Meet Sherry-Lynne Kirschner, an award-winning elementary school teacher who founded Mindful Me after 27 years of teaching, research, travel, personal growth, and professional training. As someone who was raised by teachers herself, Sherry-Lynne had a penchant for teaching with integrity while also finding the gift inside the child. She nurtures positive core values in children and teaches them how to see their own hearts, often saying to them, “I wish you could see yourself the way that I see you.”
In her first few years of teaching, Sherry-Lynne noticed that if she really listened to kids she could earn their trust. She also knew that children needed to trust before they could learn. This motivated her to further her understanding of what made kids sometimes behave the way they did and to find a way to develop meaningful connections with them. Her aptitude for connecting with people was recognized by her colleagues who often said that the children who entered her classroom experienced something transformative because when they left, they seemed ‘softer’ and more comfortable in their own skin, as if they had a greater understanding of themselves.
Even though she dedicated herself to teaching, it was never her intention to stay in the classroom. As a child her dream was to train horses and she always believed that one day she would also be working with animals. In 1994, Sherry-Lynne and her husband Sam partnered with their extended families to open a summer recreational camp where they also delivered leadership programs for the board of education. This life experience showed Sherry-Lynne the affect that nature and animals could have on children and how it influenced their behaviour and development. It helped create a new way of being in the classroom and formed the basis of her relationship with one of the owners at Circle R Ranch where she continues to offer programming today. Now, as a retired teacher and a parent to adult children, she continues to collaborate with school boards across the country to mentor teachers, advise on mindfulness-based curriculum, and facilitate animal assisted programming inside and outside of the classroom.
Through her work in schools, camps, and leadership centres around the world, Sherry-Lynne has built lifelong relationships, touching the lives of thousands of children and their parents. She truly believes that everyone has the capacity to lead a happy, balanced, and peaceful life. In the spirit of gratitude, Sherry-Lynne would like to acknowledge the many parents, educators, psychologists, psychotherapists, camp counsellors, neurobiologists and meditation teachers with whom she has had the opportunity to learn and collaborate.
