mindy upton

early childhood/kindergarten

Mindy is owner and lead-teacher of Blue Sky Kindergarten, an established and well-loved Preschool & Kindergarten Program in Boulder, Colorado.

Being a mother and teacher has been my life/work for the past 37 years. I have been so fortunate to be able to be in the presence of “little people” in the most magical and fascinating years of early childhood. I began Blue Sky Kindergarten here at 3046 11th Street 25 years ago. Before that I had a small home kindergarten in my home for many years. When I first walked into Blue Sky and heard the sound of the water bubbling down under the bridge and heard the birds sing high up in the cottonwoods, I knew I was home. The fact that children had been coming to this school since 1954 was clearly “felt in the air” as one walked through the gate. I am happy to say I have been teaching in my sweet classroom since the first day I walked into the school 22 years ago.I began studying movement, music, and singing at Boston Conservatory of Music as an undergraduate. Then moved on to the New School for Social Research and SUNY to begin early childhood training, and intensive movement theory training with Betty Meredith Jones, a former student of Rudolf Laban. I then began to research Rudolf Steiner’s work, and studied at Rudolf Steiner College, and Bottmer Gymnastic training in Spring Valley New York. I appreciate and admire many Waldorf teachers that I have mentored with in the past especially Beth Sutton, creator of the Enki approach, and Joan Almon who I admire for her work and devotion to children all over the world, and Suzanne Down’s puppet mastery.I am presently on the board at The National Institute for Play, headed by Stuart Brown, author of “Play.” I have been an adjunct faculty member of Naropa University since 1980, where I have been teaching “Kindergarten Magic” a hands on course in the practice and application of early childhood pedagogy, and mentoring new teachers. I have recently written a chapter that has been published by Springer publishing Spirituality In Education, a collection of writings on how spirituality can be integrated in different educational environments. My quest is to nurture and embrace the magic of the early childhood years with love and attention to each individual child.