Our English-Czech center was established in 2019 with the idea of creating a place full of mutual trust between our team, parents, and, especially, the children. We work to maintain an environment with a team of experienced people taking part in the special development of the little ones. We help children grow with self-autonomy; children grow in their own way and remain unique individuals, with us to remind them of certain rules in the world.

We cherish the diversity of our team. Our joint passion to work with children and push each other’s boundaries is what unites us! (Here you have us!)

That is how I see it! I’m Marcela and I chose to establish the EMBERA center in 2019, finally doing what I’ve only dreamed of for years. With the support of parents from the language school I previously worked in along with my own family and friends, I found the strength and support to make this project, the dream, come true. I am thankful to share my energy, knowledge, and experience in my own vision after working in corporate companies in the field of human resources and later marketing for more than 15 years. In the last two companies, I feel I have found what truly fulfills my life: working with young children. With those who have the greatest gift for such: sincerity! The decision to do something different came in Panama in 2017, where I spent time among the native tribe of Emberá people. I became more aware of the values of life, previously only feeling them on my beloved trips to the mountains and returned to Prague with the understanding that if I have the opportunity, I will try. And so we are here, with the spirit of the EMBERA tribe accompanying us on their journey…..thank you!

Pavlina. Working with children has always been special to me and that is why I was studying preschool pedagogy at Charles University in Prague and graduated 2022.  As a child, I was a member of a scout unit in a small district town, where I grew up and later became a scout leader. I think it was in the scout club that I had the opportunity to fully find my love for nature and trips to the mountains. I really like to travel with just a backpack, discovering the beauties that the world offers us and trying new things. The last time was, for example, surfing in Portugal. As part of traveling around the world, I had the opportunity to visit New Zealand for a longer period of time, and I also looked at several kindergartens there. I believe that all of us, including children, are most affected by the environment in which we live and the experience gained from the moments we have lived. That is why I would like to bring as much joy as possible to children ‘s lives, in connection with a quality pre-school education. I love human stories, muddy mountains and embroidery, for example.

Katie. I grew up in Dallas, Texas. The combination of a Czech mother and an American father gave me the opportunity to grow up surrounded by these two cultures and live them fully. From a young age, I loved art, which became an immense passion for me. I have been working in fine arts since high school and I successfully finished a bachelor’s degree in art history. At the beginning of the 2022/23 school year, I will continue my master’s studies in the field of history of modern European culture. In addition to my studies and work at EMBERA, I also work at the Kunsthalle Prague as a professional colleague of the teaching team. I am very grateful for the opportunity to combine my studies and practice in such a beautiful cultural place, and at the same time excited and pleased that I too will be able to contribute in the future. I feel the same way about relationships and creations with small children. The creativity and spontaneity of young children is so tangible and pure! I am attracted by this knowledge and I am very happy that I can be at the birth of a project like the EMBERA center.

Nina, I am American, born in Kansas. As a child, my family and I lived in Cameroon and Congo, where I attended international schools. I later came back and finished high school in Washington state. I was attracted to Europe, so I decided to move to Prague and started studying journalism. Actually, a bit by chance (although I don’t believe in coincidences) I met Marcela, a person who was passionate about a new project and tried to make his dream come true. And I kind of wanted to be there. Together, we started to build the EMBERA center in small steps, through lighter and heavier obstacles. Gradually, our work began to bear fruit in the form of little happy children, and I realized that wealth has many forms. And since then, I have been happily teaching at EMBERA! Watching the children light up every morning after walking through the door makes this place “special” and I often realize that I feel better here than at home, that Prague has become my home.

My name is Anna. From childhood and later in adolescence I spent a lot of time in the kindergarten where my mother works. Since my interest in children did not decrease, rather the opposite, with age, I decided to study the Preschool Pedagogy program with a focus on education in dramatic arts at Charles University, where I am currently continuing my doctoral studies. At university, I first encountered theatrical education, which fascinated me, so I soon began to try out the methods in practice. First in circles, then as part of regular classes in kindergarten. In addition to dramatic education, my work focuses on the education of children with a different mother tongue. It is dramatic education that proves to be very useful in the education of these children. It allows children to develop their speech skills, communication skills, and generally supports social development, i.e. healthy relationships in the group. In order to be able to better connect my practical skills with the latest theoretical knowledge, I started studying the master’s program in Dramatic Education at the Prague DAMU. Another great hobby of mine is music education, which, like drama, allows children to be actively involved in the learning process. Music education as a means of developing the speech competence of children with atypical speech development, i.e. children with a different mother tongue and bilingual children, was the subject of interest in my diploma thesis. The results of the research that I have been conducting for a long time have confirmed the previously known knowledge about the very positive influence of music education on children’s language development. In my spare time, you can find me on the road, where I like to meet people and children from all over the world, with an accordion in my hands, or in the forest, where I regularly go to exercise or run.

Mirka. I have always gained energy from children, but I never had the courage to devote myself fully to them. It wasn’t until my daughter came that I realized how right this is for me. And when I met Marcela at the language school where my daughter went to English classes, I found out what her plans were. It was clear I could not miss this opportunity 🙂 I bombarded Marcela with my interest in working with her for so long that I became a part of our first (and tiny) EMBERA team! The dream came true. And to this day I am grateful for the opportunity Embera brought me by bringing together a team of wonderful children who teach us every day, dear parents, and inspiring teachers who create such a familial environment in which even the shyest child can grow. If my daughter and I are not crafting or painting, I enjoy jogging with my dog in nature or at least take a walk to enjoy it. I love trips, picnics, scavenger hunts, and any other games outside. I like to try remastering classic children’s food in healthier ways and, in the fall, I began yoga with a class to help me stay fit.

Martina. Since I come from a large family, children were always present and still are in my life. After my studies, I’ve decided to move abroad to improve my English, and while studying I’ve combined it with looking after children. I am very grateful that I could meet people from lots of different cultures and places of this world. Besides loving being surrounded by children, I love to travel and I’ve been very fortunate to travel around the world. Travelling also led me to my Yoga path, seeing children practising yoga poses and concentration is absolutely priceless. Hiking and being surrounded by nature is another essential part of my life I cannot live without. The whole Embera with its family concept became very dear to my heart and I am very happy to be part of it.