At Ak Lu’um we know that homeschooling and schooling (the child's second home) is the key to change. If we wish to live harmoniously and without causing further destruction, the need for fundamental change is evident. This is our Waldorf philosophy: an innovative curriculum and a way of working rooted in a deep understanding of the human being, strengthening the connection between the rhythms of nature and the faculties that distinguish us as human beings.

Our education combines strong values with the capacity for wonder of the world around us, communicates with the emerging personality of children and endows them with imagination, flexibility and internal strength to face the changing outside world.

* Clear and conscious thinking

* Rhythm and social harmony

* Artistic sense

* Love of learning

* Creativity

* Independence and self-confidence

* Ability to solve problems

* Resilience

* Self-discipline

* Ecological awareness

Ak Lu’um  Waldorf Community is located 8 km. from the center of Playa del Carmen to the north, next to Sac Be community. The school was built ecologically conscious, in the middle of the jungle and using traditional materials, techniques and building designs from the region. The organic character of the project is reflected in the school buildings and auxiliary spaces that nest in the jungle. Our existing campus opened in 2018 and will continue to be in development for years to come.
Today, in harmony with our environment, waste is separated and recycled. We make organic compost on an ongoing basis, and encourage community members to do the same.
We use only solar energy and generate our own water resources.  

* Family and community life

* A healthy developing childhood

* Joy when it comes to learning

* An education focused on the unity of body, soul and spirit

* Intellectual excellence, imagination, robust memory and problem-solving skills

* Alternatives to stressful exams

* Age-appropriate use of media

* Development of moral and ethical judgment

* The beauty of our environment as a formative current in the life of the child

* Freedom 

* Respect 

* Discipline 

* Goodness

*  Beauty

*  Truth

*  Union

*  Inspiration

* Creativity 

* Respect for nature 

* Conscious thinking

Ak Lu'um Community is a Waldorf initiative based on the anthroposophical teachings of the humanist philosopher Rudolf Steiner. In order to educate free human beings, we believe in supporting the child's natural developmental stages. We use the truth and beauty of the natural world to form the child, encouraging him to develop observation and reverence for life. Teachers provoke the enthusiasm for learning that lives in every child. The subjects are worked on in an imaginative and dynamic way which makes motivation for prizes or competitive exams unnecessary. Children's motivation is born from themselves (as they will have to as adults) and they can gain the ability to enjoy learning throughout their lives.

For example, in an effort to be in harmony with our environment, we separate the garbage, compost permanently and encourage our community to do so as well. Our electricity and water resources are generated and treated 100% in Ak Lu'um.

GABRIELA
MAIN TEACHER IN CASA LILA / CURATIVE PEDAGOGY

I graduated with a degree in Pedagogy from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, am certified as a Waldorf Kindergarten Teacher by the Centro Antroposófico de México, A.C. and am an Anthroposophical Art Therapist at the Centro Antroposófico de México, A.C. and El Puente Anthroposophical Art Therapy.

Ak Lu'um Waldorf Community was one of my dreams together with Siobhan Bowers 18 years ago, I am also part of the founding impulse of YaxKin Kindergarten Teacher Training in Riviera Maya.

I have been working as a Kindergarten teacher since 1998 and as a Waldorf teacher since 2008. Currently, my work is with the youngest children, under 3 years old, with groups of parents and children, I also accompany children, colleagues and parents with Art Therapy.

I also tutor teachers and advise Waldorf schools in the Riviera Maya, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Currently, I am part of the Board of WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America) and a representative of WECAN in Mexico.

DAYANA
MAIN TEACHER AT CASA MARGARITA / COORDINATOR IN KINDERGARTEN

Originally from Venezuela, I have been in Mexico for 12 years. Psychologist and Waldorf teacher trained in YaxKin, training in the Riviera Maya.

With immense affection for letters and the world of languages.. I have been in Ak Lu'um Waldorf Community since 2015, going through various roles until I became a main teacher at Casa Margarita.

I am grateful to be part of an ideology that observes human beings with the nobility and value that is inherent to them.

ROMMY
ASSISTANT AT CASA TULIPÁN

Graduated from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in a career of commercial relations with experience in government schools for 10 years with the intention of achieving a different education, comes the opportunity to be in Ak Lu'um and I have served as a teacher in the kindergarten for 5 years. Currently, I work in the field of nutrition which has nurtured me personally and professionally.

I have two children, Loreto and Rodrigo, who have been able to experience the magical experience of growing and learning just like me of this beautiful philosophy and community.

