We are VdM (at a distance): The Speckhart Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet the Speckhart family: Amy, Henry, Ronan, Clara and Wiley. Ronan graduated from the Children's House in 2018. Clara is in her culminating year and Wiley is in his first year, both in Mrs. Steinman's Children's House.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.The Speckharts: We are the Speckharts—team of 5. Amy grew up in Wisconsin and Henry grew up in central Illinois.  We met on Match.com (yes, we really did!) and honeymooned in Haiti (our second honeymoon was in Hawaii). Ronan was born in 2011 and has been moving full speed ahead every moment since. Clara is 6.5 and in her culminating year. She is an artist, monkey-bar specialist and loves to learn. Wiley is in his first year at Villa and enjoys sharing the classroom with his sister. He just turned 3 and loves to play with trains, all things yellow, and (like Olaf) likes to give warm hugs. We also have a puppy named Faldo who has lots of energy and likes to snack on pencils, markers and whatever other object happens to be on the floor.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?The Speckharts: When Ronan was two years old we knew he needed to start preschool. As Kirkwood residents we looked at our options in our local area. We actually didn't know that much about Montessori but really enjoyed our tour and were excited that they had a few spots for the new classroom they were adding (P3). We did some research on Montessori and were sold! VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?The Speckharts: Henry is a Senior Associate Actuary at MetLife—he works with a lot of numbers and is an Excel wiz. Henry's non-paying other job is a stand-up comedian, he does shows daily at our house and he is his biggest fan. Amy is a Talent Development Specialist at Bunzl. She helps with the training requirements and development for the employees within the organization.

VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break from school?

The Speckharts: Well, we have been staying in, ha ha ha... (Henry's dry humor). If weather is nice, we try our best to get energy out of Ronan. We take walks in the neighborhood and bike rides. When inside we are learning some Spanish, cooking, navigating Disney+ and how to have more patience that we realized was possible.

VdM: A question specifically for Ronan, Clara and Wiley -What's one thing about summer that you're most excited about?

Ronan: Baseball.Clara: Swimming.Wiley: Sunglasses (he really does love them).Thank you, Amy, Henry, Ronan, Clara and Wiley for sharing!Photos courtesy of the Speckhart family.