I’m a certified Special and General Education teacher and have taught in preschools and elementary schools for close to a decade. The seeds of Sideways School were planted when I moved my teaching from the classroom to the park during the pandemic, knowing that nature provides all the resources needed for skills development—especially when the children lead the play! I'm most influenced by the Bank Street developmental–interaction approach, but I also draw from Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Forest School, and DIR/Floortime. In all of these, success in school and life depends on the mastery of social–emotional skills and the forming of positive relationships—which is where I'm most enthusiastic about supporting children.

 

I believe that education is a partnership between teachers and parents. I'm a parent myself, of two teenagers, so I've experienced (and somehow survived!) every prior parenting stage. The empathy, flexibility, and understanding that I've needed from teachers myself are what I give to each family I'm lucky to get to know.

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