Parker & Duke: Cousins at Kepler Academy Cavanagh – Kepler Family Stars

There’s something very special about each family that walks through our doors at Kepler.  

At our newest location in south Edmonton, two boys have sure made an impression – they’re the sweetest cousins. 

Parker and Duke’s families officially started at Kepler Academy Cavanagh when it opened in September. Parker is 3.5 years old and Duke is just over a year old. For Parker, he is a “Kepler Pro” according to his Mom and Dad! He’s attended Kepler’s Westlink (west), College Plaza (university) and now Cavanagh (southside) locations. Duke, his little cousin, started his Kepler journey at Cavanagh – and is extremely proud to be attending alongside his older cousin.  

Both families love that Parker and Duke are in the same daycare. Their parents say, “they are like brothers” and it’s so fun, because there are days where the boys get to go home together – and they get excited.  

Parker and Duke’s parents told us more about their lives outside of daycare… 

Q: What do Mom, Dad, Parents do for work? 

Rebecca, Duke’s Mom, works as an ultrasound technologist at a hospital. Jonathan (Jonny), Duke’s Dad, is an operations manager for a stainless-steel company.  

Colleen, Parker’s Mom, is an accountant at the U of A. Slav, Parker’s Dad, is an athletics coach at NAIT for men’s basketball and he also works at Global Edmonton as a journalist.  

Q: What do your children love to do for a favorite class? 

For Duke being younger during COVID, they haven’t tried classes quite yet – but are interested in Sportball and swimming next year!  

Parker said immediately that he “really, really likes swimming and really likes daycare!”  

Q: Any activities you most love to do in the fall, together? 

Parker’s family loves going “park hopping” around to different playgrounds all over the city – their favorite so far is the dinosaur park in Leduc.  

Duke’s family loves being outside in the fall, too, because the weather is beautiful.  

Both families are close, so they spend holidays together, and most weeks they have Friday or Saturday night dinner together as well. They live just down the block from each other, so it was easy to establish this new family tradition.  

Q: Which family meals you love to eat together? 

For Parker, he answered, “eating oatmeal and Cream of What and pancakes!” He loves breakfast time on the weekends.  

Duke’s family loves pizza – a family staple. 

Q: Name your favorite books to read before bedtime! 

Rebecca and Jonny’s favorite bedtime books to read to Duke are Harry McLary from Donaldson’s Dairy and Goodnight Train. 

Colleen and Slav say that Parker loves all things superhero themed. Their go-to books are 5-Minute story books – Spider Man, Avengers, Batman, and the DC Super Friends.  

Q: What is the best place in your city/community to visit? 

For both families, they love being at an outdoor playground or spray park, walking the pathways or checking out so many great walking paths around Chapelle.  

 Before COVID, Parker’s family had a membership at TELUS World of Science (TWOSE) and the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM), we haven’t been back there since COVID hit. They are looking forward to visiting their favorite spots again.   

They do want to check out the newly renovated Stanley A. Milner Library soon. 

Q: What is the best part about being at Kepler Academy Cavanagh? 

Parker answered, “I like Liam and I like my Teachers!”

For Colleen and Slav, they love Cavanagh because it has a special warmth to it. The combination of the Directors, Karen and Shannon, and the educators, the aesthetic, the floor to ceiling windows, the families. They said it’s hard to pinpoint just one thing, but it just feels very comfortable, welcoming and safe.   

They’ve always loved Kepler’s approach to childcare, with an emphasis of learning through play. Parker has thrived under the Kepler environment. Colleen says their experience has been consistent through the 3 locations we have attended.  

For Rebecca and Jonny, their favourite thing about Kepler is how incredibly happy and confident we are that our son is loved and taken care of. She wrote, “Kepler has such a family like atmosphere!”  

As most first-time moms, Rebecca had a lot of when returning to work, but her experience has been amazing and seamless. She said, “I can’t describe how much weight has been lifted off my shoulders knowing he is so happy there!” 

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We love to celebrate families through our “Kepler Family Stars” feature – contact us if you’d like to be our next star!