Teacher Education Highlight: Sunbridge College; Waldorf Early Childhood Education Teaching Certificate

Bringing Kindergarten Main Lessons & more to Lotus & Ivy Students from Georgia, United States

In 1999, Karen was smitten with Waldorf education when she walked into her four-year-old daughter’s preschool kindergarten class at The Waldorf School of Atlanta. The following year, Karen eagerly joined the WSA faculty as a kindergarten assistant, and in 2001 she joyfully stepped forward to become a lead teacher in a mixed-age kindergarten. She earned her Waldorf Early Childhood Teaching Certificate at Sunbridge College in New York and spent almost 17 years in the classroom guiding, laughing, and singing with her treasured 3- to 6-year-old students. She believes Lotus & Ivy can meet the ever-changing needs of young children by honoring the unique gifts of each student.

In 2021, our initial year of Lotus & Ivy, we welcomed Karen into our faculty to teach our mixed-age Kindergarten of 4- to 6-year-olds. Additionally, she stepped forward to teach our Hand Sewing and Woodwork Complements (Kindergarten through Class 2). By experiencing the rhythm of the seasons, celebrating simple traditions, observing nature’s quieter revelations, and enjoying the family-like feeling of a play-based kindergarten, Karen creates the ideal platform for young children to build foundational skills that will help them evolve into well-rounded individuals. She is delighted to bring her genuine interest in the world around us to her kindergarten students in ways that create beauty and preserve their wide-eyed sense of wonder. She also feels it is equally important to work with parents to provide them with the same nurturing, guidance, and soul warmth that she brings to her students.

Karen shares her love of creating beautiful treasures from simple materials in her Hand Sewing and Woodworking Complement classes. By engaging a child’s hands, heart, and mind, she empowers her students to create with real tools while instilling respect for the process and the craftsmanship needed to complete their projects safely. As a result, her students emerge from these experiential classes with a feeling of accomplishment and self-confidence in learning new practical skills, and they take great pride in their finely crafted creations.

Karen was born to older parents who took early retirement just after her birth. With a 16-foot travel trailer hitched to the back of their car, her family drove across the country for two years, finally settling in rural Mississippi to live next door to her grandparents. Karen’s family continued their love of travel and regularly enjoyed extended trips in their camper RV exploring the West and Midwest national parks. Telling stories, moving to music, making crafts, baking, and painting were activities that filled her life as a child. Although not a Waldorf child herself, living a simple childhood with much time spent outdoors filled Karen’s heart with fond memories and adventurous stories, some of which your child may hear in her classes!

Karen attended Mississippi State University and graduated with a degree in Graphic Design. After moving to Atlanta, she worked at Turner Publishing for the next six years designing books of all kinds. She’s kept her hand in graphic design throughout her life, and now she helps Lotus & Ivy with occasional design projects.

Karen and her husband have two daughters who live in the Atlanta area. Her older daughter and son-in-law bestowed the title of grandmother on Karen, and she now has three precious grandchildren. Her younger daughter enjoyed a K-12 Waldorf education in Atlanta. She spent her college career at Auburn University, where she graduated with a degree in Industrial Design. 

In her free time, Karen is often in her upstairs classroom space creating prototypes of projects she’ll make with her students, in her backyard garden growing vegetables, in her kitchen making pizza, and in her front yard greeting neighbors who’ve stopped by to claim a book at the “Little Free Library” that she maintains. Her two beloved dachshunds, Oscar and Remy, bring joy and playful exuberance to her home.

Vivian has been teaching for over thirty years, and this will be her sixth First Grade class. She never planned to be a teacher; however, her college mentor suggested that she explore early childhood education, and she did. After graduating from the College of William and Mary with a degree in Government, she travelled up the road to the University of Virginia, where she received her Master’s degree in Education. Having discovered that she loved teaching, she was one of the first Kindergarten teachers in Virginia’s new public Kindergarten program.

As music and especially singing had always been part of her life, Vivian sang in the College Choir and in Gilbert & Sullivan productions throughout her undergraduate years. G&S called to her again in Charlottesville, and that’s where she met her husband, a college history teacher. She then worked as an artist for several years before their daughter was born.

One day, Vivian walked into a Waldorf Kindergarten and felt she had found Heaven. When their daughter, Rebecca, reached Kindergarten age, Vivian started studying the education. She knew she was drawn to the school, but what was this unknown education about, anyway? Finally satisfied that, in fact, the school’s practices resonated with everything she’d always thought an education should be, she began teaching Handwork at the same time Rebecca entered Kindergarten.

