Whole Child, Whole Family, Whole Community.

*Apple Blossom is currently seeking a collaboration with an Ojibwe Immersion Program and a part time teacher to weave more Ojibwe Culture and Language into our curriculum. Please email Dacia at naturalchildhood@gmail.org with ideas or interest.

Teachers at Apple Blossom are on a path of our own inner growth, and we see our role as striving to foster growth in each individual child while leading the children in community with one another. From Susan Howard’s article on the Essentials of Waldorf Early Childhood Education, as educators, we are striving to set aside our egos and realize that, “Ultimately the most profound influence on the child is who we are as human beings – and who and how we are becoming.”

Apple Blossom Village is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Dacia Dauner is the Lead Educator and Director of Apple Blossom Village. Dacia coordinates all Apple Blossom programming as well as teaching in the 1st - 4th grade classroom. Dacia grew up in the Bemidji area and spent much of her childhood wandering the woods and playing in nature, helping in the garden, and dabbling in the arts. Dacia holds a degree in Early Childhood Education from Bemidji State University along with a B.S. in Accounting and a B.A. in Humanities. She has been attending Waldorf Education summer intensives in Portland, Oregon since the summer of 2011 and has completed early childhood and Kindergarten courses as well as taken Waldorf training in teaching 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. Dacia will be attending the Children and Nature Network Conference in Madison, WI this spring! Dacia has led workshops for childcare providers, parents, teachers, and has consulted with local area schools and childcare centers, and organized family friendly festivals and events over her many years of working with children. Working outdoors with children through every season for more than 12 years, and recently helping build and maintain two yurts as outdoor classrooms, Dacia has lots of knowledge and skills to share!

Dacia has worked in Early Childhood since 1998 as a preschool teacher and then as the Director of Bemidji State University Campus Childcare Center for eight years. Discovering Waldorf Education in 2010, she decided to bring Apple Blossom Childcare and Preschool to the community, using inspiration from Waldorf philosophy. The concept for Apple Blossom Village took root in the idea to bring learning in a natural way through exploration of the outside world, imaginative play, creative arts and practical life activities. This concept has grown over ten years of programming, starting with infant - preschool age and eventually including summer camps for grade school children and then expanding to an outdoor micro-school concept for preschool through fourth grade. With the help of other talented visionaries, we offer, with joy, Apple Blossom Village!

In her spare time, Dacia enjoys nature and the outdoors, handwork and the arts, world cultures, and travelling whenever she gets a chance. Her most recent trip was to Ireland! She hopes to bring an inspiring learning experience to your child.

Justine is our Full Time Mixed-Age Kindergarten Teacher! Justine has her degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood from Bemidji State University. She spent six years working for Head Start in home and center based programs. This is where she truly developed her passion for working with families and teaching young children. She stayed home with her own children, Celia (age 5) and Louis (age 7), and had discovered the Waldorf philosophy when she started researching the best kindergarten options for her son. The developmentally appropriate and child centered learning drew her to Apple Blossom. Observing her own children engaged with their natural environment also contributed to her love for outdoor education. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, sewing, reading, and spending time with her family.

Ann Skoe is our German Teacher at Apple Blossom for both the Apfelhaus (ages 4 - 6) and the Baumhaus (ages 6 - 10). Ann will also continue to assist with the morning Mixed-Age Kindergarten and share her special talents cooking our snacks over the fire and woodstove! Ann also works at Apple Blossom day camps in the summers and her child Arnaud, attends Apple Blossom. For several years of her childhood, Ann lived in Germany. At Colorado College, she earned a degree in German studies.  Ann is licensed to teach both German and Spanish and is fluent in French. At Peacemaker Resources, she supported childcare providers as they strengthened the social emotional learning in their programs.  She has also held a wide variety of positions at Concordia Language Villages. Ann also works for the Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji, and teaches world languages online through Fergus Falls public school district. She looks forward to sharing her love for nature with your child.  (Skoe rhymes with boy.)

Alexzandra Staudt began as a parent volunteer in the Kindergarten in 2019. When her own child, Poppi, moved into the 1st - 4th grade, Alexzandra came with her and now works as the 1st - 3rd Grade Classroom Assistant, sharing her talents with us! Alexzandra is also a Summer Camp Leader for Apple Blossom. Alexzandra has been a “maker” all her life and is passionate about engaging kids with their head, heart, and hands. Knitting, sewing, building, cooking, and gardening are some of the skills she enjoys teaching about. As a citizen scientist she is always in observation mode, just waiting to spark conversations about birds, animals, plants, or weather with students and parents. Alexzandra is a fierce advocate of alternative learning and environmental stewardship and sustainability.

Addie Dauner joins us at Apple Blossom this school year as the part-time Morning Assistant for the Mixed-Age Kindergarten. Addie has been working at Apple Blossom Summer Camps since the beginning, and now as a new mom, she and baby Kingston will join us in the Apfelhaus! Addie is attending Bemidji State University online as a psychology major and looks forward to working at this beautiful and special place with your children.

Kristin Vogel has enjoyed working with young children for over 18 years. When Dacia first opened Apple Blossom as a family childcare/preschool, she was employed there until her first child was born in March 2016. Since then she has occasionally assisted with camps, parent/child class and in the kindergarten. In all her experience, the Waldorf philosophy has resonated with her the most. The importance of nature, art, caregiver/child connection and nurturing the whole child are things she strives for in her home life and in her current position as a nanny. She is looking forward to assisting Justine for the Roots and Wings class!

Kristin enjoys caring for her chickens, cooking, reading, coffee and spending time at the lake. She lives in Bemidji with her husband Jeremy and two children, Sullivan (age 7) and Frederick (age 2).

Sarah Wilson works with Dacia to offer our Forest Friday program and is a summer camp leader. Sarah is also employed with Peacemaker’s Resources and teaches Social Emotional Learning class at Apple Blossom through a grant providing this opportunity. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Bemidji State University. Exploring the forests around her home from an early age sparked her passion for the environment. For the past 15 years, she has enjoyed sharing that passion by engaging young people in place based, powerful learning. She loves to experiment with innovative teaching methods and is passionate about creating equitable learning spaces that lift up marginalized voices. She lives and plays in the gardens and forests around Bemidji with her family.

Cailee Furer is a Summer Camp Leader and Summer Camp Assistant at Apple Blossom Village as well as a past Apple Blossom Parent/Child Class Educator. She is a licensed Parent and Family Educator and Early Childhood Teacher who teaches parent education classes and family classes at Bemidji Area Schools ECFE and Village of Hope Family Shelter. She is the co-coordinator of Bemidji Early Childhood Collaborative and is passionate about serving families and young children.  Cailee has been involved in Apple Blossom for the past seven years in various capacities since her daughter attended preschool there and she worked part time as a toddler teacher and fell in love with the philosophy. She lives with her partner, Nick, and their two daughters Lily (age 13), and Evie (age 8). When she has the chance Cailee loves to travel and visit new places, read, knit, garden, hike, attend theater, and simply sit outside and do absolutely nothing.