After 15 years in the mortgage business, Becky Hollman wanted a professional change. Hollman pined to do something more personally fulfilling for a long time, but it wasn't until she had two children that the abstract "something" became much clearer.
In 2001, she enrolled her daughter, Nyanna, at LifeWays Child Development Center, 3224 N. Gordon Pl., and later, her son Gibson joined his sister at the Waldorf education-inspired LifeWays.
Hollman was impressed and motivated by the program.
"Once I saw the (Waldorf) philosophies, I knew this was something I believed in, and over time, realized it was actually something I could do," she says.
Despite high earnings at her bank job, Hollman and her husband, Matt Krajewski, talked about the possibility of Hollman starting a Waldorf daycare. It was a huge change, but something she was ready for.
Hollman became a certified early education Waldorf teacher through LifeWays of North America. The process took two years, and she studied under Cynthia Aldinger, the LifeWays of North America founder.
Last summer, Hollman left her job and opened Rainbow Bridge, a Waldorf-inspired daycare in the lower level of her Riverwest duplex.
"I finally felt like I was adding value to society, which wasn't happening in banking for me," says Hollman.
At first glance, Rainbow Bridge looks like a typical daycare: a preschooler plays with a miniature airplane, another tries on a crown from the dress-up area, and Hollman bottle feeds an 8-month-old baby. However, after looking closer, it's apparent that the environment is different from your average daycare. It feels more like a home than a center.
Waldorf programs usually offers only wood and cloth toys (no plastic or electronic), and stay away from bright colors and poster-filled walls. Also, in the Waldorf world, kids and caregivers eat organic and natural food. Hence, Hollman belongs to a buying club, shops at the Outpost, Riverwest Co-op and Trader Joe's, and does all of the daycare's cooking herself.
Plus, the group plays outdoors almost every day, as long as the weather is at least 25 degrees. "Rudolph Steiner (the creator of Waldorf) believed it was important for kids to 'live into each season,'" says Hollman.
Both LifeWays and Rainbow Bridge combine kids who are different ages, from newborn to 4 or 5 years old, whereas most traditional daycares have children who are the same age in a room together.
"(In Waldorf) the young children learn from the older kids, and in return, the older ones get to nurture the little ones," says Hollman.
Hollman says in her new life she works harder than she did in corporate America, but she's happier. Her workday runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and at night, she prepares puppet shows, washes bedding, sets tables and prepares food for the following day. Although she makes less money than she did in the banking industry, she doesn't have to pay two full-time daycare bills.
"It's basically a wash," she says.
After nine months, Hollman has three part-time employees and 20 children in her program. She says the support of LifeWays director Mary O'Connell -- who recommended families on the LifeWays' waiting list to Hollman -- helped establish her daycare.
The cost to attend Rainbow Bridge is in the ballpark of regular programs: $45 a day for kids two and older, or $50 for babies under two.
Is there anything Hollman misses from the banking profession?
"Sick days and vacation days," she says, laughing. "But I'm not complaining. I'm a lot happier having my kids at home and having more contact with my community. In general, I feel a lot better."
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