After a few years as a Handwork teacher, class teaching called her, and she started with her first class of sparkling and challenging students, most of whom she is still in contact with, and some of whom now have children of their own. Vivian has spent most of her teaching years at the Charlottesville Waldorf School but was also privileged to teach for two years at the Richmond Waldorf School. She has also served in many leadership positions at CWS. She has mentored several teachers, and she was one of the earliest members of the Editorial Board of Renewal: A Journal for Waldorf Education, for which she has written several articles about Waldorf Education. She has written many poems and songs for her classes, and a few of her middle school plays have been gathered into the book Three Plays for Small Classes.

Vivian is blessed with two adorable granddaughters.

When Audrie was 18, she happened upon the Waldorf Institute, which was in Detroit at the time.  She immediately sensed the richness and truth that emanated from the education, but it took homeschooling her own children before she actually stepped on the path as a teacher. 

Audrie began her career in Northern Arizona, teaching grades 6-8 on the Hopi Indian Reservation.  Several years later, she began homeschooling with the support of a teacher who was a guiding light for her.  After attending years of Waldorf conferences and trainings, Audrie co-founded Crystal Springs Education Association, a Waldorf-inspired school initiative in Northern Michigan.  As a board member, organizer, and teacher, she worked with other home school families to develop a community around education, festivals, conferences and study, to support a vibrant cultural life to meet their children’s educational needs.  During those years she taught small groups of early grades children in collaboration with their homeschool parents. 

Audrie’s teaching degree is in health education, and she has worked in natural health and wellness as a nutritional guide, massage therapist, and yoga teacher.  She received her Waldorf teaching certificate at the Waldorf Institute of Southeast Michigan, and has done ongoing continuing education throughout her career.

After her children were grown, Audrie became a class teacher at Monadnock Waldorf School in New Hampshire, and then taught third grade at Green Meadow Waldorf School in New York.  Coming around full circle, Audrie is now supporting a new generation of homeschoolers through Lotus & Ivy. 

Audrie is most interested in how healthy foundations for the child’s future are laid down in childhood, and how we can best support that as grown-ups and educators.  Using speech and poetry, music and singing, painting and drawing, developmental movement, story-telling and puppetry, Audrie aspires to enliven young children’s imaginations and build joyful pathways to learning.  She is committed to providing a nurturing, developmentally attuned educational environment for children, being a source of support for families, and a colleague that works with openness and integrity in all aspects of the school community.   

In her free time, Audrie enjoys gardening, cooking, sewing, spinning (wool), natural dying, yoga, painting, community singing, swimming in Lake Michigan, and long walks. She particularly enjoys doing these things with her family and friends, especially her adult children.  

Corinna Rezzelle has been amazing Lotus and Ivy second graders with her magical storytelling ability and quick wit since 2022! Corinna grew up in a small town in Georgia to a theatre family. She spent most of her life watching her mother direct, act, and create professional theatrical performances all over the Southeast. This experience inspired in her a love of theater and inspired her to gain a B.F.A in Performing Arts and a minor in Art History from the Savannah College of Art and Design. After graduating from college, she moved to the Atlanta area and worked for several professional theatre companies there. While working with one theatre company, she became introduced to Theatre for Young Audience plays and started leading Literacy Through Drama workshops in Fulton County Title One Schools. This changed the entire course of her life! By working in that first classroom of third grade students, she knew that teaching students through the arts was her calling. 

She knew that she wanted to gain further education to make sure that she would be the best teacher for her students. Leaving Atlanta, Corinna began pursuing her M.A. in Educational Theatre at New York University and a teaching credential in English. While pursuing this degree, she ran her own theatre company, The Jewel Conservatory Theatre, that had the mission of providing the Low Country with affordable theatre education and Theatre for Young Audience performances that would inspire children to be imaginative, creative, and find confidence in communicating with others. The theatre company started with six students, and in its final year had flourished to over 400 students, a well-established teacher residency program, and a wonderful relationship with the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. 

After completing her Masters and teaching credential, Corinna packed up her two cats and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to marry her now husband. Since living in California, Corinna has worked with several public and private schools, teaching English/Language Arts, Speech, and General Music (she holds a Music Certification as well). Her joy was creating drama programs and working with early childhood to middle school teachers in finding ways to utilize Drama in their classrooms. She has also found theater homes in Children’s Fairyland, American Conservatory Theatre, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, and East Bay Children’s Theatre. She also realized a life-long dream of learning puppetry and works with the acclaimed Puppet Company. She believes that all of these experiences (a deep love of stories, puppetry, music, and literacy) has paved the path that led her to value Waldorf education! 

