Winter 2024
Our blog today has been shared with us by Leslie Wetzonis Woolverton and Lynn Turner, co-founders of WIDEN Arts.
You may be asking yourself why are lap plays, table plays, and marionette performances important to young children and how can they help create a sense of belonging in these times of societal discord and disharmony? Are stories important to us as adults? We have carried these same questions over the years and have worked with stories, seeking cultural fairy tales to expand belonging, and this journey has been enhances our personal biographies. The work of storytelling can heal and be healing for us all. Nuances in creativity are always ongoing. Understanding the power of story allows us all to embody this magic of storytelling. And stories shared can be classics we all know and love or original tales we can create. Let’s enrich this work that will undoubtedly nourish ourselves and all in the sacred story circle.
We are both very excited to for the second offering of our Lifeway’ workshop,Storytelling of Belonging and Inclusion in Waldorf Early Childhood. We are inspired and joy filled to share our stories for your winter and spring season curriculum, as we have friends from both hemispheres joining our class! Our collective thirty (+) years of work together in Waldorf Early Childhood will continue to help build communities & build confidence for the art of story. Please come with questions, your stories to share! Until that time, have a wonderful January!
Leslie and Lynn have an upcoming online class series with us here at LifeWays! Click the image below to learn more about the class and enroll today!
Lynn Turner (she/her) is a native Washingtonian, wife, mother of two children. She is of mixed heritage and the proud descendant of enslaved African American people. She has been a culturally responsive early childhood educator, teacher trainer, and leader in the movement of Waldorf Education in Northern America for over fourteen years. Lynn holds a BA in Fine Arts, and an MAT in Early Childhood Education, and received her Waldorf Early Childhood Teaching Certificate in 2017. She is a Biography Worker, currently completing her third year of training in Biography and Social Art. Lynn has been published in Gateways and Kindling Magazines and has been a workshop presenter and keynote speaker at WECAN conferences. She was the Director and Core Faculty member of the Great Lakes Waldorf Institute, Early Childhood Training Cohort from 2020-2023. She currently serves on the Biography as Social Art Board of Directors.
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.