Anne Kollender.jpg

Anne Kollender

Over the past 28 years, Anne has lived into and studied the realm of early childhood as a mother of two, a co-founder of the Anchorage Waldorf School, and a trained Waldorf early childhood teacher of parent-child, nursery and kindergarten classes at AWS.   She came towards LifeWays out of her own observations of the need of contemporary children for a more spacious, breath-filled daily rhythm, extended time in nature, and a more home-like experience overall.  In 2003, she invited Cynthia Aldinger to bring a LifeWays workshop to the Anchorage Waldorf School community, and in 2004, she attended a LifeWays training week at Rudolf Steiner College.  In 2004, Anne was invited to attend a LifeWays mentor training.  After moving to Portland in 2005, she opened a LifeWays affiliated home preschool, and began the joyous experience of mentoring LifeWays students. 

Striving to understand and learn about the physical, emotional and spiritual conditions for healthy human development has been a lifetime passion and focus for Anne.  Following this thread, she has earned a B.A. in Humanities from Harvard University, an M.S. in Counseling Psychology, and completed her early childhood teacher training certification at Rudolf Steiner College. Out of her living study of the human being, she has come the realization of the profound need for two essential elements for development and health in childhood and beyond:  the consistent, caring and warm relationship with another human being as the basis of empathy and balance in consciousness, and the rhythmic, practical and nurturing activities of  “home-making” for healthy sensory and movement development.  In a word: LifeWays. 

Her living/working study of human development continues as a director and teacher for the Portland LifeWays training.  Anne has come to perceive that the conscious practice of “home-making” and the living arts offers the 21st century human being an unrivaled and accessible pathway towards healthy development and well being, for current and future generations, in childhood and beyond.