By happenstance, she stumbled upon a video of a Waldorf teacher leading a morning circle. Though looking back now, she feels as though she has been a Waldorf-inspired teacher all along without even knowing it. Needless to say, Corinna was hooked. She had to learn more about this pedagogy. That hunger for knowledge inspired her to join Antioch University’s M.ED in Waldorf Education program and pursue her doctorate in Waldorf Education. Her specialization is in making arts-integrated and drama teacher training accessible to Waldorf teachers and students alike. 

Ms. Rezzelle taught Lotus & Ivy Second Grade Main Lesson last year, and continued with us during her doctoral work in Waldorf Education as our Drama teacher. This year, Ms. Rezzelle joins Ms. Jones-Schmidt and Ms. A. Brown of our First Grade Team to offer a third option for students on the wait list!

In addition to working with Lotus and Ivy, Corinna is engaged in full-time research for her dissertation with several Waldorf schools working in the elementary grades. As an avid playwright, Corinna enjoys writing scripts for schools across the globe to enjoy. She looks forward inspiring your students to learn through story, engage in creativity, and flourish with Lotus and Ivy.

Mary Jo AbiNader’s journey as a Waldorf teacher began in 2002 with her first class of 30 students in Portland Oregon. Over the years, she has grown along with her two classes that she taught from 1st through 8th grade. Those children are now grown and doing marvelous things out in the world working in business, engineering, architecture, the arts, journalism, education and law. It is awesome to see how they are taking their strengths and applying them in higher education and life through perseverance, creativity, initiative and courage.

Now back in Portland, Ms. AbiNader is the founder of Space & Grace Learning offering Educational Support, Academic Tutoring and Creative Enrichment in one:one and small group settings.

Ms. AbiNader was certified in 2023 as Educational Support Specialist and Remedial Educator with Association for Healing Education. She is a certified Waldorf Teacher and has a BA in Theater Education and Creative Dramatics. Ms. AbiNader continues to study to stay connected to new trends in education and deepen her understanding of Waldorf pedagogy to meet the needs of all children and their learning styles. She has experience with Orton-Gillingham Dyslexia Program, HANDLE Sensory Integration Institute and Brain Gym.

Ms. AbiNader enjoyed the sunshine and beaches while living in Hawaii. Here in Portland, her loves include biking, bookstores, and hiking through the forest and her cats and plants.

She is looking forward to meeting the parents and children of each third grade class at Lotus & Ivy and to working collaboratively with grown ups to create a rich, nurturing environment for the children’s education bringing the education to life in every way.

Ms. Gemignani is a passionate educator dedicated to fostering a love of learning in young children and igniting genuine curiosity. She brings 7 years of experience to the classroom, having previously nurtured students through their educational journeys from 1st to 4th grade in a Waldorf-inspired setting. This year will be her third year with Lotus & Ivy.

Ms. Gemignani believes in the immense power of the Waldorf methodology, especially when in relationship to homeschooling, which cultivates well-rounded development by engaging a child's head, hands, and heart while being surrounded by engaged adults. She is a strong advocate for integrating nature into the curriculum, fostering a connection with the natural world that mirrors her own love for the outdoors.

Ms. Gemignani is a curious learner, actively participating in professional development courses offered by the Sunbridge Institute and the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education. She is currently deepening her knowledge of Rudolf Steiner’s work through the Mich-ael Institute's Grades Training.

Her passion for teaching began as a child as she watched her grandmother teach elementary school, bake pies, and paint gorgeous watercolor landscapes. As she’s grown up, she’s followed in her grandmother’s footsteps, mentoring children of all ages in classrooms, schools, youth sports, and collegiate athletics.

She, her partner, and their 2 dogs reside in Portland, Oregon where you’ll find her painting, drinking tea, biking in the rain, or muddy in the garden.

She is thrilled to embark on this educational journey with the first grade students and their families at Lotus & Ivy. She is eager to foster a collaborative learning environment that sparks curiosity, ignites imaginations, and celebrates the joy of discovery.

Amberly Barry McGee has always been drawn to teaching and working with children. As a child she went from playing school with her dolls and younger sisters to organizing theater groups for her sisters and the many children she babysat in her neighborhood during high school. From there she went on to earn a Bachelor’s of Art in Psychology and a Master’s of Art in School Psychology at the University of Memphis. Though she loved the field of psychology, and her experience teaching at the college level, something was missing. She found that missing piece when she learned about Waldorf education. It seemed to fulfill all the things research continues to find about how children learn (by engaging the whole child).

Amberly taught at a Waldorf school for two years (grades 4 and 5) and had two years of Waldorf Teacher Training at Rudolf Steiner College. She was so inspired by her students and by the material she was teaching that she felt healed, creative, and wanting to learn more.

