Meet our Teachers!
Our teaching team is made up of an eclectic, creative, professional, and skilled community of individuals with a passion for what they do! All of our classroom teachers have native or near-native fluency in German. They express a genuine love for children in all areas of the daily interaction with our students. With backgrounds in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Art, Music, German Studies, Psychology and Special Education, we are fortunate to enjoy and benefit from their many areas of expertise and experience that enrich our classroom environment.
All teachers meet education and experience requirements appropriate to their position, as required by the Child Care Licensing Division of the State of Minnesota. The Germanic-American Institute regularly conducts professional development training for teachers and classroom assistants. Our staff maintains current certification in First Aid and CPR. Criminal background checks are completed on each employee, regardless of their level of child contact.
Our teaching team is made up of an eclectic, creative, professional, and skilled community of individuals with a passion for what they do! All of our classroom teachers have native or near-native fluency in German. They express a genuine love for children in all areas of the daily interaction with our students. With backgrounds in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Art, Music, German Studies, Psychology and Special Education, we are fortunate to enjoy and benefit from their many areas of expertise and experience that enrich our classroom environment.
All teachers meet education and experience requirements appropriate to their position, as required by the Child Care Licensing Division of the State of Minnesota. The Germanic-American Institute regularly conducts professional development training for teachers and classroom assistants. Our staff maintains current certification in First Aid and CPR. Criminal background checks are completed on each employee, regardless of their level of child contact.
Babett Larimer, Director
Frau Babett is a native German and was born and raised in Nordhausen, Thüringen. She obtained her degree in Early Childhood Education in Germany, and moved shortly after to the United States after meeting her American husband during an exchange year in Minnesota. She has a son (16) and a daughter (19) who love outdoor activities, such as Snowboarding, Hockey and Lacrosse. She loves cooking, baking, traveling and all kinds of Arts & Crafts.
For over 12 years she taught Preschool and PreKindergarten classes in Minnesota. In addition, she held the role of Curriculum Coordinator for three preschools for two years. She has instructed enrichment classes for school-aged children in Art and Drawing. and enjoys teaching GAI Language camps to elementary students in the Summers in her favorite subjects of Arts and Cooking.
Since 2011 she has been part of the Germanic American Institute.
Frau Babett is a native German and was born and raised in Nordhausen, Thüringen. She obtained her degree in Early Childhood Education in Germany, and moved shortly after to the United States after meeting her American husband during an exchange year in Minnesota. She has a son (16) and a daughter (19) who love outdoor activities, such as Snowboarding, Hockey and Lacrosse. She loves cooking, baking, traveling and all kinds of Arts & Crafts.
For over 12 years she taught Preschool and PreKindergarten classes in Minnesota. In addition, she held the role of Curriculum Coordinator for three preschools for two years. She has instructed enrichment classes for school-aged children in Art and Drawing. and enjoys teaching GAI Language camps to elementary students in the Summers in her favorite subjects of Arts and Cooking.
Since 2011 she has been part of the Germanic American Institute.
Emily Ruggles Johnson, Assistant Director
Emily joined our team in 2018. She majored in German at St. Olaf College and holds a K-12 German teaching license in Minnesota. Most of her time in Germany was spent in Hamburg working as Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. She also taught junior high and high school German in Stillwater, and Kindergarten at the Twin Cities German Immersion School. She also has experience as a program director, running the Kinderclub before-and after-school program at TCGIS. She enjoys gardening, watching shows about gardening, playing the violin, and crafting with her two children, Lukas and Anneliese.
Emma Naragon, Lead Teacher, Saint Paul
Frau Emma grew up in a small town in northeastern Indiana but spent a number of years throughout her child- and young adulthood living with her family in Marburg, Germany. The time that she spent living in Marburg was highly influential and instilled in her a love for German culture and language. In May 2012, she graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. After spending the following year travelling back and forth across the Atlantic, first working as an au pair in Germany, then completing her student teaching in Minneapolis, and finally going back to Germany to work with students in early childhood music programs. She enjoys learning and making music with the children at Kinderstube. Frau Emma has been teaching at Kinderstube since 2013.
Seha Samsa-Bonte, Lead Teacher, St Paul
Frau Seha moved with her family from Munich, Germany to Lakeville in 2016. She is married and has
two teenage sons. She is a trained German educator, specializing in social-educational and curative-educational practices. Up until now, her training and employment has been in Munich, Germany. There, she was responsible for children between the ages of 4 and 17 with light to heavy disabilities as well as normal day care.
