Developing Capacities for Being with Children
from Birth to Three
Helping Children Meet the World Through Their Sense of Well Being
November 14 - 15, 2025 in person at Sophia's Hearth
We invite you to continue our journey through the four foundational senses. Last November (2024), we explored the Sense of Touch and this year, we turn our attention to the Sense of Wellbeing, also known as the Life Sense.
How do we recognize the development of the sense of wellbeing and support it in our work? In the medical literature, the Sense of Wellbeing is referred to as Interoception – the process of sensing and interpreting the inner state of our body.
The conference is designed to help us deepen our understanding of the sense of wellbeing and renew our commitment to becoming healthy models for the children in our care. Through presentation, meaningful conversation, videos, and personal experience, we will explore this sense and how we support it in our daily work with children.
As educators, we are presented with challenges by the children in our care which offers us an opportunity to grow. As they take steps in becoming, we too are enriched by the shared experience.
The conference is designed to give the participants many opportunities to have experiences of the sense of wellbeing and explore practical ways to integrate this understanding into their work.
The conference presenters and panelists Jane Swain, Katherine Scharff, Paula Sousa, and Michelle Brooks will share their knowledge and experiences of working with the sense of wellbeing with children.
Heather Church will lead us through a reflective process to help integrate the conference content with our own experiences as caregivers of young children.
Limited scholarship funds are available. Please contact Katherine Scharff (katherine@sophiashearth.org) with requests and questions.
Presented with support from
Conference Schedule
Friday, November 14, 2025
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5:30 pm - 6:30 pm - Registration Opens
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6:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Opening with Singing and Announcements
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7:00 am – 9:00 pm – Presentation, Experiential, Examples and closing
Saturday, November 15, 2025
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8:30 am - 9:15 am - Singing, Announcements, Gems from the Night
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9:15 am – 11:00 am – Presentation, Experiential and Examples
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11:00 am - 11:30 am – Break
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11:30am-1:00pm – Small and Large Group Reflections and Sharing
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1pm - 2:30 pm - Lunch – sensory experiences available
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2:30 - 3:00 - Process Sense of Wellbeing Experiences
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3:00 - 4:00 - Small and Large Group Reflections and Sharing
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4:30 – 5:00 – Panel questions and Closing
Conference Presenters
Michelle Brooks
Michelle has worked as an early childhood teacher for more than 25 years. She taught parent/child and nursery classes at Monadnock Waldorf School for 13 years and was the primary caregiver for infants at Sophia’s Hearth Family Center for two years. She taught kindergarten at the Hartsbrook School before moving back into working with the very young child to teach parent and child classes once again. She holds a BA in Early Childhood Education from Anna Maria College and an MA in Education from Lesley College. She completed her Waldorf Teacher Training from Sunbridge College and has completed course work in the Birth to Three Specialization Program at Sophia’s Hearth where she also serves as a faculty member in their teacher training program. She lives in NH and feels blessed to have raised three beautiful children and has three delightful grandchildren. She is nourished by time spent outdoors in nature, tending to her flower/vegetable garden, cooking, crafting and working with healing plants.
Heather Church
Heather's deep-rooted connection with nature, cultivated on the shores of Lake Superior and in Muskoka, Canada, has been a driving force in her Waldorf journey, spanning over twenty-five years. As a parent and Kindergarten teacher, she spent eleven years teaching mixed-age kindergartens in Ontario, a testament to her unwavering commitment to Waldorf education. Her dedication led her to co-found a center that prioritized supporting parents, community building, and the sale of organic woolens. In 2007, Heather took the Connections Course, a personal development program based on the New Adult Learning Processes (NALA), with Arlene Thorn. Since then, she has actively taught, trained, and facilitated within NALA. In 2023, she joined the NALA board and eagerly supports its growth in the world. In July 2023, Heather became a Co-Director of WECAN and has served on its board since 2015. She is part of the WECAN Birth to Three Working Group, supporting early childhood programs and training across North America. Heather is also involved in Waldorf teacher training at various institutes. Previously, she served as Pedagogical Director and Early Childhood Coordinator at the Halton Waldorf School and has held leadership roles at the Toronto Waldorf School. She now resides in Gores Landing, Ontario, Canada.
Katherine Scharff
Katherine Scharff is the Director of Teacher Education at Sophia’s Hearth. She teaches the introductory courses in the development of the young child. She taught preschool and parent-child teacher at the Waldorf School of Saratoga, New York. She is a Simplicity Parenting Family Life Coach, has completed the Sophia’s Hearth Birth-to-Seven Waldorf Teacher Education program, and has had additional advanced training in the Pikler approach. She is a Registered Nurse and has specialized training in the anthroposophical approach to nursing.
Paula Sousa
Paula is the Director of Early Childhood Care and Education at Sophia’s Hearth. She formerly worked at Calendula Gardens, the Monadnock Waldorf School Nursery Kindergarten and was the teaching director at Evergreen Garden Playschool. Paula holds a M.S. in early childhood education from Lesley College, a M.S. in Waldorf Early Childhood Education from Sunbridge College, a Birth-to-Three certificate from Sophia’s Hearth Early Childhood Teacher Education Program and has studied the Pikler approach to early care with Anna Tardos (daughter of founder Emmi Pikler).
Jane Swain
Jane Swain is an associate director and core faculty member as Sophia’s Hearth Early Childhood Teacher Education Center. She is a Pediatric Physical Therapist and movement therapist, with a special interest in supporting children to integrate their primitive reflexes. Jane is also a certified Level III trainer of Spacial Dynamics and is certified in Bothmer Gymnastics, Sensory Integration Praxis testing for children, and Neuro-developmental Treatment in pediatrics. She has studied the work of Dr. Emmi Pikler at the Pikler Institute in Budapest. She previously taught Movement Education in the early grades at the Monadnock Waldorf School and has provided classroom consultation in addition to working privately with children for many years. Jane is certified by the New Hampshire Child Development Bureau as an Early Childhood Master Professional Workshop Trainer. She has taught throughout the US and abroad. Jane has published several articles on sensory motor development in the young child and is currently writing a two-volume book on the topic soon to be published by the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America.