Kindergarten

Heidi Martin was born in Berkeley, California on the 8th day of September in 1971. She and her two siblings shared a turbulent, though memorable childhood as the children of a corporate executive who kept their family on the move about every four years. They moved up and down the West Coast where her father held positions in the maritime industry. She attended high school on Mercer Island, Washington where she enjoyed Fine Arts, Language Arts, and Foreign Languages. She had a longing for adventure however and left high school to travel to Tubingen, Germany at age 16 to live as an exchange student for a full year. She was first exposed to Waldorf Education in Germany through her host sister’s experiences in the local Waldorf High School.

After living in Europe for a year, she returned to her homeland to attend college at U.C. Berkeley, the alma mater of both of her parents. At 21, she chose to move to the picturesque land of Southern Oregon where she settled and grew very active as an environmentalist and tutor/teacher for children of all ages. She lived rurally, gardened avidly, and hiked the wild, scenic Siskiyou Mountains whenever she got the chance. In Williams, OR she had her first son and learned the great joy of being a mother.

At age 30, she relocated to Eugene, Oregon to enroll in the Waldorf Teacher Training which she completed in 2003. Subsequently, she taught kindergarten at the Corvallis Waldorf School from 2003-2005. Then, in the Spring of 2005, she accepted an invitation by Waldorf parents to move home to Ashland and open a private Waldorf-inspired kindergarten for the community.

After having a second wonderful son in 2008, she finished her undergraduate studies at Southern Oregon University with a B.A. in English and Writing. Subsequently, she offered two more years of preschool from her home in both Ashland and Talent, in addition to mentoring other Waldorf Early Childhood Teachers. In May of 2012, she was hired at the Siskiyou School to teach 1st grade. For the next seven years she taught lower grades at the Siskiyou School, alternating with teaching preschool in her backyard yurt. Her emphasis as a teacher of young children is in nurturing the foundations of learning through rich sensory experiences, integrative movement, puppetry and storytelling. She has attended numerous supplemental teacher trainings and workshops over the years and has gained a wealth of knowledge in the realm of therapeutic work, nutritional support for children and the art of Waldorf teaching, both grades and early childhood. She obtained a certificate as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner from the Nutritional Therapy Association in 2015. She has an affinity for experiences that enliven and heal modern children. She feels deeply rewarded to look back on over 15 years of Waldorf teaching, both early childhood and grades.

At present, she and her husband live in Talent, Oregon with their sons, Ayani and Oliver. On weekends, they love to garden together, fish in Oregon’s pristine, wild rivers and take trips to the Oregon coast with their camper. In addition to spending time with her precious children, she treasures opportunities to study nutrition and Anthroposophy as well as play bluegrass music with friends. She’s happiest when she is singing! She’s delighted to be working at Madrone Trail lead teaching in the Pear Blossom Kindergarten.