Hello! I am happy you are here!

I am an Early Childhood Leader, Preschool Director, Environmental Educator, and nature lover! I am passionate about supporting child development, forming partnerships with others, and creating projects that invite people to enjoy the outdoors. 

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For the past 6+ years, I've been a Leader in Early Childhood Programs across the USA, supporting children's development while improving their connection with nature.

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Welcome to my page, and I hope to get to know you soon!

The 2020 Summer Camp was a blast!

We partnered up with teachers from all over the world to share their knowledge with us children had a special time.

I've had the wonderful opportunity to share some of my projects with the local news throughout the years. 

2018 - Local News Station: UI7 News Live - April 4, 2018 

2017 - I-STEM Education Initiative - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

I was thrilled to participate in this training offered by the Eastern Region Association of Forest and Nature Schools (ERAFANS)! This intensive 

course provided an in-depth study of best practices in nature-based early childhood education to prepare educators for meaningful outdoor learning experiences.

We have designed and implemented many Science & Nature Programs in schools in both Brazil and the US.

This is a great option for schools looking to diversify their curriculum by adding more hands-on investigative activities for children from preschool to elementary school.

These camps were a wonderful way to expose children to the wonders of the world. Throughout the weeks, we learned about different countries and the uniqueness of their natural habitats and exotic animals. We also investigated their culture, arts, and stories.

In this picture, elementary children are acting a play about Egypt that they wrote and directed themselves. 

During the Multicultural Camps children had the extraordinary opportunity to experience how children live and learn in different countries around the world.

Each week children were exposed to the wonders of a different country. They were introduced to the language, music, arts, cuisine, and traditions. On Fridays, a guest native from the country came to share their stories with children, and we had a happy traditional celebration! It was a blast!     

Where does our food come from? How about our clothes? Where do things go after we throw them in the garbage?

With hands-on activities and an investigative mind, this project presented children with real-life questions while teachers guided them to investigate the life-cycle of things. This was a great project that inspired 

children's love and connection to our planet!

This is my favorite project to work with children! There are immense opportunities for learning when children have a classroom pet or have an opportunity for an animal encounter. They are curious to learn about their habitats, what they eat, or sleep, and how they camouflage! 

There are many social, emotional, and motor benefits too! Children learn how to be aware of their feelings and how to express them (fear and excitement). They are very calm and focused when learning how to pet animals properly, and how to be respectful and gentle with live animals.

It is such a beautiful thing to see the sparkle in a child's eyes when she is confident enough to hold a Chinese Water Dragon all by herself! 

Organic Gardening offers children the opportunity to get their hands dirty and investigate little creatures that live under the soil. It is a great motor activity to increase children's body strength. Visiting and caring for a garden also teaches them about the life cycle of plants and animals! It's a beautiful thing!

Nature walks offered children the possibility to understand firsthand the connection between animals and plants and how they could support the ecosystem. Older children could learn about specific plants that exist in their neighborhood and how important it is to care for and preserve their environment. 

We offered these super fun projects at events and birthday parties to get children curious about the wonders of science experiments. These science activities are a mix of "mystery" and fun, where children can try new things and get excited about how experiments work.

Brazil is a beautiful country, and I am proud to be a Brazilian! Ever since I moved to the US (2013) I have met incredible people here that have also wanted to share their love for Brazil with people around them. Throughout the years, we have organized many traditional Brazilian celebrations such as Carnaval, Brazilian Independence Day, and International Food Fairs.  

When I moved to Champaign-Urbana, I met Luciana Bagby and together we organized a playgroup for Portuguese speaking families. This was a beautiful project that engaged families and

offered children living in the US the opportunity to speak Portuguese and meet other children while playing games and having a fun relaxed time. 

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a wonderful University and a very welcoming place for international students. During my first year at UIUC, I volunteered as a Board member of the Luso-Brazilian Association at UIUC. We offered support to students and promoted cultural traditional events and celebrations.   

From 2011-2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I was involved with Dinâmica Natural, a company that develops educational projects for schools and companies focused on Environmental Education and Natural Sciences.

Today, Natural Discovery and Dinâmica Natural are partners, and we are committed to increasing the exchange of cultural and environmental awareness. We wanted to provide students and teachers unique opportunities to explore, inspire, and hopefully, one day, to offer collaborative exchange opportunities for students and/or teachers in both countries.