Amberly and her husband, Robert, have spent most of their married life in Georgia. Amberly has been homeschooling their daughter using a Waldorf-inspired curricula and methodology from the beginning. In fact, her daughter was part of the first Lotus & Ivy Grade 4 class! Amberly has been teaching since 2018 at The Dreamers’ School of North Georgia, an in-person Waldorf-inspired sister-school of Lotus & Ivy. She also offered teacher training and parent training in-person and online workshops for The Dreamers’ School of Orlando, FL. Forever a learner, she has jumped on many opportunities to continue her education through conferences, homeschool teacher trainings, and virtual courses. Amberly has four cats and a dog that enjoy being included in some aspects of homeschool life. She also enjoys fitness, handwork, writing, drawing, and painting.

Olga found Waldorf Education as she was searching for a school for her first son. She wanted his school to nurture his talents, keep his curiosity alive, and be a place he loves. The school offered all of these things and much more. Leaving behind a career in business, Olga turned to fulfilling her newly found passion of bringing developmentally appropriate education to children. She completed her Waldorf teacher training and Masters Degree at Sunbridge Institute in NY.

She has now raised three children who attend Waldorf schools and has served in various roles at the schools. She enjoys teaching middle grades classes, especially main lessons in math, physics, chemistry, geography, language arts as well as math and cyber civics track classes in grades 5-8. Her first Class Teacher position was for an 8th grade class, and this is where she has developed a keen interest in working with adolescents. She is delighted by their sense of humor, curiosity about the world, their developing reasoning capacities and independent thinking.

The math curriculum she brings supports these qualities naturally. Geometry lets us experience balance, harmony, polarities, and the universal laws of nature. Artistic representations of geometry and arithmetic provide for engaging with concepts deeply and activating one’s long-term memory. Learning math the Lotus & Ivy way also includes learning about the great questions that have puzzled humans for thousands of years, like patterns in nature. Number games and stories turn math into a fun and engaging subject. Finally, biographies of famous mathematicians offer encouragement and motivation for teenagers as they approach adulthood. Math is Olga’s favorite!

In her free time, Olga enjoys kayaking and reading. She lives with her husband and children in South Florida. 

Sophia has always loved children and has been interested in teaching from a very early age. She always wished to find a method of teaching that would be more than just a purely academic training and would also give space and time to artistic and practical activities.

Sophia has over twenty years of teaching experience in a wide variety of settings. After gaining her B.A. in English Language and Literature at Birmingham University and an M.A. in Shakespeare Studies at The Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, she went to live in Thessaloniki, Greece, to teach English as a Foreign Language. She returned to the UK to train to teach English and Drama to 11-18 year olds at Cambridge University and once qualified, taught in many different schools. Sophia had always been interested in Waldorf Education and yearned to teach in a less intensely exam-focused education system, so she enrolled in the London Waldorf Teacher Training Seminar. The rich variety and balance of activities, along with the depth of study and reverence for the journey of the developing child were extremely enlightening and rewarding for her. Before taking the plunge into class teaching, Sophia gained an acting diploma and worked as an actor in children’s theatre. After touring the length and breadth of the country, Sophia decided the time was right to settle in one place and she was appointed Class 1 teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley. Sophia took this class all the way through to Class 8, after which she left full-time teaching for family reasons. Since then she has worked part-time as a Waldorf teacher and currently teaches piano and English Language and Literature to individual pupils. During the Covid-19 pandemic she has been sharing the treasures of her training by home schooling her 8-year old niece. Sophia is delighted to be sharing these riches more widely as Humanities Teacher with Lotus and Ivy!

After living in many parts of the UK and abroad, Sophia has returned to her hometown of Hitchin, near London. Sophia is a keen student of Iyengar Yoga, and loves walking in the countryside, reading, singing in a choir, playing piano and guitar and writing songs. She has released an E.P., Blue Sky Falling, available on all streaming platforms.

Tesia Brown was raised in a Waldorf household in British Columbia, Canada. She had the pleasure of attending a Waldorf school during her elementary years and, after graduating high school, she did a four-year training in the art of eurythmy. 

In 2009 Tesia began teaching in earnest. She continued teaching eurythmy while she gained her bachelor's degree from Acadia University in Theater Performance. After graduating she was asked to start a small, independent Waldorf-inspired school in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. There she taught 7-10 graders Physics, Chemistry, History, Literature, Drama etc. and loved sharing her enthusiasm and curiosity with her students.  During this time she also gained her Waldorf teaching certification from Antioch University. 

In 2017 Tesia and her husband made the move to Salt Lake City, Utah where she had the opportunity to delve into teaching the younger grades. This is also where her elder son was born. In the Summer of 2022 Tesia's family returned to Nova Scotia to be closer to relatives for the birth of their second son. She now resides in the Annapolis Valley and is thrilled to be able to continue sharing her passion for Waldorf Education.

