At heart I am a creator and an educator. I know that I am lucky, because for some reason I never lost my childlike enthusiasm for exploring and appreciating the hidden magic of the world! I have a voracious appetite for knowledge, and I love to find creative ways to encourage others along in their learning journey.
My specialty and my passion is early childhood science instruction. I have had a uniquely varied experience that has informed my philosophies. Here are a few highlights:
Homeschooling: I was a young mom of three kiddos who had very different educational needs. For years I supported their child-led learning as we visited every woods, beach and mountain, every library, museum and wildlife refuge, as we engaged in an enthusiastic and authentic exploration of the world.
Formal Early Childhood Education: When my kids were a bit bigger, I went back to school and got a Masters in Early Childhood Special Education. When I taught in the classroom, I worked with many students who came from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. This experience helped me understand the incredible head start that children of privilege have, and it made me take a critical look at my beliefs of ‘best practice’.
Informal Museum Education: I ran the early childhood space at a major museum in which we saw over 400,000 young children and their caregivers each year. In this space, I learned how to create immersive environments where young children could explore science concepts.
Teacher Professional Development: I am lucky enough to be able to create and deliver hands-on professional development opportunities for early childhood educators. It is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my work and I am grateful to be able to support such a hardworking and committed group!
All of these experiences helped me understand that the explorations that are possible with 3 children at home aren’t the same as the ones that can be successful with 16 students in the classroom, and they certainly are not the same as the experiences that will translate to 2,000 kids a day!
These experiences have also made me uniquely qualified to speak to almost any early childhood science experience. I am putting my ideas out into the world, but I am always learning, always testing, always refining and always open to feedback. Thanks for coming along with me on this ride. Let’s find magic!
2 Comments
Mandy Giese · March 20, 2020 at 1:45 pm
So excited for this new journey, Cybil! You’ve always created excitement in my kids and stirred a passion for learning about this awesome world of ours. How cool to have your enthusiasm, experience, and your childlike adventurous spirit translated into hands on tools for learning! It’s gonna be a very fun ride!
enchantedscience · March 20, 2020 at 3:31 pm
Thanks Mandy!!! I hope that it is helpful for lot of people. Thanks for your support 🙂