Isabel Spitalney, Lead Teacher

A musician and metalsmith, Isabel is passionate about the arts and integrating art and music into early education.

Isabel spent her childhood romping through creeks, painting with berries, creature-spotting, and joyously collecting earth’s many treasures (rocks, shells, cicada exoskeletons, etc.). Her first word was “buh” (bug), which appropriately set the stage for a lifelong love and appreciation for the natural world! Isabel feels strongly that all children benefit from being outside and cultivating close relationships with nature. While learning in and from the natural world together, she hopes to foster in every child their already innate sense of wonder, belonging, and appreciation for the environment that they will be able to carry with them for the rest of their lives. 

A musician and metalsmith, Isabel is passionate about the arts and integrating art and music into early education. Isabel obtained her degree in Music, with a focus on Theater for Young Audiences, and has enjoyed bringing music into classrooms, music directing, performing in pit orchestras, and developing new theater work for children. She’s primarily a guitar player and songwriter (and former clarinetist), but has been known to whip out a mandolin, banjo, sitar, or melodica if the situation requires! Since the start of the pandemic, Isabel has also delved deep into jewelry making/metalsmithing and has spent the last few years teaching jewelry making classes to children, apprenticing with a professional jeweler, and melting metal to create her own handmade jewelry. 

After an exciting first year teaching at BOPN, Isabel embarks on her second year maintaining her teaching duties while also joining the administration team. Prior to BOPN, Isabel worked with children for many years as a music teacher, art teacher, camp counselor, children’s theater maker, and babysitter. Isabel is constantly inspired by children’s curiosity, delight, and openness for the world, especially outside in

nature. She strives to foster this natural sense of wonder in children through child-led inquiry and discovery. 

Outside of class, Isabel can be found songwriting, hiking, metalsmithing, and snuggling up on the couch with a book and her little cat, Mona, curled up in her lap.