A Series of Online, Topic-Focused Workshops for New and Experienced Waldorf Early Childhood Educators 

This workshop is now full and not accepting further registration. If you would like to see it being offered again in the future, please let us know by leaving us a note on this waiting list form.

Our new EC Insights workshop series creates opportunities for Waldorf early childhood teachers of all experience levels to gain new insights in a supportive circle of early childhood colleagues. Designed as a response to requests from early childhood educators who wish to continue conversations that begin in introductory courses or to deepen their understanding of Waldorf early childhood pedagogical themes, each EC Insights lesson will be supported with reading material and small assignments to further your practical work, recognizing that there are many beginning teachers starting their school year with little professional support as they carry a full teaching load as well as veteran teachers with solid pedagogical experience who long for inspiration and revitalization.

Presented virtually in six two-hour Saturday morning workshops occurring approximately six weeks apart from October through May, the series consists of the following sessions:

• Session 1 / October 7:  Reflections on Waldorf Early Childhood Education and the Present Educational Landscape, Including Relationships, Partnerships, and Conversations with Waldorf-Inspired and Other Early Childhood Movements
• Session 2 / November 18:  The Interrelated Dynamic between Discipline, Relationships, and Developing One’s Therapeutic Eye
• Session 3 / January 6:  The Science Behind How and Why Children Really Learn Through Play
• Session 4 / March 2:  Balancing the Inner and Outer Work in the Art of Teaching
• Session 5 / April 6:  Developmental Transitions During the First Seven Years and School Readiness
• Session 6 / May 18:  Exploring the Growing Nature-Based Early Childhood Educational Movement 

Faculty

Our experienced and accomplished EC Insights faculty are committed lifelong learners who value the time and community required to continue learning, updating, enhancing and reflecting on their current knowledge and skills. Through active listening, our faculty create opportunities for professional transformation and strengthening as they tune in to the questions and challenges that both new and veteran teachers face, thereby supporting a respectful and collaborative community of learners interested in deep conversation and inquiry. 

Lisa Miccio (Sessions 1-6) provides mentoring and professional development to early childhood educators, including as lead instructor of Sunbridge’s “Introduction to Waldorf Early Childhood Education” Summer Series course. In 2023 she founded The Berry Basket playgroups and family programs in Warwick, NY, where she serves as director and parent & child playgroup teacher. From 2022-23 Lisa served Acorn Waldorf School as the Neighboring Tree Project Specialist, overseeing a grant-funded AWS initiative that aimed to create community partnerships with local early childhood educators, schools, and centers. She taught kindergarten at The Waldorf School of Garden City, where she chaired the DEIJ committee, from 2017-2022, and for a dozen years prior was on the faculty of Green Meadow Waldorf School, where she taught in and served as a co-chair of the early childhood section, directed the early childhood admissions and family programs, and was a member of the Collegium, the Collegium Committee, and the Board of Trustees. Lisa’s teaching experience also includes teaching and mentoring in the Kathmandu (Nepal) Waldorf Kindergarten. A member of the Sunbridge Board since 2013, she holds a BA in English from the College of Charleston, an MS in Elementary Education from CW Post, Long Island University, and an MS in Waldorf Education from Sunbridge College. She is the mother of two Waldorf-educated sons.

Motria Shuhan (Sessions 1 and 6) is the founder/director of Acorn Waldorf School, a full WECAN member in Accord, NY, where she serves as lead teacher in the Oaks Mixed Age Kindergarten. Prior to Founding AWS, she spent nine formative years at the Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, working in the nursery and kindergarten and serving as pedagogical chair for three years. Motria also serves as a mentor and educator in Sunbridge’s Early Childhood Teacher Education program. With a special interest in the art of puppetry, Motria has staged shows for conferences, festivals, and other community events. She completed a three-year Advanced Therapeutic Course for Early Childhood Educators in Denver and her Waldorf Early Childhood training at Sunbridge College. 

Meggan Gill (Sessions 2 and 4) became Sunbridge’s director of education and organizational culture in 2021 and is also a member of the Sunbridge teacher education faculty. A specialist in diversity, equity, and inclusion, she is also a trained Waldorf early childhood educator and is active in WECAN and AWSNA. Meggan’s teaching experience includes most recently serving as lead toddler teacher at City of Lakes Waldorf School and, from 2009 to 2020, serving on the faculty of the Brooklyn Waldorf School where she led parent-and-child and kindergarten classes and was active on the Faculty Council. Prior to joining BWS, Meggan taught kindergarten at the Olympia Waldorf School and parent-and-child and nursery classes at the New Amsterdam School. Meggan earned her undergraduate degree in health sciences from The Evergreen State College and her certificate in Waldorf early childhood education from Sunbridge.

Sondi Eugene (Session 3) is an early childhood teacher at the Waldorf School of Atlanta, where she has been on the faculty since 2000; she has also been a guest instructor in Sunbridge’s Early Childhood Teacher Education program. Raised in rural New Jersey, Sondi moved to Atlanta in 1994 and received her certificate in early childhood education from Sunbridge College 10 years later; she also graduated from the Lifeways Early Childhood and Human Development program and is certified as a Simplicity Parenting Group Leader. The parent of two children who went through Waldorf schools, Sondi enjoys traveling, camping, cooking, crafts, and singing.

Rie Seo (Session 5) teaches kindergarten at The Waldorf School of Garden City. Before joining the WSGC faculty, Rie served as the aftercare lead teacher at New Amsterdam School. She also led nursery and parent/child programs at a Waldorf-inspired Japanese Saturday Program in Brooklyn and was the founder and lead teacher for outdoor Waldorf-inspired parent/child classes in Queens. A graduate of Sunbridge’s Early Childhood teacher training, Rie also earned her BA in drama from Tamagawa University in Tokyo, Japan, her MFA in theater design from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and a certificate in early childhood education from LifeWays.

Prerequisite
EC Insights participants must have completed, at minimum, a 5-day introductory level foundational course in Waldorf early childhood pedagogy such as Sunbridge’s Introduction to Waldorf Early Childhood Education Summer Series course, or its equivalent.

Schedule
Zoom sessions take place 10 am – 12 noon (Eastern/NY Time) on the following Saturdays:
October 7 / November 18 / January 6 / March 2 / April 6 / May 18

Cost 
$420 includes all resource materials, yearlong access to your Sunbridge Google Classroom, and a $35 non-refundable registration fee.
NOTE: EC Insights is presented as a whole series; individual sessions may not be signed up for separately. 

Available Discounts

15% off for

• Schools sending 2 or more participants
• Sunbridge teacher education program graduates
• Payments made in Canadian dollars

Free for current Sunbridge program students in good standing (plus a $35 non-refundable registration fee)

Discounts may not be combined. Qualification for discounts will be verified by Sunbridge staff. 

Questions?
Please contact Barbara Vitale, admissions and summer coordinator, at [email protected] or 845-425-0055 x20

We reserve the right to make faculty substitutions when necessary. See registration form for refund policy.

Sunbridge is a New York State Education Department Approved Sponsor of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (NYSED CTLE), enabling teachers of any background to choose Sunbridge for their CLTE/CEU professional development credits. Check to see if your state honors our status.