Ms Yvonne de Maat

Heart in Hand Preschool founder and head teacher

Two red threads through my life have been community and creativity.

I’ve asked myself; “How we can be our unique selves while living in groups?”.

This led me to Waldorf Education in my early twenties and it has been a constant inspiration.

I have lived in various intentional communities and completed my Waldorf Early Childhood training in New York in 1995. For seven years I taught a Kindergarten class at the Susquehanna Waldorf School in Pennsylvania and at the Portland Waldorf School.

Upon arriving in Portland, the dream to start my in-home preschool took root, and in 2002 I founded Heart in Hand preschool in the lovely Alberta neighborhood.

It is a pleasure and privilege to watch children in our preschool discover who they are in the community.

To stay connected to the Beginner’s Mind of the young child, I like to always be learning new things. Some of these have become my hobbies, such as making my own clothes, Spanish, Tango and weightlifting!

I am a Simplicity Parenting group leader, a children’s yoga teacher, and often teach classes at Gnome’s Home.

Jordan Staznik

 Learning through play, art, and nature was such a huge part of my school years when I was young, and I continually have gratitude for my mothers choice to send me to a school that valued such, as it shaped who I am in such a prominent way. My desire for this school year is to incorporate those values I grew up with; contact with nature, kindness, imagination, & play, in with those activities I’ve come to  treasure as an adult ~ yoga, gardening, crafting, cooking, movement, and connection with plants & animals. I feel very in alignment with Waldorf philosophy, and look forward to deepening my understanding and continuing my education even more through readings & trainings this coming year!

Ms Sara     

Parent-Child, and Crafts-Teacher

Since beginning to look into education and child care options after the birth of my first son I became entranced by all of the beauty and depth that waldorf education offers to children and to their families.
I am now the mother of 3 boys and excited to be continually growing in my understanding of Waldorf as I apply it to my home life and share it with others through my work. On top of years of my own self guided learning about Waldorf education and holistic care for children I am also a trained through LifeWays North America in early childhood education.’