John's path to teaching started during his senior year at the University of Maryland. There he met Dr. Clopper Almon who presented a course on the work of Rudolf Steiner. John was thinking of a career as a teacher and it just happened that Dr. Almon was one of the founders of the Washington Waldorf School. After a school visit, his path was set.

John trained at the Waldorf Institute of Mercy College in Detroit, Michigan. By the fall of 1975 he met his initial class of first graders. John has taught four complete classes, had "relief pitching appearances" in four other classes, served as a movement teacher, athletic director and coach. John has also taught U.S. history blocks in the high school.

The fall of 2021 brought retirement for John and his wife Mary. This was a short period due to phone calls from a former student, Victoria Mansuri, and a former colleague, Sarah Meyers. They spoke with him about Lotus and Ivy and teaching his favorite subject, history.

Ms. Murray received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and a Minor in Child Development from California State University, Chico as well as her state teaching credential. During her undergraduate work, she was led to volunteer in a Waldorf-inspired classroom and her curiosity and appreciation for the pedagogy grew.  

As a homeschooling instructor at the local nature center, Riley joined a team of seasoned homeschooling teachers. She welcomed students of various age groups into her outdoor classroom and to explore the local park as part of her science lessons.  Having this learning opportunity with the nature center allowed her to make direct connections between her spirit of inquiry and math and science in our natural world.

Following her adventure with the Nature Center, Riley welcomed a first grade class at a local Waldorf-inspired school. She completed a lower grade loop with the class after five memorable years together. During these years teaching, she also completed her Waldorf Teacher Training Program through Sound Circle Center.  Then Riley joined the Lotus & Ivy faculty as a middle school geography, math, and science teacher to complement her love for math and science and is being mentored by Lotus & Ivy's own Olga Domokos, a Master Waldorf Teacher.  Riley looks forward to bringing warmth and understanding to her classroom as well as connecting with each family.

Over the past ten years, Riley taught at various local summer camps leading her to become the director of her own Waldorf-inspired summer camps.

In her spare time, Riley enjoys crafting, practical arts, spending time with friends and family, and spending time in nature.

Samantha de Leca is a long-time Waldorf homeschool parent and teacher. Eighteen years ago she began her homeschool journey with her firstborn son. Her eldest two children have completed their Waldorf schooling and are embarking on their life’s journey with a true love of learning and a confident sense of self. She has a 14-year-old rising 9th grader and an 8-year-old rising 2nd grader.

She has dived deeply into hundreds of Waldorf books, spent years working closely with Waldorf teachers, and eventually qualified as a Waldorf teacher with a degree in Early childhood education, and a postgraduate in Waldorf pedagogy and anthroposophy. She has taught in multi-level classes in global brick and mortar and online Waldorf Schools from South Africa, to Canada, USA and Ireland.

She has taught two Waldorf cycles of class 1-9 with her own children. She taught grade 7 at the Village Waldorf School in South Africa. She taught grades 1,2,3,4 and 5 at the Dublin Steiner school in Ireland. She taught grades 1 through 6 at the Kildare Steiner School in Ireland, and she supported the grade 1 teacher as a mentor at the Squamish Waldorf School in Canada. She taught grade 6 online in 2020 and she is currently teaching class 7 and 8 online.

She is a lifelong learner, continuously attending courses and conferences, adding what she learns to her live lessons. These lessons are organic, evolving every year with the children that are placed before her. She is passionate about the lesson content and curriculum that she delivers. She is happy to be part of the Lotus & Ivy teaching team and looks forward to sharing meaningful lessons with her students.

As a child, Vikas grew up in the bustling city of Mumbai, and so he treasured the summer breaks that allowed him to visit his grandfather’s rural home where he could chase squirrels, pick fruits, and feed cows.

Growing up, he completed a degree in computer engineering; and after two decades of getting scorched in the head-dominant technology industry, Vikas took to Waldorf education as a fish takes to water. His son’s birth led him to find his calling in Waldorf education, and he began his teacher training on weekends at the Kingdom of Childhood (Bengaluru), while still pursuing a technology job. 

A few years later, the time seemed ripe for Vikas to move from being a Waldorf parent to being a Waldorf class teacher, and the family moved from New Jersey to Pune, where over the next 2 years, at Swadhaa Waldorf School, Vikas tended his class children through grades 5 and 6.

