Meet The Instructors
Sara Timm, MS, CCLS
Owner, Teaches Child Development Classes
Sara always knew she wanted to work with young children. After earning her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Sara moved from her native California to Boston to earn her masters in Child Life & Family-Centered Care at Wheelock College. After graduation, she discovered her passion for teaching babies, toddlers and their caregivers when she began working at Isis Parenting in Boston. She taught child development and art classes there before she and her husband, Jared, moved to his hometown of Marblehead in 2012. Sara continued to teach her own classes while dreaming of creating a parenting community close to home. She opened Marblehead Parenting in 2014 and expanded it to add the Tot Club Indoor Play-Space at its current location in 2019.
Sara is a mom to her son Michael (born 2015) and her daughter Skylar (born 2018), and is incredibly proud to have created a space where she herself has made so friendships, and loves seeing lasting friendships form inside the walls of Marblehead Parenting & Tot Club.
Kelsey Madden, MA
Child Development & Babytime Classes
Kelsey has always loved working with young children. She started her professional career in high school as a camp counselor at an overnight camp, providing support and comfort to campers, and continued on track through college with several internships, providing therapeutic services for children, teens, adults, and families. She earned her Master of Arts in clinical counseling with an emphasis in couples and family therapy from the University of Northern Colorado. She completed her graduate internship on the child and family team at a community mental health agency in Colorado, providing individual, family and group therapy to clients from ages 3 and up. After graduating, Kelsey worked as a substance abuse treatment specialist at a behavioral healthcare service provider in Cambridge, MA.
Marcy Yellin, B.S.E., Therapeutic Recreation
Magic Moments
Marcia (Marcy) Yellin developed a passion for music as a young girl in Queens, NY. With a degree in Education, specializing in Activities Therapy, Marcy motivates and inspires children to learn and development socially and emotionally through music. Through grants provided by the Lappin Foundation, Marcy is delighting nursery school children throughout the North Shore with her music programs, now well known as “Music with Marcy.”
Recently the program has expanded to include area Hebrew schools, the Integrated Preschool in Peabody, and inter-generational programs between nursery schools and the Aviv Center for the Living where Marcy can be found entertaining the seniors on a regular basis.
Lindsey Kravitz Olson, BA Elementary Education
Yoga Instructor
Lindsey was an elementary school teacher for 10 years and is the mother of three young children. She was certified to teach children’s yoga from Childlight Yoga in 2016 and subsequently certified to teach infant and young toddler yoga in 2017. Lindsey teaches yoga and mindfulness to children in various sites in and around Marblehead. Through working with children and teaching yoga, she loves helping them learn about themselves and their bodies to develop an overall sense of well-being. As a teacher, she strives to help her students find joy and playfulness in yoga, which she hopes they can carry into adolescence and beyond. Lindsey is a former elementary school teacher and mother of three young children. She was certified to teach children’s yoga from Childlight Yoga in 2016 and subsequently certified to teach infant and young toddler yoga in 2017.
Kristin Petty
Toddler & Preschool Art
Miss Kristin grew up loving to create and also taking care of children. From attending art camp every summer in Maine from the age of five, to being a Studio Art major in College, she’s enjoyed the creative process. Throughout this time she also loved taking care of children as a babysitter, nanny and now as a mother. Marblehead Parenting’s art classes have been a wonderful opportunity to work with parents and caregivers to expose young ones to the joy of creating and trying new things!
Diana Aniello, M.Ed.
New Moms Group Leader
Diana is a local mom who holds a B.S. in Psychology and Education & M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Child Development and is Massachusetts Teacher Certified. Her career has been spent educating, supporting and caring for young children and families. She brings experience from her many years as an early childhood educator, nanny, child and family counselor, and most recently, as a mother of three boys. She has a passion for the ages from birth to five years old and supporting parents in the early stages. After having her children, Diana realized that despite having the education and child development background, the personal experience of parenting and the support from other parents was just as important as her education in gaining the confidence to navigate this new experience successfully. This is why she is thrilled to be joining the Marblehead Parenting community to share her knowledge and offer the same support to families.
Heather Wish
Lil Chef’s Club
Through teaching kids to cook, Heather is able to combine both of her true passions: early childhood education and culinary arts. After graduating from Bowdoin College in Maine, Heather attended The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts to peruse a live long dream of going to culinary school. For several years, Heather worked as a pastry cook in restaurants and as a private chef and caterer, until she found a position at Create a Cook in Newton as a culinary instructor. There Heather taught cooking classes to children ages 3 to 16 and also developed the curriculum for the kid’s cooking program for many years. Currently, Heather is concentrating on getting into local preschool classrooms and other education venues to expose young children to the joys of cooking with real, whole food ingredients. She also has a popular Instagram page where she shares healthy recipes and ideas for cooking with your kids at home. Follow her at @heather_kidskitchen.Heather lives in Swampscott with her husband Kyle and two young sons.
Debbie Leibowitz, BS Early Childhood Education
Preschool Education Classes
Debbie knew from the age of 4 that she wanted to be a teacher, and years later she continues living out that dream! She is a graduate of Salem State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education, and is Director II certified by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. She is a local early childhood educator and is constantly creating exciting enrichment classes for children at school and in the community. Debbie’s intent is to always challenge and motivate children to not only enjoy their learning, but she tailors her teaching so her students can take their learning ‘out into the real world’, making it so very relevant and meaningful to them. Debbie and her husband, Len, grew up in Marblehead and still reside here. Having raised 3 children, they are now in the Lucky Grandparent Club with their 4 grandchildren.
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