A community where the young child’s play is valued
as the lens through which they make the world their own.
DAILY RHYTHM - a sample...
A SAMPLE DAILY RHYTHM
The morning begins as children are welcomed by the teachers and say good-bye to their parents or caregivers at the gate.
CREATIVE PLAY – For young children, play is work, through which they make the world their own. To stimulate healthy imaginative play, the child needs time, a quiet, positive atmosphere, and play materials taken from nature that allow open interpretation. Supported by the adults who are engaged in meaningful, practical tasks of life, children can experience and understand the purpose and process of these activities.
COOKING – During this time, the children participate in the preparation of the meal we will share that day. This may include the kneading of bread dough, chopping vegetables for soup, or grinding a grain to make flour for baking.
CREATIVE ARTS – For family festivals, we use many ways and mediums to create seasonal crafts. Activities such as watercolor painting, crayon drawing, finger crocheting, sewing, and even woodworking all encourage each child’s natural sense of beauty and the development of fine motor skills.
CLEAN-UP TIME – All playthings and materials are returned to their places and the table is set. This activity teaches children to be good stewards of both their belongings and their environment. It also begins to develop good organizational skills.
CIRCLE TIME – Songs and verses throughout the seasons are learned, sung, and explored with gesture and movement. Hearing and seeing, feeling and imagining, moving and acting are all intertwined and become a whole through the child’s participation. Older children familiar with the words and choreography from the previous year act as models, strengthening the self-confidence in older children and giving the younger ones incentive to imitate them.
OUTDOOR PLAY – We go outside rain or shine to run, climb, swing, sled, garden, construct, push wheelbarrows, pull wagons, and jump rope. This is essential free play in which the children delight.
SHORT REST AND STORY TIME – Children love stories and fairy tales. These carefully chosen tales contain wisdom and life experience, profundity and cleverness, thoughts and logic–all of which is expressed not in abstract terms, but through imagery. With countless details, entire landscapes are painted, delighting the soul. As the teacher presents a puppet play or tells the story by heart, it is the individual child who creates the pictures with his or her own imagination.
HAND WASHING AND LUNCH – A lunch of organic whole grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, and cheeses are served family style. Clean up is shared by the whole group, with rotating assignments. Table manners and warm conversation are practiced.
GOOD-BYE VERSE – This is for those children going home for the afternoon.
SIESTA – After clean up, a quiet time begins until everyone is ready to lie down on a mat or outdoor hammock. The teacher tucks each child in and sings a lullaby, or tells a story.
QUIET IMAGINATIVE PLAY/PROJECTS – Some children continue to sleep while others wake up gradually in the care of the assistant teacher. Those that are ready and awake engage in creative play indoors and out in the company of the teacher until pick up time at 3pm.
ACORN WALDORF SCHOOL is a member of the
Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America.
OUR FACULTY & STAFF
Motria Shuhan completed her Waldorf Early Childhood training at Sunbridge College. She has eighteen years of experience working with young children including founding the Acorn Waldorf School, a full member of WECAN . She spent nine formative years at the Mountain Laurel Waldorf School in New Paltz, NY. There she worked in the nursery and kindergarten and served as the Pedagogical Chair for three years.
She also serves as a mentor and teacher educator for Sunbridge Institute in Chestnut Ridge, NY. With a special interest in the art of puppetry, Motria has staged shows for conferences, festivals, and other community events. Mrs. Shuhan completed a three-year Advanced Therapeutic Course for Early Childhood Educators taking place in Denver, Co., where she continued to deepen her understanding of the young child.
Mrs. Shuhan is the Founder/Director of the school as well as the Class Teacher in the Oaks Mixed Age Kindergarten.
Elia Gilbert completed her Waldorf Early Childhood training at the Alkion Center in Ghent, N.Y. Elia is a Waldorf alumnus having attended the Nursery at the Rudolf Steiner School in NYC and graduating from Green Meadow WS in Spring Valley N.Y. She began teaching in Waldorf early childhood centers in 2008, and has also served as the program director for a Waldorf forest kindergarten and Emmi Pikler inspired school in Vermont, working with ages 1 thru 6yrs old. She also is a licensed teacher with a birth-5 endorsement.
