Support Lauren's Journey in Early Childhood

My name's Lauren and I'm an aspiring Early Childhood Teacher. In California, I began my journey as a TA for the LA Unified School District. I was hired to work with preschool-1st grade students and found that I had a natural passion for working with this age group. To my surprise, time flew by in this profession; in the blink of an eye, the school year would start and finish, and with each year, I felt I grew as a person. When I moved out of state, I began a different version of my journey with early childhood and became a mother. My daughter was the introduction I needed to ask deeper questions and learn everything from scratch as a new mother raising a child away from my support system, my family.

Motherhood propelled a deep curiosity in me of getting to know this new version of myself, wondering what my purpose was in my daughter's life. I wonder.... was the biggest question that came to me daily. I had so many questions and desperately sought support from other mothers who I admired, and grandparents who eventually became like family. I'm grateful for this town and the strong women within it who nurtured me in my beginning years and who led me to the world of Steiner in Waldorf Schools.

In our small town of Fairfield, I was exposed to many different styles of parenting and different options of education. I was drawn to Waldorf, and when I found the beauty and simplicity of this style of teaching, I wanted to know more. For the first few years, after I had my second child, I searched for resources and tried to ask as many questions as I could to bring Steiner-inspired methods into my home. Wishing to work and contribute to my family's financial security, I applied to different positions at our town's Waldorf School but was missing certifications in early childhood. As a graduate of MIU, I also wondered how the development of consciousness fit into the lives of children and how it could enhance their life experience.

Lifeways is a thread of Waldorf training that encompassed what I wanted to learn as a mother and future teacher. For many years, I applied for scholarships to their program but never met the financial qualifications. Now, I'm finally enrolled in this life-changing program created by Cynthia Aldinger.

I consider work in the first seven years with children to be Sacred and of the highest importance, as it truly shapes the rest of their lives. I've felt shifted in ways beyond words and have even had the chance to look at my own early years and understand myself more deeply. I'm looking forward to completing the second half of my training.

When I enrolled in the program, my partner and I had budgeted as a two-income household. I would be working as a teacher, and he'd be continuing his work as a Pancha Karma tech with MIU. With the restructuring of the university, my partner's job was immediately affected, and we moved to a one-person household, with me as the primary source of income. This has led me to utilize my savings for this trip to be put towards our monthly expenses such as groceries, gas, mortgage payments, etc. Which leads me to where I'm at now, asking for your help in financing my travel expenses for my last two, in-person, Lifeways training sessions in Oklahoma City, OK, which are 16 days total.

I'm currently seeking help in fundraising $3200 towards travel expenses.

March Finances:

Airbnb: $400

Car Rental: $600

Gas: $60

Food: $100

August Finances:

Airbnb: $1300

Gas: $350

Food: $400

Would you consider donating towards my Lifeways Early Childhood Educational Journey? Whatever donation you can make will go a long way for me. Your love and support will reach not only my children but the children who I get to work with now and in the future. If this finds you, I thank you for reading this through. Ja Guru Dev.