About FunShine Express™

Let Us Introduce Ourselves

Who are some of the people behind FunShine Express? Many of our customers ask how we started our company, if we have child care experience, or if we are parents.

Beth Strube is the Curriculum Director. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education and four years of licensed child care experience. She has also been a child care trainer for Southwest ND Child Care Resource and Referral. She is the mother of three daughters. FunShine Express began in 1995 from Beth’s search for curriculum materials which were appropriate to the developmental needs of the children in her care. She was searching for materials that motivated and excited both the children and her!

Robin Rivinius, Kelley Jilek, and Dawn Olson design and write our curriculum materials.

Robin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development and Family Science and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has teaching experience with infants, toddlers, and preschool age children in center and home based environments, as well as experience working in after-school programs. Robin is also the mother of two sons, a four year old and an infant.

Kelley holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics. She has teaching experiences with preschool and school age children in home and classroom environments. She also has four children of her own, ranging in age from five to seventeen.

Dawn holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education with Title I credentials in Reading and Math and is nearing completion of a Master’s Degree in Education. Her experiences prior to joining Funshine Express include operating a child care, co-teaching with Head Start teachers, as well as teaching in a K-4 combination classroom. Dawn is the mother of three daughters.

The FunShine Express Curriculum Team is careful to maintain their education and training in order to create the most up-to-date and appropriate developmental material. We attend regional and national conferences in child development and child care including NAEYC & NHSA, participate in local training, and do continual research and reading.

We also have a number of dedicated individuals who provide customer service, office management, manufacturing support, marketing, and graphic design. We are a small, locally owned company. We believe this allows us to recognize many of our customers on a personal basis and enables us to better meet their needs!