Meet Mary TwoWinds: Owner and Founder
Mary Twowinds is the founder and director of The Happy Place School. She is a mother of two magical daughters and lover of life who grew up immersed in the forests of Minnesota. Her deep love and connection with nature has fueled a life committed to the beauty and wisdom of the natural world, within and without.
She has been blessed to travel the world learning from indigenous peoples about furthering our connection with Nature and ourselves and has continued her learning to encompass collective art, sculpture, micaceous pottery, yoga, qigong, personal growth and development, nutrition, sustainable building, handcraft, medicinal herbs, dance, meditation and various traditional healing techniques.
Ms. Mary was a substitute teacher at Santa Fe Waldorf and Tierra Madre Playschool and completed Level 1, 2 & 3 trainings with The Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers in California as well as her Early Childhood Education and Development certificate from SFCC. She created a new model of early childhood assessment from the lens of Nature Connection and Whole Human Development and is always adding to her teacher’s toolbox through workshops, courses, mentorships and private study.
Meet Ashleigh: Teacher
Ashleigh Shepherd grew up digging in the dirt for dinosaur bones and making kingdoms in the dogwood trees of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She has been learning and growing in the company of young children for the last 17 years and considers children her primary teachers, alongside this wild generous earth. As part of her educational journey, she earned a Masters in Teaching in Early Childhood Education from James Madison University and
spent a few years as a public kindergarten teacher before leaving the classroom behind and heading to the forest. She has been teaching Forest School for the last 7 years, 4 years in Berkeley, CA and 3 years here in Santa Fe, NM. She is currently studying with marvelous elder teachers at The Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers and has one more year of study before completing the program. She is so excited to join The Happy Place Community and share days of play, song, story, art, and too many moments of wonder to count. Ashleigh is passionate about nature connection and tending the hearts and souls of young children; the tremendous honor of teaching is not just a job for her; teaching is the most sacred work she can imagine, a spiritual practice that she commits to with every fiber of her being.
Meet Angela: Teacher
Angela Forero is a trained Waldorf early childhood teacher and has worked with various ages over the past twenty years; most recently working with groups of children, outdoors in Central Park and western CT.
She grew up in northern England where she explored the countryside unencumbered with her dog. Her love of nature and the developing young child, inspires her work where she gently guides and observes the processes of life.
Having recently moved from New York to Santa Fe, she is excited to join the Happy Place community.
Now Enrolling Children Ages 3-6yr
Children must be 3 years of age by September for Mixed Age Kindergarten Registration
Chat with me
Contact Mama Mary about any questions you may have about The Happy Place School