Amanda Reschke

I was born in Wisconsin. In 2007, I moved to Nashville TN and I currently live in East Nashville with my husband and son.

I like my name and it was never shortened.

I started teaching through a work-study program in high school at a small preschool. On my very first day, I ended up taking a group of restless nappers outside—despite some hesitation from staff—and we colored with chalk, ran up slides, and talked about life. I taught there for two years before moving to a bigger school, where I had six two-year-olds and no co-teacher. Limited outdoor time led me to ask if we could use the meadow behind our classroom. With the director’s support, paths were mowed, and it became our regular outdoor space for picnics and exploration among Wisconsin wildflowers.

When I moved to Nashville, I found a small preschool with tiny class sizes and its own outdoor space—a dream setting for teaching toddlers. I stayed until 2015, when I took a break to be with my son. In 2017, I came across a posting from a Reggio-inspired nature school called A New Leaf. When I visited, children were cooking with pinecones, painting logs, turning over stones barefoot in the sand garden—it felt like home. I met Elle in her office after climbing a creaky wooden staircase of the old house that was the school and we talked about the language of water before hiking to Overall Creek, where I’d later spend afternoons with children searching for crayfish and snails. In 2020, I was thrilled to move to the Farm Campus and become a Magnolia teacher. The chance to teach in a farm setting was too good to pass up.

My role of Atelierista is very exciting as it lends itself to creative and collaborative work with students and teachers. I begin the school year with offering explorations of 100 languages in the garden, art studio, branch town, light lab, and forest. As the emergent curriculum unfolds and the student projects evolve, I am heavily involved in the facilitation of model representations as well as making thematic connections. I also guide teachers in exploring environmental literacy. I love outreach education and working with families. I coordinate our Triangle Play program, as well as special events, celebrations, and festivals.

Rather than a person, I’m often inspired by nature and the quiet lessons it offers—like how trees can bend with the wind without breaking. Or how the moon reminds me that I can go through phases in my life and still be whole.

As a child when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would answer that I wanted to move out west, be a cowgirl and own a dude ranch where people could come to let their hair blow in the wind, free themselves of their inhibitions and connect with nature. Just like in the movie City Slickers - except no cattle, just long horse-back rides through flowering meadows and quiet forests with midday picnics by a babbling creek. Now, while I may have traded horses for goats and chickens I still get to spend my days with people who want their hair to float on the winds, who find joy in being “wild and free” and enjoy spending time with the flowers and trees.

I enjoy paddling around lakes in my kayak or on my paddleboard with my dog, day hiking with a packed picnic, reading, gardening, drinking tea under a warm blanket while reading a book by the fire, crafting with nature, embroidery, doing paint by number canvases, and hanging out at home with my family. I love multi-day road trips, stopping to set up camp for the night and hiking new lands in the morning. If there’s a dirt road detour, I’m taking it. If it leads to a waterfall or natural hot springs, I’ll change my whole route to experience it!

I love the concept of “100 languages” of expression and knowing. I like to share that with students and families. I am also a proficient chicken whisperer.

I love all food and I love to eat. Ok, maybe I have a special affinity for chocolate.

This is a hard question to answer! I find that I tend to gravitate towards shades of green, they ground me but then see a warm sun ray beaming through the trees and think, maybe that’s my favorite? Or when I’m near water, I am sure my favorite color is glistening blue. When the sun is setting and the horizon is filled with rosy reds and burnt oranges, I know THOSE are my favorite colors! But then the stars begin to appear one by one followed by a silver hued moon and the sky turns deep violet. Perhaps that’s my favorite color?

I would like to learn how to drive a motorcycle.

I can name many different things that ignite my work at A New Leaf, so I’ll start with the community. I feel A New Leaf has an amazingly supportive community. Our community thrives when we come together for special school events. Everyone has unique talents and personalities which they willingly share when needed. We have so many helpful and caring people. I know that when I need help, all I have to do is ask and this community will jump right in and I’m grateful for them.

The ability to be outside also really lights my fire! My body is not meant for a sedentary work day. Sure, I HAVE to spend some time answering emails and filling out forms at a desk but knowing that I can step outside, snuggle a chicken, pet a goat, chew a ripe tomato, or dig around in the dirt really helps my disposition! I have always been a nature lover and I recognize the nourishment it offers me.

I also love how A New Leaf allows for growth and challenges standard views of what education looks like. One year looks a bit different then the last because A New Leaf sees the value in reshaping details to allow the children to get the best education possible. I find comfort in the fact that we are not molded, teaching the same lessons year after year. I believe that the flexibility in curriculum and schedule A New Leaf offers to its students says to them, “We see you and we love you.”