Elia is an avid gardener and takes care that the space surrounding her children invites and inspires their imaginative play, and supports their developmental growth. Playing the fiddle, storytelling, celebrating festivals, and making things are also favorite activities that she loves to share with the children in her classroom. As part of school leadership, Elia works closely with her colleagues around questions of inclusion and belonging within her classroom and in the school as a whole.
Miss Elia is the Class Teacher in the Linden Mixed Age Kindergarten.
Joanna Dorman completed her Waldorf Early Childhood training at the Sunbridge Institute. She is a Waldorf alumnus having attended the Waldorf School of Garden City from nursery through senior year. After a career focused in the healing arts, Joanna turned her attention to teaching and has been working in Waldorf early childhood classrooms ever since. Prior to Acorn, Joanna was a Lead Nursery Teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School in NYC.
Joanna is passionate about working with young children and a deep believer in the power and beauty of Waldorf education. In her work with parents, she strives to help them feel empowered and confident in their parenting choices as they navigate the precious years of early childhood.
As a Waldorf kid herself, Joanna is happiest when out in nature and exploring. She enjoys reading, singing and movement and is a collector of beautiful things, songs and stories.
Miss Joanna is the Class Teacher in the Sprouts Nursery Class and the Parent-Child Teacher for the Roots and Shoots class.
Bevin Gill received her Waldorf teaching diploma at Taruna College in New Zealand. She also holds a BS in International Trade from The Fashion Institute of Technology.
In 2020, she graduated her class at Mountain Laurel Waldorf School after teaching them from first to eighth grade. Prior to that, Bevin taught in a Waldorf-inspired parent cooperative in Brooklyn, NY, a Waldorf farm school on Waiheke Island, and was a lead teacher at Waldorf summer camps in Brooklyn, and at Mountaintop Waldorf School.
She is mother to a toddler, a teenager, and an adult all of whom have benefitted from the healing education of Waldorf communities.
Bevin Gill is the Roots and Shoots Parent Child Class Teacher.
A native of California, Seana Elias is a UC Berkeley graduate who moved to New York in 1999.
She became involved in Waldorf education after the birth of her first child in 2007, and avidly undertook a lifelong learning process, including studying Biodynamic farming at the Pfeiffer Center in NY.
After the birth and adoption of her two children with Down syndrome, Seana became a passionate advocate for inclusive education. More recently, she has become earnestly focused on racial justice . She serves on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion groups at both Acorn and Mountain Laurel Waldorf Schools.
In her spare time, Seana enjoys traveling, gardening, snowboarding, and learning new skills in all areas of her life. She lives on a farm in New Paltz with her children. Seana is proud and grateful to be part of the Acorn Waldorf School community.
Miss Seana is an Assistant Teacher and Lead Afternoon Teacher in the Oaks Mixed Age Kindergarten.
Minka is a sincere and eager student for all things Waldorf-inspired with a keen eye and a penchant for organization. She brings joy and warmth to our circle that is infectious and much appreciated. Her kind inquisitive nature is a pleasure to be around. Before embracing her role in the Acorn family, Minka enjoyed a successful career in the graphic design industry for over 20 years.
These days, when not at Acorn, she also works alongside her husband, Taras, as a finisher to his custom base-making in their home-based studio — both are graduates of the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Over time, Minka and Taras have come to a mutual obsession with all things lighter-than-air. They currently live in a house built of their own design in the Heights of the Catskill Mountains, with their cat, and take great pleasure in occasionally flying off their front lawn in their solid blue hot-air balloon, BluRadius.
Miss Minka is an Assistant Teacher in the Oaks Mixed Age Kindergarten.
Caitlin grew up in New York City, attended public schools that placed an emphasis on progressive education, and graduated from the New School University with a BA in Liberal Arts. She moved to Accord after the birth of her son, and began her journey with Waldorf education as a Sprouts parent. Caitlin is inspired by the dedication of the Waldorf community-- educators, children, families, and their work in bringing the intuitiveness, beauty and simplicity of childhood to the world around us.
