Noora Kamel joined us first as a parent and we’ve been lucky to have her join the faculty as the Handwork Teacher. Noora’s path to Madrona began when her eldest didn’t take to homeschooling as she’d hoped. She decided to tour the local private schools, and fell in love with Madrona School’s organic, holistic approach to child development. When the opportunity to serve as a handwork teacher presented itself, she jumped at the chance.
Noora has always had an abiding love of working and making with her hands. From hand sewing and drawing when she was a kid, to crocheting, knitting, silk dyeing- she is fascinated by all kinds of “making things”. The birth of her first child really jump-started her knitting journey, and Noora found knitting a wonderful companion to the long stretches of quiet and immobility that characterize early motherhood. To her delight, both of her children have taken an interest in the hobby as well, and are discovering the joys of making for themselves. Of teaching Handwork at Madrona, Noora says, “I love seeing their wonder and sense of accomplishment as they turn strings of yarn into marvelous projects using knitting, crochet, cross stitch and more. It’s very rewarding to support them through the hard parts and share in their sense of accomplishment when they finish a project. The kids discover what imagination and perseverance can achieve, which will serve them well in other areas of life.”
Noora’s educational journey has taken many twists and turns, but what has remained constant is a lifelong love for learning and discovery. Born in Brooklyn, NY to parents of Egyptian and Turkish heritage, she grew up in a diverse community in Culver City, CA, and spent her high school and early college years abroad in Cairo, Egypt. Through these experiences, Noora has come to define herself as a global citizen. After many moves with her husband and two children, she settled in the PNW in the winter of 2020. Besides her native English, she also speaks Arabic, Turkish and Japanese. While her educational background is in translation work and academic research, she has a wide variety of other interests, and enjoys knitting, sewing, drawing, baking and all kinds of making. She also has a lifelong passion for horses, and is in the final stages of being certified as a Large Animal Massage Therapist.
