childhood experiential learning Programs for health and well-being as an advisor here. She is passionate about striking a balance between all of her endeavors and believes that the constant through it all is staying present and in relationship to her own awareness. Miss Joni volunteers for our E.D.U. Enrichment Programming.

Miss Lizzie- Summer Teacher

We are so excited to have Miss Lizzie as part of our team at Terri’s Treehouse! Miss Lizzie graduated from Lakeland Union High School nearly three years ago, where she also took Early Childhood Education classes through Nicolet Area Technical College. She is currently in her second year of college and continues to grow in her passion for working with children.

Miss Lizzie has always loved caring for children and enjoys exploring and learning right alongside them. In her free time, she enjoys singing, going on adventures, spending time in nature, and dancing. She has been dancing with Minocqua Dance for 15 years and has also shared her talents by teaching dance classes.

Miss Lizzie is enrolled at Viterbo University, where she is majoring in Nutrition Science. While she is with us this summer, she will be our Preschool Teacher co leading with Miss Kim. We are so excited for the Treehouse to be a stepping stone in her journey.

She truly enjoyed this role last summer while home from college and impressed us with her organization, including maintaining portfolios, planning curriculum, and creating a warm, engaging classroom environment.

We are thrilled to have her passion, creativity, and dedication here at Terri’s Treehouse and know she will continue to make a positive impact on our children and families.

Miss Jaden- Substitute

We are so thrilled to have Miss Jaden as part of our team here at Terri’s Treehouse! Now celebrating one full year with us, she has grown into a wonderful educator, working with and building connections across all age groups. Her energy, passion, and unique ability to connect with children have made such a positive impact in our program.

Miss Jaden was born and raised in Minocqua. She attended MHLT and Lakeland Union High School, graduating in 2021. She continued her education at Nicolet College and NWTC, focusing on early healthcare. Since joining our team, she has also completed her Entry Level Introduction to Early Childhood Education along with Skills and Strategies training, continuing to build her knowledge and expertise in the field.

In her free time, Miss Jaden enjoys playing soccer, being in the water, hiking, coloring, journaling, and staying active. She is the youngest of five, with four older brothers, and shares that her childhood was full of fun and adventure growing up surrounded by her big brothers. Her favorite color is blue, she loves milk chocolate, and her birthday is August 22nd.

Before joining Terri’s Treehouse, Miss Jaden spent time caring for an elderly couple with dementia, where she provided compassionate end-of-life care. Through that experience, she developed deep patience, understanding, and insight into the challenges families face. This meaningful work helped guide her toward her passion for caregiving and supporting others.

Miss Jaden has always enjoyed taking care of others and making a difference in people’s lives, and she is excited to continue doing so here. She looks forward to building strong relationships with each child and family she works with.

Miss Caroline, Aid

I’m currently on the pre-med track at St. Norbert College, where I’m studying medical biology to become a pediatrician. I’ve always had a strong passion for working with children, and I’m dedicated to providing compassionate care that supports their growth and well-being. This summer, I will also be volunteering at the hospital to gain hands-on experience in a healthcare setting and further develop my understanding of patient care. I’m excited to be part of Terri’s Treehouse for a second year, where I look forward to helping create a safe, loving, and engaging environment that fosters students’ learning and growth!

TERRI'S TREEHOUSE