I am grateful every day for this great opportunity.

MARIANA
CASA TULIPÁN MAIN TEACHER / EARLY CHILDHOOD COORDINATOR

Psychologist by profession. Dedicated to working with children in the area of social assistance for 13 years and for 7 years committed to continuous learning in Ak lu'um and anthroposophy. Trained kindergarten teacher, graduated from Yaxkin. Lover of nature and faithful defender of its care.

FRANJA
ASSISTANT AT CASA LILA / MOVEMENT TEACHER IN THE GRADES

Brazilian and has over 30 years in the practice of capoeira teaching children and adults. For more than 7 years in Ak Lu'um, he has been committed to constant study and is currently pursuing training in Spatial Dynamics and as an Early Childhood teacher. His interest in personal development and love has been an important combination for his success.

Su interés por el desarrollo personal y el amor, ha sido una combinación importante para su éxito.

SHARON
CASA MARGARITA ASSISTANT

I am a 40 year old woman, I am a wife, a daughter and I am the mother of Dominic, a 5 year old mestizo puppy.

I was born in Mexico City, where I have done all my academic studies including a master's degree in administration from the Universidad Intercontinental. This year I am celebrating 12 years in Playa del Carmen, the place that has led me to know myself better and has boosted my job growth.

I am affectionate, social, friendly, cheerful, intelligent, creative; I like to be in contact, help and talk to people, I like to go to the beach, travel, dance, cook, sing, read, practice yoga, meditate, experiment and discover new things.

I like to be in contact with nature and explore all its beauty.

NAOME
TEACHER APPRENTICE
AT CASA LILA

Student at Riviera University in the career of Pedagogy.

Teacher apprentice at the Early Childhood Center. Young woman with a big heart interested in childhood and learning about the development of the human being.

Even being the youngest of the faculty, she has been able to accompany the children in their process in a respectful and loving way. Active, sensitive and empathetic, every day she gives us her joy and amazement for life.

EDNA ILIANA
1ST GRADE TEACHER / CURATIVE PEDAGOGY

I graduated from the University de Durango campus Aguascalientes with a degree in psychopedagogy.

Since I was 7 years old I have been involved with children, I have two younger siblings, many cousins, nephews, and nieces.

As a child, I always said I wanted to be a teacher. When I was 15 years old my mom made a summer course and it was there where I confirmed my desire to be a teacher. When I studied for the degree I was also working as a monitor for a child with autism (2017). In 2018 I started working at the Waldorf Amanecer school located in Aguascalientes as a school control manager in the early childhood area, the following school year I was an early childhood teacher and I did my training as a Waldorf teacher Jardinera in PAIDEIA, I took the graduates of third early childhood to elementary school for two school years.

Since 2018 I also work giving psycho-pedagogical therapy and regularizations to children with learning disabilities.

For a year I worked as a singing and games teacher in a regular school.

Looking for professional and personal growth, I confirm that Waldorf pedagogy is the branch of education that I want to continue to learn and teach.

MELANIE
4th GRADE MAIN TEACHER

I was born in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. I am a Waldorf teacher, dancer and mother of Leon, 11 years old.

I started my path in education 8 years ago through different pedagogies. In 2019 I started my teacher training at the Waldorf Pedagogy Seminar in Argentina, and together I started working in schools with Anthroposophical bases. Since then, I have been developing a broader and more holistic view of children's education. 

In the year 2022 I received a call from a school in Costa Rica where I was able to be part of the pedagogical consulting area and continue to nurture myself about pedagogy, supporting a new impulse. 

The following year, my family and I decided to move to Mexico where we have been living for a year and a half. Currently I am part of the Ak Lu'um Community as a family and teacher of 4th grade and handwork.

ANGIE ISABEL

2ND GRADE MAIN TEACHER / ENGLISH

I am Ecuadorian, I was born in Quito and I live in the same city. From halfway around the world I will tell you a little bit more about myself.

I am 27 years old and have been in the educational field for 5 years, 4 of which have been entirely within Anthroposophy. I learned more about pedagogy in 2018 in Cuernavaca and fell in love with the foundation, the perspective of the child, the teacher, the family and society. It was like finding the perfect echo that I have been looking for a long time. For this reason I started my training as a Waldorf teacher in the same year. And I studied anthroposophical art therapy for two years.

I was a grade tutor for 4 years and to observe the growth of the most precious thing that parents have was an honor and I will always carry every achievement in my heart. Together we were able to consolidate teamwork and achieve the goals of each year.

