nurturing a child's sense of wonder and awe
About
Hi there, I'm Aria Thomases, a certified Waldorf teacher with a Masters Degree in Education and more than 19 years experience in classroom and outdoor education settings throughout the world.
​
I was educated in public schools through high school with a Waldorf-inspired upbringing via two creative parents: painting and drawing lessons in artist’s studios; sculpting and ceramics at museum schools; singing in regional children’s choirs and playing wind instruments at New England Conservatory as a classically trained musician.
Movement
The importance of movement resonated at a young age with lots of athletics: swimming, softball, track, and 3-phase eventing, a demanding form of competitive horseback riding. Later in college I began my yoga journey then quickly took up rowing and road biking.
In my twenties, I discovered the Rocky Mountains, Alaska and the thrill of wilderness adventure. I guided educational expeditions sea kayaking, horse-packing, and hiking/climbing. At 35, I fell in love with endurance training and took on the NYC marathon, tri-athlons and other races.
Since having my son in 2018, goals have shifted of course! These days, find me swimming, biking, at the beach or cross-fit gym training to get back into running form.
Nature adventures will always be in my rhythm. They're my favorite setting for connection and growth with children!
My experiential education
My earliest memories of travel and adventure were inspired by parents who lived and worked overseas. Later, I traveled internationally with musical ensembles and around the world studying global ecology, economics, social movements, sustainable building, permaculture.
​
I attended Carnegie Mellon where I received a BA in Design and a Self-Defined Minor in Environmental Studies, most notably influenced by the work of Edward Goldsmith and The Ecologist, Satish Kumar and Resurgence, EF Schumacher and Schumacher College, Buckminster Fuller, Frank Lloyd Wright and others. In these formative years my dedication to life-long learning and evolved, ecological education took hold.
After graduating with top honors, I worked in the non-profit arts and community development sector in local and international, urban, rural, and indigenous communities. Along the way, I discovered a non-incorporated town in rural Alaska that epitomizes subsistence, off-grid living, and the authentic homestead lifestyle I was seeking. There, deep within the largest protected mountain wilderness on Earth, 52 million acres spanning national parks in Alaska and Canada, I made my home for more than a decade.
My approach
It’s clear that the bigger my view of Mother Nature’s abundant landscape becomes, the more my appreciation for simple and beautiful grows.
Living on Maui since 2016, I have found the perfect setting to raise my son and to facilitate meaningful educational experiences for others.
I am a teaching artist guiding attuned learning journeys that nurture a child's sense of wonder, awe, and authentic self.
My personal practice includes:
-
movement & meditation
-
affirmations & intention setting
-
growth mindset & teaching from the heart
-
connections with families
-
low-no media lifestyle
