WENDY KANTER [email protected] Wendy has been teaching children in preschool through sixth grade for more than 40 years. She has a California multiple subject credential with CLAD certification. Her professional teaching career began with upper elementary grades (third through sixth). Then she shifted her focus to young children. She had a home day care business for many years and taught kindergarten for 28 years. She has worked with homeschooling children. Wendy’s nature-based teaching began as a camp counselor many years ago. She has volunteered on a small family farm and an organic farm. She has worked with young children in the garden for a very long time. She loves to teach science. She created a Nature School Learning Pod during the 2020-2021 school year of the Covid pandemic taking children in first through third grades outside while studying plants, animals, and ecosystems. She is working with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society teaching children about birds, another passion of hers. Music is a very important part of Wendy’s life. She has been trained as a music educator in the Orff-Schulwerk approach to music and movement education. She has taught recorder to elementary students, along with beginning and advanced beginning ukulele to children and adults individually, in small groups, or whole classes. She has organized family dances and a family music festival. She has taught student teachers at Antioch University beginning ukulele and songs to use in the classroom. She was a former member of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association for several years, as well as the treasurer of the local Orff-Schulwerk Chapter for 2 years. She attended three international Orff-Schulwerk Association conferences. She was the Santa Barbara Ukulele Club Musical Director from 2010 to 2015. Wendy was a founding teacher at Santa Barbara Charter School (SBCS) where she has worked since 1993. She has worked very hard to establish garden spaces and an orchard on the campus. She has always had a focus on creating stimulating learning environments inside and outside the classroom. During the past 25 years at Santa Barbara Charter School, she has been a teacher, Head Teacher, and served on the following committees and governing bodies: Circle of Trustees, Arts Task Force, Site committee, Parent Participation committee, Operations Council, Gardening committee, and Parent Alliance. She has led parent education meetings and has been a trainer and supervisor for fifth grade student peer mediators (Peace Makers) for more than 15 years. She has led workshops on Conflict Resolution for parent volunteers and aides at SBCS. She has been a cooperating teacher for the Antioch teacher credential program. She has been a consultant with other start up charter schools. Since her retirement from the classroom, she has been a substitute teacher, a music educator, and a garden educator. Wendy has studied Waldorf Education and Montessori Education. She worked in an open alternative classroom setting. She is a product of public school education. As a result, her style is very eclectic borrowing from many different approaches. Yet, always at the heart of her work is the value and importance of music, along with nature-based and arts integrated approaches, and with social-emotional learning woven into everything she does. Wendy has written and received many curriculum grants.
Rotary Club Outstanding Service Award
Chrystal Apple Award, Elementary Teacher, 2008
Village Property Educator Grants
PERSONAL INTERESTS Singing, Folk Music, Leading Sing-Alongs, Ukulele (Playing and Teaching), Children’s Music, Yoga, Dance (These days mostly line dancing), Physical Fitness, Gardening, Gardening with Children, Birding, Reading Historical Fiction, Designing Indoor and Outdoor Environments for Children I am available for educational consulting and to lead workshops for educators and parents. I also teach ukulele to beginners and advanced beginners locally. Please, contact me for more information.