About Ms. Amanda

Amanda M. Lugo, M.A.Ed., has been working with children in education since 2006.

She is a member of an indigenous, bi-racial, bilingual family with an investment in

Waldorf-inspired education and educational social justice initiatives.

She is interested in cultivating empathy

and holding space for young children

while nourishing a love for and connection with the natural world.

She is committed to the hard and sometimes messy work of self-reflection, exploring biases,

and listening and learning along the perpetual journey toward anti-racism.

At The Maple Hill Play Garden, she strives to create a nurturing, inclusive, home-like environment

to help foster children's emotional growth and well-being.

An Offering of Thanks

to Honor those who have taught me along the way

I would like to offer a heartfelt thanks to my mentors: to Faith Baldwin Collins from Joyful Toddlers, who inspired my journey along this road of childcare and who first taught me how to hold space for young children; to Dr. Rebecca Ossario, who opened my eyes to the ways in which space is held - or not held - for children of the global majority and children of other non-dominant groups; to Magdalena Toran, who encouraged me to begin this program; to Celia Riahi and Barbara Audley from the Cottage Garden, who offered me invaluable practical insights and shared with me their wealth of resources; to Alya Stoffer of Farm Hands Preschool in Northampton, who shared the keys to cozy outdoor forest school napping in cold weather and countless other resources and insights with me; to Rossana Salazar, for helping to translate our application into Spanish; to my parents - Linda and Greg Wade - who showed me the meaning of love and warmth and who provided me with so many of the opportunities I've experienced; to my teachers - Hector Ibarra, David Atekpatzin Young, and Joseph Laford - who helped me to understand the importance of a forma and who, through those formas, strengthened my appreciation for the interconnectedness and sacredness in all things and helped ground me in my experience here; and to my loving partner, José Lugo, who walks hand in hand with me through everything on this strange, beautiful, and sometimes challenging road, and to whom I offer my heart.