She also worked 2 years in a nursery with children 1 to 3 years old. Her last employment was an integration Kindergarten in Munich, specializing in the integration of children from different cultures to include refugees. The work with children has always been her calling. Her native fluency adds exceptional value to our classroom atmosphere. She is a vital part of the Kinderstube teaching team.
Frau Seha moved with her family from Munich, Germany to Lakeville in 2016. She is married and has
two teenage sons. She is a trained German educator, specializing in social-educational and curative-educational practices. Up until now, her training and employment has been in Munich, Germany. There, she was responsible for children between the ages of 4 and 17 with light to heavy disabilities as well as normal day care.
She also worked 2 years in a nursery with children 1 to 3 years old. Her last employment was an integration Kindergarten in Munich, specializing in the integration of children from different cultures to include refugees. The work with children has always been her calling. Her native fluency adds exceptional value to our classroom atmosphere. She is a vital part of the Kinderstube teaching team.
Vincent Büttner, Lead Teacher, Room 1, Minneapolis
Herr Vincent was born in a small town near Hamburg, Germany. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. One of his valuable experiences was working with children with special needs at Rudolf Steiner School in Scotland. Vincent and his wife Tara have a son, John, who is 6 years old.
His native fluency adds exceptional value to the classroom environment as it allows students to learn from a native speaker. In addition, we enjoy having a male teacher in our program as it provides a wonderfully balanced classroom dynamic for all boys and girls. He enjoys cooking and golfing in his spare time. Herr Vincent has been teaching at Kinderstube since 2011.
Tenzin Bhuti Urban, Assistant Teacher, Room 1, Minneapolis
Frau Bhuti was born in North India, She was adopted by an Austrian-German family. She grew up speaking four languages. After attending high school in India, she moved to Vienna in 2013 and worked as an Assistant Kindergarten teacher in a Waldorf School. Her recent move to Minneapolis in 2018 introduced her to a new teaching job at the Minnehaha Area Child Care Center. This strengthened her love for teaching young children, When the opportunity arose to combine her German background and language skills along with early childhood education, she joined our Kinderstube Teaching Team, along with her son, who is a student at our Minneapolis site. She is super exited and happy to be involved in the Twin Cities German community and speak German again. She loves to cook, loves art and travel around the world.
Frau Bhuti was born in North India, She was adopted by an Austrian-German family. She grew up speaking four languages. After attending high school in India, she moved to Vienna in 2013 and worked as an Assistant Kindergarten teacher in a Waldorf School. Her recent move to Minneapolis in 2018 introduced her to a new teaching job at the Minnehaha Area Child Care Center. This strengthened her love for teaching young children, When the opportunity arose to combine her German background and language skills along with early childhood education, she joined our Kinderstube Teaching Team, along with her son, who is a student at our Minneapolis site. She is super exited and happy to be involved in the Twin Cities German community and speak German again. She loves to cook, loves art and travel around the world.
Lilia Conklin, Assistant Teacher, St Paul
Frau Lilia grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. She began learning German in high school, where she was also a student in a visual arts magnet program. Lilia moved to St. Paul in 2015 to attend Macalester College, where she earned a degree in German Studies with a minor in Art History. She spent half a year studying abroad in Berlin, Germany and Vienna, Austria, and hopes to travel there again soon. Her childcare experience ranges from babysitting and tutoring young students to volunteering at art- and nature-based summer camps. In her free time, Lilia enjoys making music, creating art, cooking, and spending time with her pet bird of 15 years. Lilia is ecstatic to be part of the St. Paul Kinderstube team as of 2020, and looks forward to connecting further with the local German-speaking community.