Currently, I work in the administrative part of a university, but my heart has a calling and that is to become a teacher again. I am also studying my Master's Degree in Inclusive Education with a mention in Psychoeducational Intervention.

MERY
5th AND 6th GRADE TEACHER / MUSIC

I am a music teacher who graduated from the Conservatory “Felix T. Garzon” of the Universidad Provincial de Córdoba, Argentina.

I have more than 10 years of experience as a Music Teacher, specializing in mental health and at all educational levels, including disability and senior citizens. Since 2015 I have done several studies in Music Therapy, Song Therapy and Waldorf Music.

I have internalized myself in Anthroposophy from music pedagogy and Song Therapy, and I have participated as a music teacher in several Waldorf schools in Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.

I consider myself a researcher of the voice and Latin American folklore, I have traveled through many Latin American countries sharing my songs and treasuring rhythms and folkloric species from different countries. For 8 years I have been conducting the Therapeutic Singing workshop in relation to the body-voice, mind-voice, spirit-voice.

Since 2008 I have been part of many musical projects, as an instrumentalist, vocalist and arranger. and I am currently working on the pre-production of a new album.

“Music accompanies all aspects of my life and I understand the song as a bridge that transcends all cultures, landscapes and languages.”

YANET
3RD GRADE MAIN TEACHER / THEATER

A playwright by INBA, Yanet is creative and skilled in the scenographic and plastic arts. She has experience teaching children and young people in collectives and cultural centers, where she has taught music, corporal expression and staged plays. Her passion for spiritual science began as a priestess of the initiatory school “Oro Mu, orden de la Rosa Múltiple”, where she has been practicing for more than 20 years. In Waldorf pedagogy, she has been a teacher of handwork in all grades and a drama teacher in the upper grades, and is currently the main class teacher of grades at Ak Lu'um Waldorf. Daughter, wife and mother, Yanet often listens to you with attention and empathy, being a friendly shoulder for all.

ARIEL

MAESTRO DE
7th AND 8th MAIN TEACHER

Born in Michoacán and graduated from the la Escuela de Artes y Diseño School of Arts and Design in Barcelona, after having studied Waldorf high school in Belgium. I live on a ranch in Michoacán with my family, where I am a member of the Anthroposophical Initiative Las Canoas Altas, AC. In the Association I work as a member and co-responsible for the Pedagogical Section and the management and distribution of the ranch's products.

With a specialization in anthroposophy and graphic arts, I am a Waldorf teacher in the upper grades (middle school) and work in the accompaniment of school and youth camps/shelters.

As a member of the Anthroposophical Society, my work focuses on the development of the human being through pedagogical and social support for young people and adults.

In the last 15 years of working in association at the Biodynamic Ranch and the Escuela Libre Ch'anani, we have accompanied children, young people and adults in the field of pedagogy and agriculture. The work we carry out is like a social health work and is deployed in meetings, trainings, courses, seminars, camps, school...

.

YURIBIA
MAESTRA DE EURITMIA

Graduada en la Escuela Técnica de La Fuerza Aerea de Venezuela, como especialista en sistema de Radares, posteriormente, la experiencia como instrutora en la aviación me motivo estudiar en  el Pedagógico Monseñor Arias Blanco, como Profesor en Educación Comercial. La transformación en instituciones de nivel medio a nivel superior me conllevó a cursar la maestría en Desarrollo Curricular en la Universidad de Carabobo y con el propósito de ampliar en el.àmbito de investigación realicé el Doctorado en Educación en  la Universidad de Carabobo.

He sido docente con más de 30 años de servicio y como investigadora los fundamentos de la pedagogía Waldorf, despertaron una inquietud que me motivo a formarme como euritmista en Auriel México, siendo parte del Grupo Càliz, culminando mi certificación en el Goetheanum en junio 2024.

Estoy muy feliz y emocionada de poder llevar la Euritmia a los niños, maestros y familias, siendo un canal del proceso evolutivo del ser humano.

VICTOR
ASESOR DE MATEMÁTICAS

Me titulé como ingeniero mecánico por la UNAM.

Desde hace 23 años he sido maestro de matemáticas y ciencias, en inglés y español en varias instituciones educativas.

Hace 10 años comencé a formarme en la pedagogía Waldorf con énfasis en el tercer septenio, pudiendo colaborar así en múltiples iniciativas y escuelas Waldorf.

