About – Sarah Rees

About Sarah

I live on a small farm in the Black Mountains near Hay on Wye with my husband, a large variety of horses, dogs, cats, chickens, bantams, and a very special little wild rescue rabbit!* I am lucky enough to be a mother and stepmother to three wonderful children, all of whom are now studying or working away from home. My daily life consists of looking after our animal family, managing our small sports horse breeding programme, assisting my husband in his busy veterinary practice, and writing. My husband and I also love to travel, especially to remote locations around the world to see wild animals in their natural habitats. My other hobbies include riding, fitness, learning German and cooking for family and friends. I am trained in early years teaching and leadership and before moving into educational research, I worked in a variety of school-based roles, including ‘parent and child’ group leader, after kindergarten care leader, kindergarten and classroom assistant and special educational needs assistant. I also undertook three years as a school governor.

Educational Research

Early childhood educational research has been my main professional focus since 2008 and in recent years I have been primarily engaged with the field of neuroscience and education.

My Research and Teacher Training Work

I was a researcher and writer for a project undertaken by the University of Plymouth between 2008 and 2011 and co-authored the resulting publication: ‘Meeting the Child in Steiner Kindergartens’ (Parker-Rees, 2011), followed by an academic paper for the Cambridge Journal of Education (Waite and Rees, 2013). This was presented by myself and Dr Sue Waite at AERA, 2011, in New Orleans, USA.

Additionally at this time, I worked as a research assistant for the Outdoor and Experiential Learning Research Network at the University of Plymouth and for the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education.

Neuroscience and Education

In 2016, I completed my MSc in Neuroscience and Education at the University of Bristol, with my final thesis focussing on the Neuroscience of Imitation. I have since developed a series of lecture presentations on educational neuroscience for Waldorf kindergarten teachers and parents of young children.

My work has been shared here in the UK and internationally to student teachers, parents, and carers. I write regularly for the Waldorf early years journal ‘Kindling’ and am currently a visiting tutor bringing ‘neuroscience and education’ to all UK based Steiner Waldorf Early Years Teacher Training Courses.

My current areas of research interest include, The Neuroscience of Mind Wandering and the Default Mode Network, The Neuroscience of Imitation, Imaginative Play, The Significance of Imaginative Role Play to the Development of Empathy, The Neural Basis of Creativity, The Inner Work of the Teacher (the neuroscience of meditation) and Attachment.

Children's Fiction Books

My first children’s fiction book is due for publication in October 2023. The story roots back to my own deep imaginative play experience with a special friend, as we skipped our way through an idyllic 1980’s childhood. I was born in Melbourne, Australia, but grew up as an only child, on a small strawberry farm by a river, near Canterbury in Kent. Both Australia and my childhood home in the UK were sources of inspiration for this book. As a child, I would always have friends over to play. We were blessed to have time to dream back then, and endless freedom to roam around the countryside. Our imagination flourished and we created elaborate fantasy worlds that we loved, and where we enjoyed many adventures over a period of about six years. Our imaginary escapades would often last all day and one story might continue for weeks or months, before another began. With each of my closest two companions, I shared different worlds.

We were so lucky and remain close friends today.

Floppi and Moon of Mimbalup

‘Floppi and Moon of Mimbalup’ shines a light into the longest running of my childhood games, and an extraordinary imaginary world. It is an exciting tale of fantasy and adventure, but holds at its heart, a message about friendship, kindness, and love. Sixteen stunning, hand-painted illustrations, by Welsh artist, Rhiannon Thomas, accompany the strong moral, societal, and environmental themes that I hope, are befitting of our times. The book also includes a character list detailing facts about the endangered animals featured, in the hope that Floppi and Moon’s young readers will be inspired to learn more of the world’s wildlife currently under threat.

There is a wondrous place not far from Earth, but different in so many ways. Kind, supernatural beings live there, like Moon, a wise, young fairy girl, and her best friend Floppi, a magical pony and refugee from Earth. Floppi, Moon and all the Minbals care deeply for one another and for their plants, who after all, have families, friends, ambitions, and feelings, just as we all do. Life is calm and peaceful on Minbalup. Or it is, until something out of the ordinary happens… In this first tale from Minbalup, the proud Pine Trees of Waratah are tragically being destroyed by invaders from Earth and it is down to Floppi, Moon and their animal friends to save them!