The founder of Ia’s Learning Tree, Ia Kakhidze, worked as a teacher in Tblisi, Georgia, for 17 years before immigrating to the United States with her family. She and her daughter, Teona, created Ia’s Learning Tree in 2014 and have been serving families in the Park Slope community since.

Hannah wishes to express her sincere enthusiasm for the role as the Educational Director at Park Slope Little Learners! Hannah is a Park Slope resident and mother of two young children, Reese (4 years) and Ruby (2 years). She has been teaching in Early Childhood for the past 15 years and is looking forward to taking all of the knowledge she has cultivated into this new role as director.

Hannah is committed to educating and supporting the whole child. She will use her child-centered philosophy to create an environment for young learners to: take risks; make mistakes; and grow their social skills, language development, motor abilities, and problem-solving capabilities. She believes that scaffolding a child’s social and emotional development while challenging them academically, all while inspiring critical thinking are the key components behind student success.

Hannah received a B.S. in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Vermont, and a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College. She has experiences in a Reggio-Inspired environment, as well as Early Intervention. Prior to coming to Little Learners, she taught within two different independent schools in Manhattan, working with young toddlers, Two’s, Three’s and Pre-K.

In Hannah’s free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Pete, and Reese and Ruby. Together, they can be found exploring new playgrounds, bookstores and coffee shops. Hannah cannot wait to meet all of the Little Learner families and begin her new role!

Teona, Ia’s daughter, serves as the founder of Ia’s Learning Tree, bringing a wealth of experience and a passion for early childhood education to the role. She graduated from Tbilisi State University in 2007 with a degree in International Law and Human Rights, followed by a degree in Economics from Baruch College from 2008 to 2013.

During her time at university, Teona discovered her love for working with children, which led her to gain invaluable experience in childcare. She has been a dedicated daycare provider for over 10 years and currently runs five day cares, creating nurturing environments where children can thrive. Although she initially embarked on a career at J.P. Morgan Chase after graduating, she ultimately decided to leave that position to pursue her true passion: nurturing and educating young minds.

Teona is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Early Childhood and Special Education for ages birth to 2, alongside her recent completion of the Child Development: Behavior and Mental Health program at Stanford University.

Teona resides in Park Slope with her husband and their wonderful 7-year-old daughter, Vivienne. Her extensive educational background, combined with her experience as a mother and a leader in early childhood education, makes her a vital asset to the Ia's Learning Tree community.

Margaret is a Park Slope Native that has been an educator in the Department of Education for 9 years. She graduated from Brooklyn College with a bachelor's in childhood education and a master's degree in early childhood education with a dual education license for Students with disabilities. Margaret has worked with children of a variety of ages and enjoys educating students in all walks of life. She continues to learn and use her classroom experience to drive her creation of engaging curriculum of all ages.  

Marika  Abuladze has been a teacher at Ia’s Learning Tree for the past three years. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from Tbilisi  State University and is currently continuing her studies in Early Childhood Education at Penn Foster College.

She finds great joy in working with young children, helping them learn and grow through guidance from the Montessori philosophy, and creating a supporting and engaging learning environment.

Pikria has been a teacher at Ia’s Learning Tree for six years. She graduated from the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Journalism) and a Masters in Philology: Legal Translations. She loves helping children learn everything from language to shapes and numbers to the Montessori Coat Flip.

Originally from Sydney Australia, Mr. Simon is a fun, energetic and engaging music enrichment provider, inspiring and delighting infants through to Pre-K children in New York and beyond!
​He brings decades of multi-instrumental experience and combines that with his love for children and exceptional rapport skills, to make every single class, birthday party, and concert and live stream, an amazing experience.

www.mrsimonmusic.com

Youtube: youtube.com/mrsimonmusic

Michelle Ruiz is the founder and Director of Espáñate . Michelle was born in Málaga, Spain and aspired to teach and help enrich the minds of her students for as long as she can remember. In 2005 she earned a Bachelor´s Degree in Education at the University of Málaga in Spain. Following her graduation she started her career as a bilingual teacher in English and Spanish as a lead teacher for preschoolers, helping children to learn the language through immersion and repetition, using games and following routines in both languages and using role play and music as key tools for the learning process.

After gaining 5 years of experience as a lead teacher in Spain, Michelle decided to take a leap of faith and made the decision to leave her small town in Málaga, Spain and moved to New York City, the city of her dreams. Michelle had always dreamt of sharing her love of the Spanish language with the world and as a native bilingual teacher, the opportunities were boundless in her new city.

In 2014 Espáñate was born, to provide children with the opportunity to learn Spanish in an effective way. Michelle has been working with Americans for 10 years now and has mastered the way to teach Spanish in an effective way were they speak the language from day one discovering how Spanish can be easy and fun to learn when done in a creative way. Michelle consistently trains her teachers in her techniques so that they can pass them along to the more than 20 centers that she is working with across New York State. For the past 4 years she has incorporated Yoga to her school, believing that Yoga can help children to control their bodies, emotions while having a great time exercising and learning to relax. It has become one of her passions to add the best yoga classes to children, so children can benefit from it.

www.espanate.com

Meet Helena Harrichand vibrant and passionate kid yoga teacher and contemporary ballet dancer dedicated to nurturing mindfulness and creativity in children. With a background in child development, therapeutic infants massage and a love for dance movement, Helena brings a playful approach to yoga, making each class a fun adventure. They believe in the power of yoga to foster confidence, emotional awareness, and resilience in young minds. Her mission is to inspire kids to connect with themselves and the world around them through the joy of yoga.