Morning Song Home Nursery

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Jebetu Matta Moiwai 

My adoration for children began very early in life. My mother used to call me a child whisperer when I was just a toddler, as I was always drawn to babies and young children. There has always been a sacredness to childhood that I feel deeply called to protect, nurture, and honor. I believe children are incredibly wise, and far more capable, intelligent, and valuable than society often gives them credit for. 

I was fortunate to spend part of my childhood living in a small village in Ecuador, attending a school by the ocean and running free with my friends. I was always holding the babies, watching 

the children, and learning what it means to grow up in a close-knit, nature immersed community. When I was nine, my little sister was born, and my mother, a doula and birth worker, welcomed us both into a world surrounded by the magic of new life. 

At 13, I began babysitting for families and volunteering at Waldorf summer camps. I am a proud graduate of Emerson Waldorf School, and the living wisdom of Waldorf education continues to nourish my life. Having been shaped by this approach from the inside out, I bring not only the philosophy, but the felt experience of what it can offer a child. It instilled in me a reverence for rhythm, beauty, imagination, and the wholeness of each child’s being. 

I later graduated from Antioch College with a degree in Psychology and Performance. Throughout my studies, I continued to care for children as a nanny and as a childcare provider at the Wellness Center in Yellow Springs. After college, I worked as a nanny for several families and eventually returned to Emerson Waldorf School, first as a nursery assistant for two years, and as a lead counselor for the EWS summer camp for the past three. I am also a certified massage therapist and trained in polarity therapy modalities, which brings a deep somatic understanding to the way I support children and parents. 

Across the 17 years I’ve spent working with children, in homes, classrooms, birth spaces, and one-on-one, I’ve developed a strong capacity for deep listening. Inspired by Waldorf education and informed by my own intuition, I’m always asking: What do children really need? How can we truly hear, hold, and nourish them? 

My paternal family is from Sierra Leone, and I carry with me the memory and wisdom of that lineage. In my village in Bunumbu, children are deeply woven into the fabric of community life. They are trusted, celebrated, and included in meaningful work; cooking, farming, helping their elders, learning by doing. There is such joy there—children dancing in the center of a circle, drums beating, our voices rising in claps and cheers. Though toys are few, imagination, land, rhythm, and togetherness are abundant. That sense of belonging, purpose, and joy continues to guide me. 

My father, too, works with children. He is a storyteller, artist, and soon-to-be author. My mother is a brilliant woman of many skills, including being a birth doula having led training for many parents readying themselves for the sacredness that is birth. Both of my wonderful parents have deeply influenced the way I show up for this work. 

It is a true honor to be leading Morning Song this year. I bring with me the wisdom of my upbringing, the guidance of nature, the spirit of Waldorf education, and a commitment to creating an environment that supports children’s nervous systems in these highly sensitive times. Returning to rhythm, to nature, to music, cooking together, tending animals: these are the ways we create a healthy, heart-centered foundation for lifelong well being and wonder. 

I am so grateful to be in this work. I offer deep gratitude and praise to Joya for carving this path and for welcoming me so warmly into this space this year. 

I look forward to holding and honoring the children, now and always. 

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