Love Grows Here: Storytelling with Belonging and Inclusion in Early Childhood

Leslie Wetzonis Woolverton (she/her) For more than twenty years, Leslie Wetzonis Woolverton has taught Waldorf Parent-Child and Nursery classes at Acorn Hill Waldorf Kindergarten & Nursery School located in Silver Spring, Maryland. Currently, Leslie is a member of the WECAN Early Childhood Research Group (Two recent WECAN Publications), and works also as a WECAN Site Visitor and Teacher Trainer for several Teaching Institutes in North America. As a third generation Anthroposophist, Leslie brings a broad scope of wisdom and knowledge to Waldorf Early Childhood Education from her own early childhood. Now out of the classroom, Leslie loves her work with adults as a teacher trainer, mentor and evaluator, visiting many schools and new teachers across the country. Leslie is also a skilled textile artist and interior designer for close to forty years. Leslie enjoys writing and compiling early childhood stories that reflect the world in the interest of advancing inclusion, diversity, equity, and access by creating puppetry to bring classics, cultural tales and her own new stories to life. When not working, Leslie spends time with her family and friends at her beloved beach home in Chincoteague Island, Virginia.