During the subsequent year at Vidyakshetra School in Bengaluru (a Waldorf-inspired Forest school), Vikas and his class parents discovered his success in bringing Math the Waldorf way to his grade 4 class. Since then, over the last 3 years, Vikas did Waldorf Math Teacher Workshops, and has privately supported the Math journey of homeschoolers, and other children needing Math support, of all ages; and particularly of grades 7 and 8. 

He often designs and makes up kits or manipulatives for use with children in the class. He has also been teaching Form Drawing to younger children. Vikas cherishes the aha moments of children learning out of the application of the principles of Waldorf education. He believes that every child can cultivate a lifelong love of Math if it is brought to meet the child in the right way. He is also interested in discovering more the spiritual nature of math and finding more about ancient math-based board games.

With an objective to localize and decolonize the narrative of the history of India, Vikas carried out research with a small group of teachers and prepared a Waldorf teacher’s reader of the history of India. Vikas’s next goal for the localization of Waldorf education is to prepare a teacher’s reader for the teaching of Observational (Indian) Astronomy. In his free time Vikas tends to a small terrace garden trying to grow a few vegetables, flowers, and fruits.

Vikas is blessed to bring his gifts to children and looks forward to being a part of their journey.

Donovan was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was lucky enough to attend a Waldorf School from Class 8 to Class 13. After moving to the UK in 1991, he qualified as a Steiner/Waldorf Teacher at the renowned Emerson College in Sussex. Donovan has a Steiner Class Teaching Certificate, Emerson College, Sussex, United Kingdom with over twenty years of teaching experience in Steiner Schools.

Donovan was a Class Teacher at the former Plas Tan yr Allt Steiner School in North Wales for 5 years, at the Aberdeen Waldorf School, Scotland from 2007 to 2014, at the Cardiff Steiner School, Wales from 2015 to 2018. He also taught at the Michael Mount Waldorf School in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2019 Donovan moved to Spain, from where he founded Waldorf Ways, a Steiner/Waldorf education resource for homeschoolers and Waldorf Wise a training program for prospective Waldorf educators.

In his own words: “I have always, primarily taught combined classes in smaller Waldorf schools and have a wide experience in differentiating to meet the diversity of individual pupils needs. I have taught from Class 1 to 8 as a Class Teacher, and up to Class 10 teaching Art and also Religion. I have taught specialist subjects across the curriculum, including perspective drawing and veil painting in the older classes. I have a passion for learning and love teaching World History, Geography and Art. I have worked extensively in all areas of a Waldorf School, not only as a Class Teacher but in School Management and as Chair of the College of Teachers. I have worked closely with teachers as a Mentor over the years and delivered professional development programs in Teacher Development and in Curriculum Development. Building community amongst teachers based on anthroposophy is one of my greatest ideals, for through this community we can build and develop within the framework of understanding. In my spare time I am a portrait painter, with a recent exhibition in Andalusia, Spain.”

Angelika Di Pasquali was born and raised in Germany and lived in Germany until 1992. She holds two citizenships, German and Italian, and has spent many years living in Italy. She graduated as a Waldorf teacher in Mannheim, Germany, and begin her teaching career in Italy in 1992. She taught grades 3, 4, and 5 and, after that, took on with another class in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 as their class teacher. 

After this, she taught exclusively German in a private High School in Bolzano for over 10 years and gave classes for all levels, including adult classes in the evening in a training center. At the same time, she studied modern languages at the University of Trento, Italy and became an examiner for the international Goehte Institut, which releases certificates for German studies. 

From 2015 until 2018 she was the German teacher in the Spring Valley Waldorf School in Beijing, China and also gave lessons in the teacher training center of Spring Valley for Movement, Rhythms and Bothmer. In the year 2019,  she was the leader of a summer camp for the Worldwide Waldorf Sommercamps in Yunnan, China. In addition to teaching German to Lotus & Ivy students, she is also the Class Teacher of Grade 4 at “Freie Waldorfschule Innsbruck“ in Austria. The time difference allows her to be a class teacher by day and a German teacher in the evenings!

Angelika’s greatest passions are watercolor painting and travelling. She looks forward to the new experience of teaching children online at Lotus & Ivy.

Victoria Mansuri started her journey with Waldorf education when she became a first grader at the Washington Waldorf School.  Twelve years later, she graduated with its pioneer high school class.  After completing her degree in English and Theatre, she embarked on a career of Waldorf teaching. With more than 20 years of teaching in Waldorf schools, Victoria decided to bring the joys of Handwork to the greater community. 

The pandemic demanded Victoria pivot and transform hands-on, community-oriented classes to a virtual experience. The result has been enlivening and warm online Handwork classes for children and adults. Victoria now splits her time between teaching Handwork at the Orchard Valley Waldorf School in Central, VT and teaching with Lotus & Ivy. Her Handwork Complement Classes include skills and projects that leave the students feeling accomplished and proud.

