MEET OUR TEAM
Lee Alexander
Wildlife Guide
Lee Alexander is a retired UNH professor with a background in Forestry and Wildlife Ecology. “Beekeeper Lee” manages and mentors aspiring beekeepers at the Emery Farm honeybee apiary. He also enjoys spending time out-of-doors with others – both young and old – who want to learn about the “birds and bees, flowers and trees.”
Katie Blackden
Art
Katie Blackden is a local artist who enjoys working in a variety of mediums, including watercolor, gouache, acrylic, cyanography, photography, paper mache, calligraphy, needle, wet and dry felt work and quilting. She also plays the cello and loves to sing. She is the proud mom of a Little Otters graduate and has loved volunteering in the classroom over the years. Previously she has taught music, art, nature appreciation, handwriting and paper skills to children and adults in many settings all over the US.
Kris Cerami
Educator
Kris Cerami is a dedicated educator and long-time resident of the seacoast. She holds a Master of Education from the University of New Hampshire, with a concentration in reading and writing. Her 33-year teaching career has spanned grades 3 through 6, primarily serving students in both Portsmouth and Concord, NH. Prior to teaching, Kris was a social worker.
Creating an engaging and supportive environment where every student feels confident to explore and grow is Kris’s passion. A curious and lifelong learner herself, Kris loves bringing the wonders of science, math, and writing to life in her classroom. Her connection to the community extends into the summer months, where she works as a visitor assistant in downtown Portsmouth, one of the ways her interest in theater and local history was inspired.
When she isn’t in the classroom, Kris and her sweet pup, Winnie Margaret, love being outside in nature—especially by the water. She treasures time spent with her family and friends and embarking on new adventures!
JANINE BIBEAU
Owner
Educator
Janine adores watching children learn and knows first hand that creating a loving, safe, mutually respectful, and nurturing learning environment has a huge impact on a child’s ability to make important social, emotional, and academic connections. She is passionate about sharing the wonders of nature with children and watching them explore and create relationships with both their peers and the natural world around them. She finds importance in allowing children to make mistakes, explore, and also guide them in order to help develop critical thinking skills. She loves so many aspects of teaching. Although, if she had to pick one, she would say teaching children to read is her favorite.
Janine graduated from UNH with a masters in Elementary Education. She has taught both kindergarten and first grade for 15 years in New Hampshire. She has also taught third through fifth grade for 3 years. She spent much of her career teaching in the Portsmouth schools. She was a reading and mathematics consultant for McGraw Hill where she traveled New England supporting educators with their teaching. She is a certified yoga teacher and has provided yoga enrichment to children in the school setting for 11 years. She also runs a yoga and nature camp in the summer and teaches both adult and children's yoga classes.
Little Otters has been a long time dream, which was birthed out of the pandemic. During that time, being with her family and in nature became even more important. She wanted her daughter to learn and play with her peers without having to be inside for most of her day. Little Otters has allowed Janine to teach the core subjects, but also weave in her love for plants, animals, and all things nature. The schedule at Little Otters was chosen purposely to allow families more time with their children while still preparing them academically and socially.
Janine lives on a tiny farm with her husband, daughter, and their two cats, three goats, and chickens.