Steph Ermel's Self-Study Group

Hello and thank you for checking out my virtual classroom!  My name is Stephanie Ermel and I am an educator, mother, fitness fanatic, outdoor enthusiast, and third culture kid.  My professional background is in Early Childhood Education (B.S. and M.Ed in Early Childhood Education and Special Education Endorsement) and I currently work from home while raising my 4, 3, and 1 year old.  I was born on the island of Okinawa, Japan, to an Okinawan mother and American father.  At the age of 6 months my father's shipping business took us to Taiwan for 3 years, then Indonesia for 3 years, then the Philippines for 4 years, before my mother and I moved back to Okinawa, Japan - where I lived from 11-18 years old.  Although an American citizen, my first time living in the US was for college at 18.  My whole life has been dedicated to Early Childhood Education so now I am living my personal dream: I spend my days in nature with my kids and I feel very lucky as both a mom and a researcher, to have this time with them.  Ten years ago at the age of 25, I was finishing up my graduate degree, had just moved in with my now husband, and was teaching 35 kindergartners all day... it was a stressful time!  I had some come-to-Jesus moments with myself and that's when I began making self-care my number one priority.  For the last ten years I have been a student of yoga, spirituality, therapy, and just about anything woo woo - I am fascinated by the body/mind connection.  By the age of 30 I had achieved my lifelong dream, only to have it fall apart and that difficult period forced me to put my years of self-study to practice.  These professional detours eventually led me to Special Education and I began teaching 3-6 year olds who were medically fragile with multiple and severe disabilities.  It was during this time that I delved deeper into non-verbal communication, energy, and some of the more difficult ideas about life and death.   This was a pivotal time in my personal development, especially as a first time mother and it was in this chapter of my life that I established a foundation of gratitude.As an early childhood teacher I LOVED spending most of my time teaching emotional intelligence because I believe there is so much power in establishing healthy habits as early as possible.  Coping skills, stress management, boundary setting, connecting and communicating with others - I am a firm believer of the adage, "everything you need to know, you learned in Kindergarten."  I love to chat with like-minded people, particularly those who want to feel strong physically, mentally, spiritually.  Again, I appreciate you taking the time to research me and I hope that I can support you!