Background: Hi, I’m Debbie Colon. I was born in the Bronx, NY. I've been teaching for a total of 32 years, spending 28 years in NYC and the past 4 years at Little Garden Montessori. As a child, I dreamt of becoming a stewardess or a teacher. I am deeply passionate about guiding children through the beginning stages of their education, fully aware of the significant impact this can have on their future. I consider it a privilege to help shape their early learning experiences and do not take this responsibility for granted.

Advice: The best advice I’ve ever been given is, "Tell me who you walk with and I'll tell you who you are." As a parent, I wish I had known the importance of allowing children to make mistakes and try tasks on their own. Instead of accepting "I can't," focus on "I can't do that yet."

Inspiration: The most inspiring part of working at Little Garden Montessori is seeing children complete difficult tasks on their own, especially those they've worked on for a while.

Montessori Work: My favorite activities with the children are sound work and reading. Sound work marks the beginning of their journey to reading, and watching their worlds open up through words is incredibly rewarding. I also love reading Roald Dahl books to the children during quiet time after lunch. It's amazing how much they grasp and how interested they are, even without many pictures.

Montessori vs. Traditional Education: Having worked in traditional schools, I've seen the profound impact Montessori education has on children. It allows them to forge their own learning paths with guidance, fostering independence, ownership of learning, increased confidence, and a solid foundation for a lifelong love of learning.

Favorite Part of Working with Kids: My favorite part of working with kids is watching their personalities blossom as they grow and evolve at the school.

Message to Parents: I want every Little Garden Montessori parent to know that I will always treat their child with love and respect.