Laura Whittaker
Founder, Administrator, Teacher
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
- "A Summer's Day" by Mary Oliver
Hello! I am Laura Whittaker, and I, like many others, have been trying to answer Mary Oliver's question for years. I feel so grateful that my answer has led me to creating Wind Ridge Schoolhouse.
My traits as an educator are a good fit for the wide-eyed, imaginative, sensitive, and energetic states of most preschoolers. I believe that young children need to feel connected to and loved by their caregiver and teacher. Once they feel secure in this relationship and confident in the routines of the day, they are more free to engage in the risk and adventure of play and learning in nature. A child's emotional and cognitive development are intricately connected, so I believe teaching must take care to focus on both. I engage a child's sense of wonder and curiosity both as a vehicle for learning and as a deterrent for challenging behaviors. I view discipline as a long-term process, and use gentle guidance to help children understand and control their own actions. My teaching presence is calm and serves in the background to create a positive climate for the children to direct their own experiences and develop empathy. As an educator, I strive to reflect on and develop my practice so I continue to grow and best serve the children I teach.
My vision for Wind Ridge Schoolhouse is to establish a neighborhood nature preschool that connects children to nature and families to one another. I want to create an environment where children feel nurtured and loved so that they are free to revel in the glory of their childhoods as they play, explore, create, learn, and grow. As the pace of this modern age rushes forward, I want the children at Wind Ridge Schoolhouse to know what it feels like to be timeless, surrounded by friends they love, playing in the Great Northwoods.
Happy trails,
Laura
Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in English from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, a Master’s of Science in Education from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN, and is certified in the Cedarsong Way. She is a founding member of the Duluth Nature Play Collaborative, a member of the MN Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Network Steering Committee, and a MN representative for the Natural Start Alliance Regional Network. Laura is a part of the Cedarsong Way Teacher Training, and has resources for purchase available there.
Wind Ridge Schoolhouse supports teachers-in-training through internships, student teaching, and practicum opportunities. Laura presents and offers workshops at regional and national nature play conferences. She was named one of Duluth’s “20 Under 40” in 2015 for her work in nature-based education. In 2022-23, Laura led the Minnesota Department of Education Outdoor Learning in Kindergarten Professional Learning Community and participated in the Deepening Empathy with Indigenous Perspectives Community of Practice.
Laura and her family love to play, bike, and explore in the woods along Lake Superior.
Founder, Administrator, Teacher
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
- "A Summer's Day" by Mary Oliver
Hello! I am Laura Whittaker, and I, like many others, have been trying to answer Mary Oliver's question for years. I feel so grateful that my answer has led me to creating Wind Ridge Schoolhouse.
My traits as an educator are a good fit for the wide-eyed, imaginative, sensitive, and energetic states of most preschoolers. I believe that young children need to feel connected to and loved by their caregiver and teacher. Once they feel secure in this relationship and confident in the routines of the day, they are more free to engage in the risk and adventure of play and learning in nature. A child's emotional and cognitive development are intricately connected, so I believe teaching must take care to focus on both. I engage a child's sense of wonder and curiosity both as a vehicle for learning and as a deterrent for challenging behaviors. I view discipline as a long-term process, and use gentle guidance to help children understand and control their own actions. My teaching presence is calm and serves in the background to create a positive climate for the children to direct their own experiences and develop empathy. As an educator, I strive to reflect on and develop my practice so I continue to grow and best serve the children I teach.
My vision for Wind Ridge Schoolhouse is to establish a neighborhood nature preschool that connects children to nature and families to one another. I want to create an environment where children feel nurtured and loved so that they are free to revel in the glory of their childhoods as they play, explore, create, learn, and grow. As the pace of this modern age rushes forward, I want the children at Wind Ridge Schoolhouse to know what it feels like to be timeless, surrounded by friends they love, playing in the Great Northwoods.
Happy trails,
Laura
Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in English from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, a Master’s of Science in Education from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN, and is certified in the Cedarsong Way. She is a founding member of the Duluth Nature Play Collaborative, a member of the MN Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Network Steering Committee, and a MN representative for the Natural Start Alliance Regional Network. Laura is a part of the Cedarsong Way Teacher Training, and has resources for purchase available there.
Wind Ridge Schoolhouse supports teachers-in-training through internships, student teaching, and practicum opportunities. Laura presents and offers workshops at regional and national nature play conferences. She was named one of Duluth’s “20 Under 40” in 2015 for her work in nature-based education. In 2022-23, Laura led the Minnesota Department of Education Outdoor Learning in Kindergarten Professional Learning Community and participated in the Deepening Empathy with Indigenous Perspectives Community of Practice.
Laura and her family love to play, bike, and explore in the woods along Lake Superior.