Maja came to Lotus & Ivy warmly recommended by some of the parents of Lotus & Ivy students that she had been teaching privately. Her love for sharing handwork skills and knowledge is reflected in the joy of her students as they explore the art forms and accomplish their projects. Maja’s approach is rooted in understanding how creativity and an imaginative mindset can enrich individuals' growth and help children thrive in many aspects of their lives. She draws artistic and crafting expression from her education in Anthropology and Ethnology, Graphic Design, Textiles and Fine Arts as well as from her deep connection to the wonders of nature.

After earning her bachelor's degree from the Academy of Visual arts, she and her husband moved from Slovenia to the United States. Ms. Ljubic’s practical arts classes are a safe space for exploration, observation and channeling inspiration, all while building unique handwork skills, patience and perseverance. Her knowledge and experience allow her to engage with an uplifting and encouraging presence where each student can find creative expression in their own time, direction and style. Prior to teaching wool felting her field was strongly connected to puppetry art, working in theatre as a puppet builder and holding workshops for children of all age groups, adults as well as special needs groups. Based on using natural materials, her teaching approach is gentle and holistic, inviting a heart inspiration and balance.

Ms. Ljubic lives in Maryland with her husband and their 5-year-old son. Raising her son, inspired her to draw from the Waldorf pedagogy and philosophies, that naturally suit their family and invite wonder in their everyday life.

Joanna is a classical vocal musician, devotional music singer, teacher and life coach who shares her passion for helping those she serves to find their soul connection through vocal sound, movement, expressive arts and nature therapy. Her scope of work includes elementary school teaching, private music lesson teaching in voice and piano, vocal performance, facilitating sound healing with the voice, yoga sound and movement teaching, and facilitating both sacred circle dance and Eurythmy for self-development.

Her work with children involves a holistic hybrid of movement and sounding processes aimed at supporting healthy human development at the levels of body, soul and spirit. Incorporating indications from the work of Rudolf Steiner into her therapeutic and teaching work as well as her personal soul journey has been a primary focus for the past 22 years.

Her life mission: I strive to be a healing force in the world and a mirror of the joy of the Divine in all beings.

Kaya spent her early childhood overseas with her family and attended a Waldorf kindergarten in Northern Italy. She then moved to the small town of Sebastopol, California where she continued her Waldorf education at Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm from first grade through high school. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.

As an avid artist and gallery curator, Kaya has had the opportunity to teach art at all levels. She is a second-generation Waldorf educator, following in both her parents’ footsteps, and is thrilled to be a teacher at Lotus & Ivy. In addition to teaching for Lotus & Ivy virtual classes, Kaya is an art teacher at the Lotus & Ivy Sacramento Homeschool Pod.

Her arts courses will focus on the introduction and strengthening of technical, abstract, and creative skills. Students will learn to work in a variety of media and with rotating subject matter. She looks forward to utilizing her experience as a long-time Waldorf student and art instructor to highlight the benefits of Waldorf education and its unique curriculum. Outside of work, Kaya enjoys rock climbing, tending to a jungle of houseplants, and spending time with her two cats, reptiles, and aquatic critters.

¡Hola! My name is Delma Wood and I will have the great fortune of being the maestra de español for the coming academic year at Lotus & Ivy Waldorf, virtual classes. As a native of Argentina, and a proud Latinx, it is my greatest pleasure to share and teach my first language. I have been teaching Spanish language, literature and culture for the past 23 plus years.

I have taught all different levels and ages. I had the privilege of teaching at a small university in Vermont, Castleton State University, for over two decades. Throughout these years, I had the academic, student and community support for creating new courses, introducing new curriculum, and exploring various teaching practices, methods and techniques. During all of those years, I have used many teaching resources which were available according to the times and different age ranges that I was teaching. Most importantly, I persistently worked on new ways to keep increasing students’ sparks and love of the Spanish language.

Today’s technology has made available an incredible amount of visual and textual resources to bring to the classroom. During our time in the classroom, students practice interpersonal skills as they interact via video with myself, the instructor, and their classmates. Their biggest challenge will be to speak as much as possible en español. All students will benefit, regardless of their level, and each student will showcase their talent at their own time.