Caitlin is thrilled to be attending the Sunbridge Institute, and is passionate about making Waldorf education accessible to all children and their families. She is grateful to be an assistant teacher in the Lindens this year, and sees immense beauty in the daily rhythms of taking care of young children. Caitlin is honored to be a part of the Acorn community, and grateful for the opportunity to nurture a foundation of love and kindness that will hold our littles ones throughout their lives.
When she’s not at Acorn, Caitlin enjoys taking in the natural beauty of where we live. She loves flower gardening, cooking, reading, antiquing, going on long walks with her dogs, and of course spending time with her family.
Miss Caitlin is an Assistant Teacher in the Sprouts Nursery.
Irene is currently enrolled in the Waldorf Early Childhood training at Sunbridge Institute in Chestnut Ridge, NY and will graduate in June 2024. Irene is an educator and artist from northern New Jersey. In 2019, she graduated from Fairfield University with a BA in Creative Writing. Carrying forth her love of imaginative language, stories, and songs she found her way to a small forest preschool post graduation. Since mid-winter 2021, Irene has been teaching nursery-age children at Maplewood Outside School in Maplewood, NJ. During the 2021-2022 school year she was assistant teacher for the mixed aged kindergarten class.
As well as teaching in the forest, Irene has also been a lead teacher for various after-school art classes in a process-based studio environment in South Orange, NJ. Her greatest love stems from the joy of making art and she recognizes the wisdom, creativity, and light inside each of us. Outside of school, Irene can be found painting, crocheting, or playing the banjo-ukulele.
Miss Irene is an Afternoon Assistant Teacher in the Lindens Mixed Age Kindergarten.
Catherine Kreibich Domitrovits grew up in Ridgewood, NY and worked for over 15 years in the Photo/Art industry in NYC until she moved up to the Hudson Valley where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education. After earning her degree, Catherine worked in the Human Service field and various public schools until she met her husband John. Three amazing children followed!
Cathy was first introduced to Motria and the Acorn school in 2011 when her daughter attended the first Acorn class. A few years later, their youngest son attended the school as well. Cathy is ardent about children spending as much time exploring and playing outdoors, as part of their daily rhythm, especially in the early foundation years.
Catherine enjoys the outdoors with her family. She loves skiing, biking, gardening and hiking. Cathy brings a mood of kindness and patience to the children, parents and the colleagues she works with. She is passionate about building a strong sense of community as part of her own personal growth and is thankful to be part of this wonderful community she calls home!
Miss Cathy is an Assistant Teacher in the Lindens Kindergarten.
Annamaria moved to America in 1998 from Budapest Hungary, and raised her four children in the Stone Ridge area. We welcomed her to the Acorn School in 2019 as an afternoon teacher, and we were happy to have her as part of the summer camp program.
Before joining the faculty at Acorn Waldorf School, she worked as a home care provider for 11 years. Her natural ability and love of our littlest ones makes her a joy to be with and brightens everyone's day. Annamaria is continuing her studies through workshops in Waldorf Early Childhood Education.
In her spare time she enjoys hiking, gardening and photography.
Miss Annamaria is a Morning Assistant Teacher and Afternoon Lead Teacher in the Sprouts Nursery.
Alison is an artist, designer, and educator from Woodstock, New York. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a BFA in Illustration in 2013 and spent years in New York City working as both a freelance artist and as an in-studio designer for media production.
Eventually, Alison felt called to move back upstate and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education from SUNY New Paltz in 2020. She worked as an art teacher in a public high school during the pandemic and in the fall of 2021 her heart led her to Acorn Waldorf School.
Alison brings her creativity, warmth, and dreamy nature to the Linden’s afternoon program. She is passionate about nurturing children’s inner creative will and their relationship with the natural world. She is grateful to be a part of the beautiful Waldorf community.
When she’s not at Acorn, Alison enjoys working as an embroidery artist and illustrator from her barn studio that she and her husband built at the back of their property.
Ms. Alison is the Afternoon Lead Teacher in the Linden Mixed Age Kindergarten.
Jamie McGinnis is a native of New York’s scenic northcountry who came to the Hudson Valley to attend college at SUNY New Paltz in 1997. She completed her BS in Elementary Education in 2001 and her AS in Environmental Science in 2004.
