Prioritizing nature in early childhood education.
About Seeds of Wonder
Seeds of Wonder is a nature-based Montessori preschool in Kittery, Maine that serves children ages 18 months to 5 years in half and full-day programs. Unlike many specialized preschools, Seeds of Wonder is open 12 months a year.
Bringing together two trusted and well-established organizations, White Pine Programs and Brixham Montessori Friends School, Seeds of Wonder emphasizes the missions of each organization while creating a program all its own.
The mission of Seeds of Wonder is to nurture each child’s sense of wonder, curiosity, and kinship with the natural world through a collaborative approach to nature-based Montessori education.
Located at the Kittery Community Center, the program provides an affordable, high-quality nature-based toddler and preschool program based on the philosophies and teaching methods of Maria Montessori and the practices of nature connection. At Seeds of Wonder, teachers and parents work as partners to meet the needs of the whole child.
Staff Community
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Guinevere Hilton
Lead Nature Teacher, Primary Class
Guinevere’s relationship with Montessori began when she was a Primary student herself. She remembers her time in the Montessori classroom as a formative experience that inspired her to seek an approach to education that encourages curiosity, independence, and confidence.
Guinevere developed a love of theater and earned a B.F.A. from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and was also a theater professional for many years. She then worked with children and teenagers creating theater and teaching yoga & movement, as well as working in nature based early childhood programs. She is so excited to be part of the Seeds of Wonder community!
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Bekah Tibbetts
Lead Montessori Teacher, Primary Class
Bekah is the school’s full-time support teacher, greeting Toddlers in the morning, and then spending most of each school day in the Primary classroom. Bekah comes to us from Austin, Texas, where she spent seven years as a Primary Montessori guide at Hyde Park Montessori. She holds her Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Primary certification, earned at Post Oak School in Houston, TX.
Education has always been Rebekah's passion, but Montessori education truly resonates with her. She believes in fostering a learning environment that empowers children to learn through choice and independence. A recent transplant to Maine, Bekah enjoys spending her free time playing cards, swimming, spending quality time with her nieces, and exploring the outdoors with her husband, Matt. She is excited to bring her Montessori knowledge to our growing school and community.
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Tara Junkin
Lead Montessori Teacher, Toddler Class
Tara received her Masters in Education with a certification to teach K-12 Art Education, as well as a bachelor's degree in Studio Arts with a concentration in Ceramics from the University of New Hampshire.
Prior to her role as a Montessori guide, she was an art teacher in a private high school in the lakes region of New Hampshire. Tara completed her AMS Infant/Toddler credential at Northeast Montessori Institute in 2018. Before coming to Seeds of Wonder, Tara worked at a Montessori school for over seven years as a guide for children between the ages of 18 months to 6 years of age, working in a toddler classroom and later overseeing the extended day care program.
When not at school, Tara enjoys cooking and playing board games with family, hiking and canoeing with her husband, exploring new areas, walking her dogs, drawing and painting, and especially eating good food!
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Caitlin Hill
Lead Nature Teacher, Toddler Class
Caitlin is a nature and music-loving individual, raised in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She has over a decade of experience teaching young children, both in Nature-Based Early Childhood Programs, and most recently, a Montessori Preschool.
It is an absolute joy for Caitlin to spend time in nature with young children! For her, witnessing children experience the magic of nature is as good as it gets; always harkening her back to her childhood spent playing bare-foot, outside, dawn until dusk! Caitlin believes it is important for children to be able to play outside often, and be given the space and time to independently explore their world. She values compassion, respect and the significance of silliness (which is why working with toddlers is her favorite)! She loves the ‘present’ and curious nature of a child’s mind. Caitlin’s father taught preschool for 40 years and loved every moment of it, and she is beginning to think it may be hereditary!
When not making up songs, frolicking, collecting acorns or digging for worms with toddlers, Caitlin enjoys time spent at the ocean with family and friends, practicing yoga, playing music, dancing, and hiking!
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Substitute Teachers
Jessa Kelly
Emily Murphy
Katie Peternell
Michelle Zamarippa
Leadership & Support
Alison Bell, Executive Director
Alison is a Seacoast area native, and longtime and well-known member of the local Montessori community. She brings many years of Montessori teaching and administrative experience to her new role at Seeds. Alison served for twenty years at Brixham Montessori Friends School in the roles of Office Manager, Assistant Director, and Business Office Administrator, while serving seven of those years as the Co-Lead Toddler Teacher. Before Brixham, Alison taught for eleven years at the Children’s House Montessori School in Rye, NH.
Alison is a certified Montessori Infant & Toddler Specialist and holds a degree in Nonprofit Leadership. She also created “Montessori Toddlers at Home:” a Parent Support Group. She feels passionate about supporting young families in their first school experience as well as young teachers in their Montessori journey.
Outside of work, Alison enjoys sharing mischief, puttering in the garden, daydreaming about design projects, being in the sunshine, and spending time with the people she loves.
Ashlee Ray, Childcare Operations Manager (COM)
Ashlee is a passionate early childhood educator with a wealth of experience spanning Montessori, Waldorf, and public school settings. With over a decade of hands-on teaching, she has developed a deep appreciation for how diverse educational philosophies can complement one another to create enriching environments where children thrive.
She holds an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Primary certification, earned in 2018 from Greenville Montessori Institute and has spent more than ten years immersed in Montessori education. In addition to her teaching role, she also assisted with the day-to-day operations of her previous school, gaining valuable experience in school administration. She is currently completing her Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Washington.
Ashlee has relocated to southern Maine from the mountains of Idaho, where she cherished outdoor adventures, particularly mountain biking and soaking in hot springs. Drawn by the opportunity to be closer to family and the ocean, she is excited for this new chapter. She is excited to be joining a learning community that blends the joy of play and nature with the academic strengths of Montessori education.
Board of Directors
Heather Campbell, Treasurer
Hannah Clark
Holly Curtis, Secretary
Rachael DiLorenzo
Barbara Jenny, Chair
Alica Johnson-Grafe
Suzanne King, Governance Chair
Advisor
Roanne Robbins
Our founding organizations
Brixham Montessori Friends School is a Montessori-accredited school serving children ages 2-11, Brixham Montessori Friends School offers a holistic approach to learning where children’s minds, bodies and spirits are nurtured through an enriched Montessori educational program.
White Pine Programs provides transformational nature experiences that forge personal resilience, inspire lifelong commitment to our environment, and connect individuals to community. Programming varies from forest school, to summer camp, to in-school environmental education for students and teachers.