Laura Judd
Teacher
With two Laura's teaching at the Schoolhouse, Laura Judd is fondly referred to by her garden name, Laura Lemongrass. She acquired this name while working as the Youth Program Director in a non-profit called Wasatch Community Gardens which combined her education background and agricultural skills.
Laura received her Early Childhood Education, PK - 3, degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has worked in a variety of childcare and school settings. During her last two summers of college, she was a counselor at a YMCA residential camp in the San Bernardino Mountains along the Pacific Crest Trail. This was her introduction to camping, backpacking, campfires, etc. She's been an outdoors girl ever since.
Upon graduation she moved back to California, and taught 2nd grade in the Bay Area. It was there that she started dabbling in school gardening as well. She felt confident about the teaching part but didn’t really know much about growing food. So, when she joined the Peace Corps, she signed up for the environment sector. Laura served in The Gambia as an agroforestry volunteer for a little over two years. She gained the knowledge of how to grow in a community garden and bee keep in a Sub-Saharan climate in rural Africa. Laura Lemongrass shares her insightful teaching practice and global perspective with the Schoolhouse children.
As a firm believer in nature play, Laura Lemongrass is also cofounder of 3 Owls Outdoor Play Consultants, LLC, an organization dedicated to connecting children with nature through nature playscape designs, teacher trainings, and pop-up nature playscapes. Laura Lemongrass completed the Cedarsong Forest Kindergarten Teacher Training Program in 2022.
Teacher
With two Laura's teaching at the Schoolhouse, Laura Judd is fondly referred to by her garden name, Laura Lemongrass. She acquired this name while working as the Youth Program Director in a non-profit called Wasatch Community Gardens which combined her education background and agricultural skills.
Laura received her Early Childhood Education, PK - 3, degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has worked in a variety of childcare and school settings. During her last two summers of college, she was a counselor at a YMCA residential camp in the San Bernardino Mountains along the Pacific Crest Trail. This was her introduction to camping, backpacking, campfires, etc. She's been an outdoors girl ever since.
Upon graduation she moved back to California, and taught 2nd grade in the Bay Area. It was there that she started dabbling in school gardening as well. She felt confident about the teaching part but didn’t really know much about growing food. So, when she joined the Peace Corps, she signed up for the environment sector. Laura served in The Gambia as an agroforestry volunteer for a little over two years. She gained the knowledge of how to grow in a community garden and bee keep in a Sub-Saharan climate in rural Africa. Laura Lemongrass shares her insightful teaching practice and global perspective with the Schoolhouse children.
As a firm believer in nature play, Laura Lemongrass is also cofounder of 3 Owls Outdoor Play Consultants, LLC, an organization dedicated to connecting children with nature through nature playscape designs, teacher trainings, and pop-up nature playscapes. Laura Lemongrass completed the Cedarsong Forest Kindergarten Teacher Training Program in 2022.
Lexi Bruno
Teacher
Ms. Lexi grew up in Central Minnesota, but quickly fell in love with the Northwoods while attending the University of Minnesota Duluth. At UMD she studied Environmental and Outdoor Education. During her time as a student she discovered the nature play movement and fell head over hiking boots!
After graduating in 2015 she and a friend circumnavigated Lake Superior via sea kayak. She then worked in Grand Marais (MN) helping to transition a traditional daycare into a nature-based program.
Ms. Lexi has returned to UMD to as a research assistant and to work towards her Master's Degree in Environmental Education with a focus on nature-based preschool. She balances going to school at UMD and teaching at the Schoolhouse, and loves being surrounded by so much new learning about nature-based teaching.
She is passionated about fostering a love of learning and the natural world in young children at Wind Ridge Schoolhouse.
Lexi completed the Cedarsong Forest Kindergarten Teacher Training Program in 2019.
Teacher
Ms. Lexi grew up in Central Minnesota, but quickly fell in love with the Northwoods while attending the University of Minnesota Duluth. At UMD she studied Environmental and Outdoor Education. During her time as a student she discovered the nature play movement and fell head over hiking boots!
After graduating in 2015 she and a friend circumnavigated Lake Superior via sea kayak. She then worked in Grand Marais (MN) helping to transition a traditional daycare into a nature-based program.
Ms. Lexi has returned to UMD to as a research assistant and to work towards her Master's Degree in Environmental Education with a focus on nature-based preschool. She balances going to school at UMD and teaching at the Schoolhouse, and loves being surrounded by so much new learning about nature-based teaching.
She is passionated about fostering a love of learning and the natural world in young children at Wind Ridge Schoolhouse.
Lexi completed the Cedarsong Forest Kindergarten Teacher Training Program in 2019.