| Katie O'Connor founded Talking Stick in 2006. She enjoys Indian food, her cat who has thumbs, and parenting her ten year old son. She is ardent about the importance of self-directed life-learning experiences and works to make such experiences as accessible as possible. She studied anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and gained subsequent experience in alternative education at various free schools and homeschooling resource centers. She is still "learning all the time". She works with all the 4 to 8 year old groups and teaches supplemental classes such as anthropology. |  |
Paige Menton 
has been homeschooling for the past five years, in which time she has learned many more things than she seemed to learn in her four undergraduate years. Before homeschooling, Paige was an educational researcher and taught third grade. She has also enjoyed teaching creative writing and environmental education. Paige has one son and onedaughter. As often as she can, Paige enjoys hiking, gardening, reading, drawing, making things,and visiting museums and parks. Paige works in the 4 to 8 year old group on Thursdays.
Su Murphy is working with the 4 to 8 year olds on Tuesdays. She lives in a purple house by the Wissahickon woods with her 3 girls, 2 cats, 1 dog, a guinea pig and adoring husband:) She's an RN, has a Masters in Education and taught 3rd grade for 6 years before realizing that her true calling was to homeschool/unschool her girls. They spend their days walking through the woods, weeding the garden, making muffins, knitting, sewing, reading, watching, exploring, creating, playing, doing, LIVING! They ask questions, and do what they love! She's excited to be a part of Talking Stick this year and looks forward to spending Tuesdays doing more of the same with our Talking Stick family!
Jeannie Gerth tirelessly tries
to be a better: person; partner, mom, friend; gluten-free vegan cook, economist, thinker, learner, listener, punctuator, reader, gardener, reuse/recycle maker etc... When not resting from the effort of all that she will be happily volunteering, sharing and playing on Thursdays with the 4-8 year old group.
Rebecca Dhondt (Don't) works with Katie in the Wednesday program for 4 to 8 year olds. She, her husband and 3 children have spent the past two years in France and are thrilled to return to their Mt. Airy home. Besides international travel, she enjoys many hobbies including: writing, arts and crafts, yoga, photography, singing and tickling little children. Before joining Talking Stick, she has worked teaching her own children, teaching English to French speakers, acting as President of The Big Backyard Cooperative nursery school and running the public relations commitee at J.S. Jenks Elementary School in Chestnut Hill. She has had experience in self-directed learning for children of all ages, from preschool to teenagers.
Kim Kramer has held positions in traditional, as well as non-traditional classrooms for more than 15 years. She values what each experience and student has brought to her life. She has led groups of teenagers on biking, hiking and canoing trips. She was a middle school math teacher in a local Friends school for eight years before the birth of her daughter. It is her four year old that has had the greatest impact on her teaching style, as she has truly come to appreciate the journey (walking to the block and a half to the library can take an hour!). She is excited to return to the classroom, share ideas with students, and make new friends.