As the significance of learning a new language gained new grounds in academia, and in our globalized world, more linguistic and cultural components needed to be included in our curriculum. As a language instructor, I recognize, and have witnessed, how children perceive and appreciate classroom introduction to the culture of the Spanish speaking world. Students in elementary and middle school grades are enthusiastic and love to become involved in cultural and artistic settings, like: reciting poetry/literature, singing, dancing, cooking, acting, painting/drawing, traveling. The opportunity to practice these activities in another language, español, other than their first language, perhaps English or any other language in the world, enhances their linguistic and interpersonal skills, and ability to communicate with more people in the whole world. Consequently, their personal and emotional development is cultivated with worldly knowledge. The present technology which is available to teach Spanish, makes it possible to reach students across the world in a virtual setting and create these types of activities. At the same time, this life changing experience of attending a virtual classroom has become practical and realistic in our lives. Children’s imagination is naturally receptive to listening and learning about stories from other parts of the world, in any means or format available to them.

I am committed to act as the agent of knowledge of the Spanish languages and cultures for your child. I consider and include , as much as possible, the Spanish that is spoken and lived in different countries, such as the USA, Latin America, Spain, and the rest of the world. It is my professional and personal goal to introduce and to help develop their Spanish skills at speaking, listening, writing, reading, and culture. I will take in consideration their prior knowledge and make all efforts possible to make them feel comfortable. My aspiration is to encourage and motivate each child to take their español to the next level. As the class navigates throughout the year and we move along the academic curriculum, each students’ progress becomes more visible at their own level, and considering the surrounding circumstances. For example, some children have more community support because they live in a cultural context in which they are already surrounded or immersed in a Spanish speaking population. Other students may have not been exposed to the Spanish language, either in a classroom setting or in their community. However, their unique language background which they bring to the classroom and their active presence and participation to class, will help construct a conscientious and noble personal goal. The challenges for each student will differ and remain dynamic as they uncover means of conquering and learn how to build new experiences and ways of communicating in a new language. As a result of all this hard work and positive energy, children develop an affinity and precious connection with Spanish. Their freshly developed skills, appreciation and emotions will make them more receptive to communicate in Spanish.

Spanish is the second language in the United States and approximately 595 million people in the world speak Spanish. It is also the second language globally spoken in the world (in terms of native speakers). Latinx speakers love their language and have transmitted their passion in many parts of the world. Español is here to stay. How fortunate these children are to learn Spanish at such a young age!

Cristina has always been interested in languages and how people use them to communicate. She loves the feeling of being able to teach children a new language and to make it fun and engaging too!

As a child, she was introduced to many different cultures. She is the true definition of a Third Culture Kid, having spent her childhood and teenage years across five cities in four different countries. Her teenage years were spent in part in Perú where she discovered a keen interest in history and the lives of the indigenous peoples of the region. She eventually went on to receive a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Native American studies from the University of San Diego.

She was introduced to Waldorf education as a parent while living in Portugal. After relocating to the United States her children had the opportunity to attend a Waldorf school and she was also given the opportunity to begin her teaching journey as a Spanish teacher to grades 1-8 at the same school.

She is completing her Master's degree together with Waldorf teacher training at Great Lakes Waldorf Institute, in partnership with Mt. Mary University. She hopes to one day lead her own class as a class teacher.

She taught English as a second language to children for many years while living abroad, as well as working in learning support at a local school. Throughout her early years in education, she discovered a passion for working with neurodivergent children and have since completed a course on meeting the needs of children with ADHD in the classroom.

As a teacher, she makes an effort to connect with each child and meet their individual needs. She believes that education should be a meaningful, enriching and fun experience for everyone.

In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, which includes a dog and two cats, reading and traveling. She speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese and is excited to start learning French over the summer!

Regarding my early years, I was born and raised in Mexico. When I was a child, I had the opportunity to live in different cities across the country. I lived in Mexico city, Pachuca, Toluca, Gómez Palacio, Querétaro, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Aguascalientes, Cuernavaca and Monterrey. That experience allowed me to see different cultures within the country. For example, I would see people dance cumbias in Mexico city while I would observe people in Monterrey listening to música norteña. Likewise, it would be with food. In the state of Chiapas, I would eat tamales de chipilín while in the state of Aguascalientes I would taste birria. I guess that all that curiosity to see new cultures began early in my life and continues up to now.

To elaborate, not only have I lived in Mexico but also in the US, the UK and now Kazakhstan with my wife and three children. However, that is not it, I have worked in many countries including Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and some others.

Concerning my academic background, I hold a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Mexico), a master’s degree in Marketing (UK) and, a PhD in Education (Kazakhstan). I am a language teacher (CELTA) and have been in front of groups for more than 3 decades. I am also a cross-cultural trainer who helps people become aware of cultural differences and communicate with others more effectively.

As for my teaching, I believe that is it important to understand the needs of the students to plan and deliver the lessons accordingly. I listen to my students and by doing this I am learning about them and understanding their motivations. My lessons include videos, songs, stories, games, and real-life experiences to make teaching of a subject meaningful.