Hiroko Matsukawa

Early Childhood Lead Teacher, Juniper Tree

matsukawah@phillywaldorf.com

Birth to Seven Certificate, Sophia’s Hearth Teacher Education Center

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, Austria

Hiroko joined the Waldorf School of Philadelphia as both a parent and an Early Childhood assistant in 2011. She has since completed the teacher education program at Sophia’s Hearth Teacher Education Center and received a Birth to Seven Certificate. Hiroko is currently a Lead Teacher for Juniper Tree.

Hiroko’s journey with Waldorf Education started when she moved to Germany at age 15 and attended the Waldorf High School in Stuttgart. Growing up in a musical family in Tokyo, Japan, and playing the violin herself, Hiroko remembers the power of music as a shared language when she found herself in a new country. She went on to earn her degree from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria and played in numerous ensembles and orchestras, both in Europe and the United States.

Hiroko put performing on hold when she became a mother and found raising her two daughters to be the most rewarding experience. She then followed her intuition and became an Early Childhood educator.