Dory Wheatley
Star Garden Kindergarten Teacher
Dory is one of the founding members of City of Fountains School and has been teaching our kindergarten for over ten years. She is committed to holding a space that honors the wonder, magic and importance of early childhood.
As a native of Kansas City, she grew up deeply involved in community theater before becoming a homeschooling mother to four who are the heart of her home (Iris, Ella, Anastasia and Adler). During these years, she also assisted part-time in a Montessori school and in a shelter for homeless youth. She became involved with and inspired by Waldorf education over twenty years ago when she and her eldest child were part of a Waldorf-based preschool cooperative in southern Missouri. Deeply committed to her own growth and development through meditation and mindfulness practice, the Waldorf philosophy spoke to her heart.
Her understanding of Waldorf education has grown over time through numerous summer intensives, courses and workshops from Prairie Moon Waldorf School, Juniper Tree, Lifeways North America, Sound Circle, The Bay Area for Teacher Training and the Center for Anthroposophy. Her favorite areas of study include: diversity and inclusion, nurturing the lower senses, movement circles and journeys, protection stories, puppetry, singing and music, a loving approach to discipline and boundaries, curative education and eurythmy.
Dory enjoys taking walks, spending time with her family, curling up with a good novel, and the calm, serenity of immersion in nature. She is inspired by authenticity, creativity and compassion. She feels honored to hold a homelike space in the kindergarten that supports each child in being happy, healthy, kind, and capable and nourishes their sacred individuality
Star Garden
The mixed-ages kindergarten is a gentle, home-like environment in which children are given the opportunity to learn and play through purposeful activity. Reverence is held for both the natural world and the natural unfolding of the child. The day is structured in a rhythmic movement that engages the whole child in a slow awakening to their independent capabilities while deepening their sense of wholeness and interconnectivity with the world surrounding them.
In the kindergarten classroom at City of Fountains School a nature story, fairy or folk tale is told in oral tradition each week, puppet plays are performed by the teacher to bring the stories to life and later taken up by each child in acting. Movement through free play, seasonal circles or imaginative games is experienced throughout each day. Songs are sung and danced, poetic verses and nursery rhymes are shared in finger-plays to engage them artistically in themes of practical life, nature's seasons and festivals.
Some days you may find us baking together, or painting, playing a game or concentrated upon a seasonal craft. If you peek in mid-morning, you might find us gathered around a fully set table enjoying a seasonal bowl of soup, fresh baked bread or fruits. Every day, you will see playing, both inside our classroom and outdoors – rain or shine; a connection to the cycle of the year, bringing a sense of well-being.
