Over more than forty years as an educator, I have been delighted to mentor the creative spirit in children and adults through movement, nature, dynamic play, and the arts. I have always loved words, writing, reading, and the many worlds they open. Waldorf Education, with its embrace of the beauty and power of language, has been a delightful passport into further literary adventures.
My first experience with the work of Rudolf Steiner was in 1972, as an apprentice in a biodynamic garden. After graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz, Mills College, and the former Waldorf Institute at Adelphi University, I became a class teacher in Massachusetts. I returned to California, to teach kindergarten in a public school and build a bridge between educational perspectives. During that time, I received Teacher of the Year from the district and the ASTEA award from the California Kindergarten Association for achievement and excellence in early childhood education. I also directed the Kindergarten Forum, a quarterly gathering for early childhood educators for almost thirty years.
I took on the eight-year journey through the grades at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula where I continued to discover more about styles of learning. An interest in learning through movement led me to complete the remedial training at Rudolf Steiner College. This background enhanced my love of singing games and how they support healthy development and the social graces for children and communities. Many favorites can be found in my book, Singing Games for Families, Schools, and Communities.
Bringing the gifts of Waldorf education and movement to teachers in diverse educational settings, led to my becoming one of the founding instructors in the former Public School Institute at Rudolf Steiner College. During the twenty-five years I taught in this program, I met and worked with Patti and Janet. I am delighted to once again be collaborating with them now as part of the Waldorf Inspirations team.
Since graduating my last Waldorf class, I have focused on supporting teachers in public, private, and charter schools and universities. I travel extensively in the capacity of school, faculty, and class mentor; teacher training instructor; and presenter at educational conferences throughout the United States and abroad including the Philippines, the West Bank, Nepal, India, Ireland, and Estonia.
As a new grandmother, I am joyfully fascinated to witness the very beginning of language development!
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