Cindy Sydow

Cindy was born and raised in Honolulu and has childhood memories of sunshine, sand, salt water, swimming, and playing in waves.  She graduated from Punahou School in 1970.  After studying fine art and art education in college (where she earned a BFA in Fine Arts and a BS in Art Education) she returned to Honolulu for a summer teaching position at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.  She met her future husband, Florian Sydow, soon after and they eventually became founding members of Kahumana Farm and Community in Waianae. For the better part of seventeen years, they lived and worked there to develop community life, raise three children, work with handicapped adults, and build up the farm.  The first year that teacher training was offered at HWS (1989), Cindy and her three children moved into Honolulu to begin her teacher training and their Waldorf schooling. During those 2 years, Cindy also taught Grade 7 and 8 handwork and was a long-term sub for Grade 2.  She was an assistant in the kindergarten class for a year after that, and in 1992, was offered a preschool class of her own.  She has been a Kindergarten teacher ever since and has taken a particular interest in storytelling, puppetry arts, and singing.  She continues to enjoy swimming and hiking, and aspires to create original stories for young children of various place-based themes.