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ZEPHYR TEACHING STAFF

  Samantha Shaffer and Natalie Miller

Samantha Shaffer  My name is Samantha Shaffer, but here at Indikids, everybody calls me Ms. Sam.  I attended IUP and have my bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Family Relations and have been at Indi Kids for six years.   I was initially hired to be the assistant teacher in the Zephyr classroom.  As new opportunities opened up in the Indikids program, I became the head teacher for our Before and After school program.   But that didn’t mean that I was absent from our children’s center.   In between the AM and PM hours of school age you could find me in any one of the toddler and preschool classrooms helping out wherever I was needed.  I love working with both the two year olds and the school age children.  I love to watch the children grow into their own individuals and watch them develop their own personality and have come to realize that no two personalities are the same.  I also love to help them learn new things and see how they play and interact with each other.  I understand that play is important for young children to experience and learn new things. So it was a natural fit for me to return to the Zephyr room when COVID 19 closed our School Age classroom.     Outside of work my husband and I are new homeowners and the proud parents of an 18 month old little boy.      Three dogs complete our family picture.  Family is very important to me,  so most of what I do outside of work focuses on my family.  In my spare time I like to go on walks, play golf and tennis, sit around a campfire and watch sporting events both live and on the screen.   Family is very important to me but so is my family here at Indikids.       I hope to be around for more years to come.   The staff and children here are my second family.


Natalie Miller  Hi, name is Natalie Miller!  My journey started here at IndiKids when I stepped foot in the Dew Drop classroom for my Child Observation and Assessment class in September of 2017. I instantly fell in love with the children, staff, and overall environment of IndiKids. I was hired officially in January 2018 as a student worker. In the three years I worked as a student, I gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience working with every age group (0-5) here at our center. This helped me to discover that my true passion is to be an Early Childhood Educator and to work with young children. After graduating IUP with a degree in Childhood Development in December 2020, I accepted a full time position as the assistant teacher in the Zephyr room alongside our 
head teacher, Ms Sam.  In my spare time I enjoy walking my dog and hanging out with  my family and friends.

Indiana County Child Day Care  (Indi Kids)                    570 South 11th Street, Indiana PA  15705                             724-349-1821