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Johanna Walker, Teacher, Minneapolis Frau Jojo is a native German and was born and raised in Hof, Germany. After graduating High-school in Hof she decided to become an Au-Pair in The United States and moved to Minnesota in 2013. For the past seven years, Frau Jojo has worked with a family taking care of their three children. During that time, she also obtained her Associates Degree in Communication. She volunteers weekly at her churches children program, and has worked with kids ages two to five years old. Frau Jojo has always had a passion for children and is excited for the opportunity to speak her native language daily. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband Jordan, being in nature, reading and baking. |
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Hanna Elstad, Assistant Teacher, Minneapolis Frau Hanna was born in Minnesota, but moved all around the United States while growing up because of her father's army career. She recently graduated from St. Olaf College where she studied German, education/TEFL, and linguistics. Her passion for German language and culture grew after an exchange semester in Flensburg, Germany. Through summers baking at Waldsee and working for St. Olaf's German Department, Frau Hanna shared her love for learning German. In her free time, she enjoys singing, baking, and reading. Frau Hanna is super excited to be a part of Kinderstube! |
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Johanna Foster, Lead Teacher Room 2 , Minneapolis
Frau Johanna grew up in a bilingual household outside of Chicago and was lucky enough to spend several months of each year with her extended family in Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn, Germany. During high school, she discovered her love for working with children through a theater group designed to interactively teach youth aged 2-10. She obtained a Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology from Grinnell College and then spent two years as an Americorps member at an educational access nonprofit. Johanna has worked with children of all ages through a variety of organizations in Illinois, Iowa, and the Twin Cities; these positions have allowed her to gain valuable experience teaching both multilingual children and children with disabilities. She especially loves finding ways to help children engage creatively with words and language. In her free time, you can usually find Johanna reading or enjoying the outdoors. Frau Johanna has been at Kinderstube since 2017. |
Carol Randall, Substitute Teacher, Minneapolis and St. Paul
Frau Carol has been a teacher since 1968 and has extensive experience with students of all ages. She speaks German, French and Spanish and has taught Spanish at Century College since 1969. Her travels around the world have taken her to Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Peru. We love having her as a substitute whenever she is not traveling the globe. She shares with us her wealth of experience and teaching skills.
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Amy Peterschmidt, Teacher, Minneapolis
Frau Amy has been a fan of the German language and culture since high school. Recently, her Mid-western roots brought her back to Minnesota. She has lived in Germany on three separate occasions, twice to study and once to work. Frau Amy worked as a German teacher for 30+ years with students of every age, in both private and public schools as well as at a Gymnasium in Chemnitz/Germany. Amy holds a master’s degree in German language and literature, as well as 33 hours of graduate study in TESOL, teaching English to speakers of other languages. She has always been fascinated with how we learn language and made second language acquisition a particular focus of her studies. In addition to teaching at Kinderstube, Frau Amy will be tutoring and teaching adult and teen classes at the GAI, allowing her to share her love for the German language. She looks forward to bring her personal interests in photography and crystals into the classroom. She is looking forward to a joyful and exciting learning filled year! |
Rihab Naheel, Substitute Teacher, Minneapolis and St. Paul
Frau Rihab was born in Syria and grew up in beautiful Bavaria, Germany, where she obtained her certificate for Commercial Correspondent in English, German and French. After that, she studied English Literature as a Bachelor and received her Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language at St. Cloud State University. She started teaching early on in Elementary and Middle Schools along English for international students at the IEC (Intensive English Center) at SCSU. She also taught preschool children in Saturday schools and assisted in day cares. She just loves and admires how our students understand German, though they were never exposed to it or not enough. It’s just amazing.
She has three daughters and loves to cook, do sports, arts and travel around the world.
Anna Kyle, Teacher, Saint Paul
Frau Anna was born in Augusta, Georgia, but grew up in many different countries, including Germany, Armenia, and Belgium, due to her father's military career. She learned German through immersion in Bamberg, Germany and has been passionate about learning, speaking, and teaching foreign languages ever since. She is a recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College where she studied German and Mathematics. Frau Anna has experience teaching German in a variety of roles, including as a private tutor, a teaching assistant at her college, and as a counselor at the GAI summer camp. In addition to her work at Kinderstube, Frau Anna is also a part of the Samstagsschule program. In her free time, Frau Anna enjoys running and reading.
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Laura Rotering, Teacher, Room 2, Minneapolis Frau Laura Lee was born and raised a Minnesota native, with five younger siblings. Her German education started in high school, where she was awarded the AATG scholarship to study at Waldsee German Camp for Concordia language villages. While there, she worked with preschool children who visited the day camp, and taught them the basics of German. In college, she double-majored in English and German, and spent a year studying abroad in Berlin and Salzburg. She is very happy to be involved in the Twin Cities German community! |