Junto con mi mentor y amigo Marco Antonio, aunado a otros maestros, iniciamos los encuentros Preparatoria para la vida, que con el tiempo darían origen a otros proyectos afines a la pedagogía.

Cómo emprendimiento personal fundé daskalos.xyz, con el cual he podido distribuir material didáctico propio, impartir asesorías, talleres, charlas, presenciales y virtuales, para alumnos, padres y maestros.

Actualmente hago implementación, diseño y didáctica de Matemáticas Waldorf en los grados 1 a 12 para varias escuelas en México y Guatemala.

Por el momento me encuentro estudiando en la formación de grados superiores Waldorf en la Fundación Michelangelo de Chile.

ZORAIDA
COORDINADORA DE GRADOS / PEDAGOGÍA CURATIVA

Nací en Barcelona. Hace 15 años me trasladé a Michoacán, México, donde formé mi familia, soy madre de 2 niñas y un niño.

Los últimos 15 años los he dedicado a acompañar a la infancia y hace 9 que lo hago desde la pedagogía Waldorf.

Entre mis pasiones se encuentran la salud, el arte, la pedagogía y la cuestión social y en mi quehacer diario trato de ser congruente con estos principios desde una visión humanista y naturalista.

En 2015 cofundé junto a otros miembros de la Iniciativa Antroposófica Las Canoas Altas la Escuela Libre Ch’anani, donde me desarrollé como maestra jardinera y maestra de primaria baja. Actualmente, soy responsable de la Sección Pedagógica de Las Canoas Altas desde donde tengo el privilegio de asesorar procesos de crianza a familias, guiar círculos de estudio para adultos, asesorar a maestras jardineras y de primaria baja, brindar seguimiento a familias y alumnos con necesidades especiales y coordinar albergues pedagógicos para niños y adolescentes.

Soy miembro de la Sociedad Antroposófica y estoy en constante formación antroposófica y pedagógica.

With more than 900 Waldorf schools and 1,600 Waldorf early childhood programs on five continents, Waldorf education is truly global, not only in scope, but also in approach. Wherever it is found, the Waldorf curriculum cultivates among its students a deep appreciation for cultural traditions from around the world while at the same time being deeply rooted in its local culture and context.

Waldorf schools offer a balanced, developmentally appropriate approach to education that integrates arts and academics for children from preschool through twelfth grade. It fosters the development of each child's sense of truth, beauty, and goodness and provides an antidote to violence, alienation, and cynicism. The goal of education is to instill in each student a lifelong love of learning and enable them to fully develop their unique abilities.

For the Waldorf student, music, dance and drama, writing, literature, legends and myths are not just subjects to be ingested and tasted. They have experience. Through these experiences, Waldorf students cultivate a lifelong love of learning, as well as the intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual capacities to be confident individuals and serve the world.

Developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf education is based on a deep understanding of human development that addresses the needs of the growing child. Waldorf teachers strive to transform education into an art that educates the whole child: through the heart, hands, and head.

Teachers in Waldorf schools are dedicated to generating an inner enthusiasm for learning within each child. They accomplish this in various ways. Even seemingly dry and academic subjects are presented in a pictorial and dynamic way. This eliminates the need for competitive testing, academic placement, and behavioral rewards to motivate learning. It allows motivation to come from within and helps engender the capacity for lifelong learning.

The Waldorf curriculum is broad and comprehensive, structured to respond to the three phases of childhood development: birth to approximately 6 or 7 years of age, 7 to 14 years of age, and 14 to 18 years of age.

Waldorf schools are part of an international movement, although they are not part of a regulated organization. The schools are united by a shared dedication to the Waldorf curriculum and pedagogy and by the belief that this schooling can help children become free-thinking, socially responsible and willing adults. In this way, families have found Waldorf education to be a truly global curriculum united around the world in its unique vision of child development. Each school, however, is independent and autonomous, and has its own distinctive characteristics.

Beyond a day of school, we are an educational community. Our students' families are involved in the development and growth of Ak Lu'um. Teamwork is vital. The home-school bond needs to be very strong and revitalized on an ongoing basis. Reaching consensual decisions is our intention.

The Faculty of Teachers works collaboratively and through consensus, as do parent committees. The contribution of each one is considered and evaluated since the results of working in this way are greater than the sum of the individual contributions.

Mercadito
Every Wednesday there is a market where students, families and friends from school sell food and handcrafts. Part of the proceeds goes to the school fundraising efforts.