Little Plum Education
What to expect when working with me:
Confidentiality & professionalism
Compassion, acceptance, & support
Insightful ideas & tools for your family
About Ally:
Alexandra (Ally) Schmidt, M.Ed. is a warm, creative, and enthusiastic coach. She has had a variety of experiences in the field of education, special education, psychology, and child development. Ally holds a B.A. in Psychology and Education from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Mild-Moderate special education was her focus in graduate school at Lesley University, and she has worked closely with students diagnosed with a variety of exceptionalities, including ASD, learning disabilities, and attention disorders. In fact, Ally has been nurturing. educating, and supporting children for over 15 years! She has experience as a personal care assistant, nanny, public school educator, private educator, SE coach, and children’s yoga teacher. Ally continues to attend workshops, seminars, and events, to keep up with the latest research for social emotional development. Her latest professional development workshop certifications include: “Art Therapy Techniques for Children and Teens”, and “Anxiety in Children”.
Ally loves helping youth to navigate social-emotional challenges, and build confidence. Social Emotional Coaching is the perfect combination of ingredients to foster personal growth for children and teens. She loves how social emotional learning, cognitive coaching, mindfulness, and yoga, can teach tools to use in every area of life. Ally has a passion for holistic education, and her philosophy emphasizes nurturing the whole child. She prides herself in her ability to promote curiosity and open mindedness in her students, and to support families in creative ways.
When not learning, coaching, or nurturing, Ally is usually making travel plans, trying new recipes, learning crafts, or writing. She lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina, with her wonderful husband Carlo, daughter Florence, fur-babies: Violet and Plum, chickens, and beehives!
Little Plum's Story:
Little Plum was born out of the idea that every little being deserves nurturing, care, and love when they are facing challenges, of any kind.
Plum is the name of one of Ally’s two rescue cats. Little Plum was a tiny kitten found in a woodpile when she was just about 5 days old. Abandoned, and malnourished, Ally took her and her sister, Violet, in as foster kittens.
Fast forward five years, and Plum and Violet have found their way back to Ally’s home and heart. That tiny helpless kitten is now a fierce, independent, and thriving cat. Plum’s rescue story shows that specialized care can lead to positive outcomes. <3
Yoga Background:
Ally, MBCY RYT 200, began her yoga practice in 2010, and now enjoys sharing yoga and mindfulness with children of all ages, from toddlers to teens. She embraces imaginative learning and weaves developmentally appropriate social-emotional education into the fabric of her lessons. Ally is a registered Childlight Children’s Yoga and Mindfulness teacher, and earned her 200 hr Registered Yoga Training Certificate from Mindbody Centering Yoga in Durham. She teaches in-school, and after school yoga programs.