Shake Your Way to Lactose Free Ice Cream

Hi, my name is Vanessa  and I love to learn and to teach.  I love seeing learners light up with excitement when they make a break-through.  Growing up I spent a lot of time in museums and was influenced by adults who had a passion for learning in both formal and informal environments as well as discovering myself through reading. I was encouraged to follow my dreams and become an archaeologist which has enabled me to travel and learn around the world. I have been fortunate to have worked around the world.  Through this I became passionate about how information is shared in the past and present.
I have always enjoyed learning practical skills and spend a lot of my free time undertaking textile, food or prehistoric skills, which I look forward to teaching on this platform.  
As a practising archaeologist I have a Masters degree alongside my teaching qualifications in the United Kingdom. I am a qualified large group music teacher and have a minor in English Literature, which I put to good use by teaching at the Charles Dickens Museum in London. I taught in UK schools for 10 years before combining my skills and becoming a freelance educator.  I work with several National Museums, including having provided the Virtual Visits for the British Museum and deliver archaeology, history and environmental workshops in schools, for my own company using artefacts to engage with life in the past.  I also do costume interpretation for periods up to the Vikings - including what people ate! Some days I can be seen bringing to life the stories revealed to us through the archaeology of the River Thames to learners of all ages.

The classes that I offer will include, archaeology, prehistory, the world of the Maya (I am lucky enough to have worked in the Maya world and help establish a bi-national park to protect the archaeology, flora and fauna), Mesoamerica, stories, Pacific archaeology, and storytelling, and crafts. I may also occasionally convince my feline co-workers Puku and Freya to join in!

Archaeologists are always asked what the best thing they have ever found is, I have two right at the top of my list.  The first is from Belize and it is the suburb of a city that no one had known was there! It even has a 20 m high temple. The second is from working in Oman and is special as one of my hobbies is playing the flute, I found an almost complete 5 hole bone flute. Not the oldest or the flashiest thing I have found but connects me with the people who played it.

I look forward to meeting your child in my classroom so we can embark on an engaging learning experience!

My schedule is fluid and changes regularly, if the class you want is not currently listed or you would like a different time, please email me so that we can set a suitable time.