Jamie brings a love of gardening, local living and the nurturing of young children to all of her work. She has experience as a program coordinator with New York State Parks and Historic Sites, a home-based Waldorf-inspired child care provider, an after school care provider and substitute teacher at Acorn School, and a nursery assistant at Mountain Laurel Waldorf School.
With deep gratitude for the pedagogical wisdom she has gained from her experiences in Waldorf education, Jamie continues to develop her skills and understanding of Waldorf pedagogy and is pleased to have the opportunity to continue work and grow in the enchanting and nurturing environment at Acorn Waldorf School.
Ms. Jamie is the Afternoon Assistant Teacher in the
Oaks Mixed Age Kindergarten.
Larry Jackson is an accomplished illustrator, designer, maker, curator and educator based in Kingston, New York. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, his extensive work includes illustrations for fashion, magazines, and holiday window campaigns. He has exhibited art in both group and solo shows. He’s also had the opportunity to curate and design exhibitions for numerous art organizations in the New York art education community.
Larry is passionate about creating innovative ways to motivate and educate students of all ages. He enjoys creating art vehicles for sharing stories through projects such as fashion shows, illustration, graphic novels and architecture.
Larry is proud to share his love for education through play and art at the Acorn Waldorf School.
Mr. Larry is a Visiting Teacher for the Oaks, Lindens and Sprouts classes.
Carol was raised in southern Indiana in a very fun and loving family. She has a BS in political science from Purdue University and a law degree from Indiana University. She practiced trial law until becoming a mom in 1998. In 2000, Carol and her husband Mark, who is from Brooklyn, moved their family to New Paltz so their children could attend Mountain Laurel Waldorf School.
Carol was the Business Manager at Mountain Laurel for eleven years. During this time, she served on the Board of Trustees, the Finance Group, the Personnel Group, the Enrollment Group and was the chair of the Full Faculty Business meeting for three years.
Carol is honored and excited to serve the Acorn Waldorf School community as Administrator and also looks forward to the continued opportunity to deepen her connection to the Waldorf movement, such a vital and powerful gift to the world.
Carol Jordan is the Administrator for the school.
PHOTO CREDITS: MAGGIE MARGUERITE STUDIO * @maggiemarguerite on Instagram.
Diversity of all types benefits everyone in a community and is especially essential to a healthy educational community. Personal and institutional racism and bias have historically existed and continue to exist. Combating racism and bias in our schools is a moral and legal imperative. This policy aims to address and correct biased behavior, and restore the values in our school and classrooms that support a safe environment for all children and individuals by fostering an antiracist and anti-biased school community.
Click on the links below to read our policies.
“Receive the children with reverence, educate them in love, and send them forth in freedom” (Steiner)
AWS Parent Groups
MISSION: The COO is a central hub or “sensing organ” for the input coming from all realms of the school. It holds the bird’s eye view of what is happening in our community as a whole to support its general health and wellbeing.
Reviews meeting minutes from the PCG, the LACG, the Leadership Team and the Administration. Meets four times during the school year. In the COO meetings, input from all meeting minutes is discussed, and this discussion informs the Leadership Team’s decision making and governing process, which is guided by interconnectedness with the parent body. The COO reports to the school parent body at the beginning, mid and ending points in the school year. During the 2021-22 school year, the COO will also create the Good Neighbor Committee (GNC) and the Equitable Tuition Committee (ETC).
Parent Care Group
MISSION: The PCG supports the social fabric of the parent body and builds a community that centers on a shared commitment to Waldorf parenting, DEIJ work, and love and respect for the natural world.
Hosts parent educational opportunities and offers resources for learning about Waldorf pedagogy and parenting, as well as facilitated DEIJ parent study, workshops and talks. Supports and creates social opportunities for school parents, which include school festivals and events that highlight community talents, backgrounds and interests. Social opportunities also include practical work on campus for site improvement and beautification. The PCG meets on a monthly basis at minimum, and meetings are open to all parents who are interested in the work of the group.
Listening and Accountability Coordinator
MISSION: The LAC ensures that all families feel safe, and heard by the Leadership Team. The LAC acts as a listening ear for receiving input from the parent body.
