Meet our teacher Sarah
Sarah Formsma is a graduate of the Bachelor of Education program at Queen’s University, specializing in Outdoor and Experiential Education. Her previous Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Chemistry and Environmental Science, was received from Trent University. In addition to being a core member of the Blue Whale team since 2015, she has also spent time facilitating children’s education at the Little Cataraqui Creek Outdoor Education Centre, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society in Ottawa and through various summer camp programs in Western Canada.
Sarah has a lifelong love for the outdoors and environmental education. With her family, she has spent numerous summers canoeing and camping around her home in the Kawartha Lakes area. She also has a passion for horses and has been riding and competing from a very young age. She competed in the Hunter disciplines as a teenager but is now more focused on training young riders and horses in her free time. As an educator, Sarah believes that students thrive in a hands-on learning environment, and that the educational journey is as important as the goal. She encourages students to be actively involved in their learning and is thrilled to be a part of the Blue Whale Children’s Centre education team.
Meet our teacher Telsing
Telsing Andrews has always loved learning and helping other learners to nurture their own natural curiosity. She has taught primarily math, science and nature studies for many years to diverse groups, covering grades and age ranges across both elementary and high school levels. Combining a love for all that's creative, she works to enable positive, inclusive STEM experiences for learners of all ages and skill levels.
In her “spare” time, she runs Aster Lane Edibles, a small edible plant nursery and seed company from her farm in Kinburn, where she lives with her family and runs workshops to share her knowledge and love of farming and nature.
In her “spare” time, she runs Aster Lane Edibles, a small edible plant nursery and seed company from her farm in Kinburn, where she lives with her family and runs workshops to share her knowledge and love of farming and nature.
Meet our teacher Kelsey
Kelsey Walsh is an arts-educator who completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) in Theatre and Development through McGill and Concordia Universities. Through art making, Kelsey encourages her students to explore themselves and the world around them. She creates a space where children are supported in being 100% themselves and nurtures a learning environment where students fall into wonder, take fierce ownership over their creations, and are not afraid to express their most wild and wonderous ideas. Kelsey encourages students to use their lived experiences and individual perspectives in the creative process and carefully models behaviours that teach students to celebrate each other’s unique strengths and perspectives.
Previously holding positions with Concordia University, the AOE Arts Council, and Joan of Arc Academy, Kelsey, in addition to teaching at Blue Whale, is the current Performance Company Director and Head of Youth Programs at Dandelion Dance, a uniquely holistic dance school for girls in Ottawa.
Previously holding positions with Concordia University, the AOE Arts Council, and Joan of Arc Academy, Kelsey, in addition to teaching at Blue Whale, is the current Performance Company Director and Head of Youth Programs at Dandelion Dance, a uniquely holistic dance school for girls in Ottawa.
Meet our teacher Sara
Sara Hart is a veteran homeschooling mom of four amazing kids. Originally from Vancouver, Sara has worked with children and youth for over 25 years in a variety of settings, including running a successful Montessori-based daycare and preschool for ten years.
Sara is a certified Montessori teacher for ages 0-3 and 3-6, and has trained at the 6-9 level as well. She is fascinated with children’s natural development and pulls from a variety of methodologies including Montessori, Classical, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and others. She creates hands-on and project based learning opportunities for children to explore and experiment, as well as shares her immense love for children’s literature. As as teacher she strives to foster a love of life and knowledge in children, and to support the curiosity and exploration that children innately possess.
In addition to homeschooling, Sara is a birth & postpartum doula and Childbirth Educator. She is an avid photographer, and loves kayaking, crafting, and exploring the city with her children.
Sara is a certified Montessori teacher for ages 0-3 and 3-6, and has trained at the 6-9 level as well. She is fascinated with children’s natural development and pulls from a variety of methodologies including Montessori, Classical, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and others. She creates hands-on and project based learning opportunities for children to explore and experiment, as well as shares her immense love for children’s literature. As as teacher she strives to foster a love of life and knowledge in children, and to support the curiosity and exploration that children innately possess.
In addition to homeschooling, Sara is a birth & postpartum doula and Childbirth Educator. She is an avid photographer, and loves kayaking, crafting, and exploring the city with her children.
Meet Founders Ashleigh & Lillian
Lillian Domin and Ashleigh White are both mothers in the Ottawa area who came together because of their shared passion to create a truly alternative learning environment for their own children. They believe learning should be a joyful, deeply engaging and meaningful experience that allows each child to grow into his or her most secure and confident self.
Lillian is a former teacher with the Toronto District School Board, the Kasabonika First Nations Education Authority, and Ottawa’s Algonquin College. Her specialties have included working with at-risk youth and ESL children and adults, blending learning across areas as diverse as science, civics, drama, visual arts, and English language. She is now the acting director and one of the teachers for the Blue Whale Children’s Centre.
Co-director, Ashleigh is a proponent of democratic education. Drawing from
research and her own experiences- she believes children can be the authors of
their education, and that this can be a force that empowers them in all aspects
of their development and lives.
As a certified yoga teacher and birth doula, Ashleigh has provided labour and
post-natal support to women and their families in Ottawa and Victoria for over 7
years. She has also served as a political advisor in the office of the Minister of
Health and the Status of Women.
research and her own experiences- she believes children can be the authors of
their education, and that this can be a force that empowers them in all aspects
of their development and lives.
As a certified yoga teacher and birth doula, Ashleigh has provided labour and
post-natal support to women and their families in Ottawa and Victoria for over 7
years. She has also served as a political advisor in the office of the Minister of
Health and the Status of Women.
Meet co-director Nadia Sherstyuk
Nadia Sherstyuk joined the Blue Whale Children’s Centre in January 2018 to spearhead its expansion and the opening of an additional classroom for younger children. Her own educational experiences as well as the wonderful journey of parenting led her to seek out alternatives to the traditional educational systems. Nadia wants to see children to grow up with a deep sense of self-worth and purpose, with the skills and the desire to be life-long learners, and with their innate curiosity and imagination intact.
Nadia is now an active director for the second classroom of the Blue Whale Children’s Centre. Her background is in rehabilitation and women’s health, and she continues to have an active Physiotherapy practice in the Ottawa community.
Nadia is now an active director for the second classroom of the Blue Whale Children’s Centre. Her background is in rehabilitation and women’s health, and she continues to have an active Physiotherapy practice in the Ottawa community.