Hello! Please introduce yourself.
Hi! My name is Kristin Gillespie and I’m the center leader at The Learning Experience in Gurnee.
Where are you from and how long have you lived in town?
I’m from the Ingleside/Round Lake area, but currently live in Fox Lake. I’ve always lived in Lake County and just decided to stay close when my husband and I were looking for our home because all my family is here too! I work in Gurnee.
Do you have child(ren)?
I have one son, Colson, who just turned 3 in June.
What are your favorite things to do in the area with and without your kids? Family friendly restaurant? Date night?
We like going to Round One in the Gurnee Mills Mall with Colson. They have a great climbing area that’s perfect for an energetic 3 year old boy! Similarly, we love the Treehouse Cafe in Lake Zurich and the Hangout in Libertyville. They all have similar concepts of the big climbing tunnels, stairs, and nets. It’s fun for him and nostalgic of the McDonald’s play areas from the 90’s for us! For Date night, we currently have a membership at the Chicago Botanical Garden. They have various events throughout the year that are great for date night.
In addition to the restaurants you mentioned, can you share your TOP 5 favorite local businesses?
Gurnee Donuts is the bomb.com! They are right down the road from our building and we get them anytime we have breakfast for the staff! Ceramics for You in Gurnee has been wonderful helping us with our summer camp kiddos as well as helping us raise money for Make A Wish.
Which podcasts and/or TED Talks inspire you the most?
Just about any TED talk is good. There are some good ones out there about Early Childhood and I do really like Simon Sinek.
What are your favorite places to travel near and far and why?
We are big Disney World people! My husband and I went there for our honeymoon and have gone once with our son and have another trip planned next year. There’s just something about the magic of it all when you are there that warms your heart. My husband and I have also done light level road trips to Door County, the Mall of America, and Wisconsin Dells. All also great places! I think traveling to anywhere is exciting especially if you have someone great to go with you!
Tell us about your business/organization.
I work at The Learning Experience, which is a childcare center. We have students in our care anywhere from 6 weeks old to 12 years old. Our mission is to do our best every day for the children, their families and our community. That really sums up what we do!
We work hard every day to set our students up for success: whether that’s teaching them their letters and learning to read, or helping them navigate social interaction with their peers, or showing them sign language that goes with the topics they are learning, or even just giving a hug and showing empathy when they are sad. We nurture all areas of development and prepare them for kindergarten and the world beyond. Additionally, we act as a resource to our families by providing knowledge when we can and information for additional information if we can’t provide the service here.
Lastly, we focus a lot on our community. We’ve raised over ten thousand dollars for Make A Wish for three years in a row! That money goes directly to a Make A Wish recipient in Illinois. We also partner with a lot of our local businesses and cross market with them whenever we can!
What do you do in your position?
I do a little bit of everything! My number one goal is to make sure the kiddos are safe and happy and the teachers are supported. Beyond that, I oversee: the organization of our family events, compliance with franchise and licensing requirements, billing/collecting of tuition, helping families apply for financial aid, the continuing education of the staff, supply ordering, building maintenance, and honestly the list goes on and on.
Why do you love your job?
I love seeing the kids learn and grow! I love seeing the breakthrough moments on a kiddo’s face or seeing the joy when they run up for a hug. But more than that, I love seeing one of the teachers finally get through to a student they’ve been struggling to connect with or finally finding their rhythm with a new roster of kids. I love seeing families come in and feel at home because they know we will take care of their babies. I love seeing the staff laugh, connect, and enjoy coming to work everyday. I just love being apart of it all.
What is your favorite thing about the Libertyville Area Moms Network?
I just love the ability to connect and see the “real” side of being a mom. I think it’s easy to feel alone or like you are doing something wrong, but seeing articles that describe the same situation that just happened to me, makes me feel like I’m not alone. All the resources throughout the site are great also!
Please share two fun facts about yourself.
1. I love musical theatre and my husband and I used playbills of shows we’ve seen together as our “table numbers” at our wedding.
2. I’m a huge homebody and love all things “nerdy” like reading fiction, doing jigsaw puzzles, completing sudoku, putting together Lego sets, anything Harry Potter related, logic/puzzle video games, etc.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten from another Mom?
I have two:
1. Trust your gut when it comes to your kids. Mom intuition is real.
2. It’s okay to ask for help.
Are you involved in any volunteering or philanthropy? Do you have a favorite local non-profit or charity?
We raise a lot of money for Make A Wish through my school. I would say that’s the charity I know most about and love the work they do!
In an effort to keep it real, and not just show the sunny side, can you share with us a past or present struggle in your personal or professional life? Please also share how you overcame it or cope with it (or plan to)?
I would say my biggest professional struggle was gaining the confidence to step up to my new position. I had been offered the position of Center Director twice prior to finally accepting the third time. It’s hard to see growth in yourself in the short term but looking back now, I can see how far I’ve come since starting my journey with The Learning Experience and I’m happy I kept putting in the effort to get where I am now. There were many times I felt like I couldn’t do it or that I wasn’t good enough. I struggled with feeling constant anxiety about if I was the right person for the job and if I could live up to the expectations that I set for myself. I wasn’t ready the first two times but I continued to push myself out of my comfort zone and keep moving forward. Like I mentioned, it’s hard to see it while it’s happening so you have to trust the process. I’m glad I did because I love where I am now and I love the confidence I’ve gained from the experiences I’ve had here and the opportunities I was given.