The LAC focuses on accountability for school health and wellbeing. As a professional mediator, the LAC serves as a neutral repository for information and works closely with the Leadership Team. All feedback is held confidentially and professionally. Parents can share feedback, which concerns the community, including any DEIJ issues, through the LAC’s email: carol@acornws.org. The LAC works with the concerned individual(s) as needed to clarify the issue and channels all feedback to the Leadership Team. The LAC and the Leadership Team resolve the issue or construct a process for resolution.
Good Neighbor Committee
MISSION: The GNC builds bridges with our neighbors and like-minded initiatives to integrate AWS into the wider community.
This committee designs their own meeting schedules and ways they wish to operate. The GNC reports to the COO at the beginning, mid and ending points of the school year.
Equitable Tuition Committee
MISSION: The ETC builds bridges with our neighbors and like-minded initiatives to integrate AWS into the wider community.
This committee designs their own meeting schedules and ways they wish to operate. The ETC reports to the COO at the beginning, mid and ending points of the school year.
“For over three years, Mrs. Shuhan’s Kindergarten has been a paradise for my children. She applies Waldorf Education principles in a gentle and potent manner, creating an atmosphere that is ideal for the development of young children. Her communication with the parent body through regular updates, sharing of articles, and parent meetings allow parents not only to understand and participate in our children’s learning process, but also to engage in the process of learning ourselves. The principles and values parents receive from Mrs. Shuhan’s engagement provide a natural segue for sensible education, parenting, and life principles to find their way into our homes and lives.”
Jason Stern /Chronogram Magazine, kindergarten class of 2011
“We feel very fortunate that our daughter Annabella had Motria as her kindergarten teacher. With no other person have we felt so confident that our child’s needs would be taken care of, both on a physical and emotional level. Motria has become our role model as a teacher with infinite patience, serenity, deep perception and playfulness. She epitomizes the nurturing and caring teacher that every child deserves.”
Samrat Pathania / kindergarten class of 2012
“Motria has led Wild Earth’s young children’s summer camp (ages 4-7) for many years to wonderful reviews from participants and fellow staff alike. She brings creativity and consciousness to all she does. Motria possesses the unique gift of being able to hold an extremely safe space for children while at the same time freeing and empowering them to discover the world and their place in it. I highly recommend Motria Shuhan and Acorn School as you consider preschools for your children.”
David Brownstein / Co-Founder & Executive Director of Wild Earth
“We were lucky enough to have Mrs. Shuhan as a teacher for our son for four wonderful years. Her patience and knowledgeable guidance was invaluable to our family. We watched our son flourish in her classroom and I am forever grateful for her kindness and dedication to the children at Mountain Laurel.”
Laura Gharrity / kindergarten class of 2009
“Motria Shuhan has been a true blessing to our family. Her wisdom, experience, and creativity have clearly been a boon to our son (and us!) during the two years he has been in her class and care. Motria’s grounded, gentle presence creates spaces in which children can discover their own foundation, their own creativity, and flourish within themselves and the community. My gratitude as a parent to Ms. Shuhan can not be adequately expressed in words, but the positive impact she has had in our son’s life speaks all that needs to be said.”
Tobias Anderson /kindergarten class of 2012
“When I asked Henry (10) what he remembered about kindergarten, the first thing he said was “the tasty-toasty tortillas.” Then he said there was one time when he was outside and it started raining and Mrs. Shuhan told him he had to “run between the raindrops” to get his coat. He didn’t seem to recall the crying and struggling he had saying goodbye to us every morning for those first weeks — it was a struggle for us too, made bearable knowing that he was with Motria, who cared about him and would help him. That he remembers food first is not surprising to us. That he remembers a moment of poetry next and not the hardship of transition (like I do) is the best testimony of his great, great time in preschool.”
Peter Ferland /kindergarten class of 2008
“Mrs. Shuhan truly embodies the spirit of a waldorf teacher. While always acting with each child’s best interest at heart she is much loved and admired by us parents for her eloquently worded and always insightful guidance and expertise as well as her quiet and humble wit. Our experience in her class has been of immeasurable value to us as a family. While in her loving care our daughter was given the freedom to thrive and flourish as a child should.”
Mia & John Reed /kindergarten class of 2012