Aloha! I’m Aunty Kathy! I started at KOKL preschool in the fall of 2018.
My professional journey in early childhood education started in 1983 at the Montessori Country School (MCS) in Pahoa where I began as a substitute teacher’s aide. Realizing teaching was my calling, I received my Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education from Hawai’i Community College and in 1992 became a full time teacher at MCS. I opened their toddler room in 2002, where I stayed until they closed in 2014 due to the possible lava inundation of Pahoa village. Seeing the need for quality childcare in my community, I created Keiki Lanai, a state licensed childcare home that I ran as a Montessori based homeschool form 2014 to 2018. Being recruited by KOKL to join them as an Educational Assistant for the 2018/19 school year was a blessing, as my homeschool was evacuated and closed as a result of that spring’s lava event that took much of Leilani Estates.
I grew up on O’ahu and moved to the Big Island in 1981 to raise my family which over the years included four children. We lived in Leilani Estates for 30 years. I love the ocean, swimming being my favorite form of exercise and meditation, and I like to spend time working in the yard, being creative and hanging out with my grandchildren.
I love being in the preschool setting because of all the wondrous discoveries I see the children make daily, in themselves and in the world around them.
My professional journey in early childhood education started in 1983 at the Montessori Country School (MCS) in Pahoa where I began as a substitute teacher’s aide. Realizing teaching was my calling, I received my Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education from Hawai’i Community College and in 1992 became a full time teacher at MCS. I opened their toddler room in 2002, where I stayed until they closed in 2014 due to the possible lava inundation of Pahoa village. Seeing the need for quality childcare in my community, I created Keiki Lanai, a state licensed childcare home that I ran as a Montessori based homeschool form 2014 to 2018. Being recruited by KOKL to join them as an Educational Assistant for the 2018/19 school year was a blessing, as my homeschool was evacuated and closed as a result of that spring’s lava event that took much of Leilani Estates.
I grew up on O’ahu and moved to the Big Island in 1981 to raise my family which over the years included four children. We lived in Leilani Estates for 30 years. I love the ocean, swimming being my favorite form of exercise and meditation, and I like to spend time working in the yard, being creative and hanging out with my grandchildren.
I love being in the preschool setting because of all the wondrous discoveries I see the children make daily, in themselves and in the world around them.