What parents are saying.
“Sarah is a uniquely inspired and gifted educator. She has worked with my preschool-aged children in various contexts over the past three years and has always met them where they are with astounding insightfulness and intelligence. Sarah possesses an almost miraculous ability to swiftly recognize who an individual is at their core and make them feel seen and heard in her presence. This intuitive knowing paired with careful observation allows Sarah to navigate the complexities of the childhood experience in a way that swiftly diffuses tension and brings out the best in whoever is lucky enough to be known by her.
In the same way that children feel unconditionally held by Sarah, her compassion and kindness has allowed me to express vulnerability regarding my fears and failings as a parent. Not only does Sarah’s deep care continually reassure me, she provides the concrete tools necessary for every member of our family to evolve. With warmth and unparalleled patience, Sarah has transformed how we communicate as a family, providing language and frameworks that deeply influence our perceptions and assumptions. She has, by example, encouraged a stunning level of intentionality in how we make choices and why, and has equipped my children to celebrate exactly who they are by providing experiences, projects, and conversations that are aligned with their personalities and interests.
Sarah’s beautiful spirit and kindness coupled with grace and humor and a deep understanding of child development has made her the most essential non-family member in our family’s life. The ease with which she reinvents belief systems, deconstructs outdated models, and offers practical and functional ways of being, believing, and operating have added unquantifiable value to our lives. We hope that she is a part of our lives forever!”
— Shauna Brittenham
“Here I am, half way through the semester and I can see that my son has learned a lot more than what he knew in the beginning of the year. He did not only learn numbers and letters, but he learned to respect others and care for his community. My son enjoys waking up everyday to go to school to go to Sarah’s class and nothing makes me happier than that. He is safe, happy and thriving in her care. Sarah even taught me things about my son that I did not know. He left Sarah’s class as a builder and maker of things. She inspired that interest in him and helped bring it to life for him. I have never seen a teacher with such patience like Ms. Sarah. She loves to teach her students and you can tell because her students love her. ”
— Natalie Velasquez
MWS is a place of total joy and discovery for kids, while also providing deep support and connection for families. Every aspect of the program (and every beautifully tactile inch of the schoolhouse) reflects Sarah's own joy in working with children, her sensitivity to the important processes taking place within their play, the keen attention she pays to the nuances of their interactions and their modes of learning, and her enthusiasm for supporting children in constructing their own methods for gathering and processing knowledge. The program she has developed at Misty Wagon is founded in deep research, reflecting her diverse set of experiences around early childhood education, and filtered though a singularly inspiring and quite brilliant personal lens. She engages with children's visions, questions, and projects with attention and respect, while also challenging and provoking their intellect, curiosity, and imagination in age appropriate ways, scaffolding their sense of resilience and capability when it comes to solving problems and gathering information. Above all, Sarah radiates love and comfort and adventure and fun. There is no place my daughter would rather be than at Misty Wagon Schoolhouse!
— Joanna