Simone Findlay-Owner, Director and Co Teacher
Simone has been in the field of early childhood education for over 20 years and has her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Social Behavior. She has worked as a lead teacher, director, child advocate, trainer and early interventionist. Simone has been a college instructor since 2010 teaching Child Development course at Napa and Solano Colleges. While living in Hawaii in 2015-2016 Simone was full time faculty at Honolulu Community College and ran one of their 3 NAEYC accredited lab schools.
Simone is a mom of preschool age twin girls and has lived in Napa on and off for 12 years. She loves traveling, camping and being outside. She also enjoys cooking and has been a vegetarian for almost 25 years. Simone’s husband Jason has fully supported her dream of opening her own school and created most of the items in our outdoor classroom. After having twins in 2018 Simone’s 20 year dream of opening a school became a goal and 2 years later has become a reality.
Maria Tsoni-Co Teacher
Maria has been around kids her whole life. Her mother was an English teacher in Greece teaching preschool aged children English as a second language and then became a nanny for many families which Maria was always a part of. Maria began studying Early Childhood Education at the Napa Valley College after she graduated from high school in 2017. She soon after got offered a position at Napa Valley College Child Development Center as assistant teacher where she got to work in multiple classrooms with children ranging from 4 weeks old to 5 years old. Since then, she has worked in one other child care program as a teacher and soon after got the opportunity to meet Simone and her 2 girls whom she became a nanny for.
Maria was born in Greece and moved to Napa at the age of 13 for a better education and future. She tries to visit her family and friends back at home during the summer time. She speaks fluent English and Greek and took 7 years of French lessons when she was in Greece. She takes pride in her culture and as most Greeks do, she enjoys music and dancing. She dreams that one day she will get the opportunity to travel and see the word. She finds peace in the outdoors but she gets cold easily. Above all she loves children’s excitement, purity and curiosity and strives to help children develop to their fullest potential.
Astrid Creano–Assistant Teacher
Astrid was born and raised in Napa. She knew she wanted to work with children since she took her first Child Development class in high school. Later, Astrid went to pursue her A.S. in Child and Family studies at Napa Valley College.
Astrid worked for 2 years with the Napa County Office of Education leading a youth program for young girls in middle school and high school. Later, she worked with toddlers for 5 years and enjoyed learning alongside them. Astrid went on to work for the Napa School District where she worked as a para educator with various age groups in the classrooms.
She is bilingual in English and Spanish and enjoys crafty projects.