Nicola is a progressive early childhood educator with over 20 years experience in cultivating impactful and effective learning spaces for young students.

Her passion and expertise is an ability to balance play and rigor while integrating the arts and community to create a holistic, child-centered environment that fosters multiple intelligences, socio-emotional growth, character and a love of learning.

Jane Racoosin has worked in early childhood education for over 20 years and she has witnessed how children’s learning and emotional development are impacted by an exploration-based education approach. In her own classroom, she saw that children gained confidence and creativity when curriculum was developed in collaboration between teachers and children.

She wanted to offer the same high quality early learning experience to all children across the five boroughs regardless of cost. In 2013, she started Teaching Beyond the Square to fulfill this vision and to elevate early childhood education’s importance in a public way. She has attended workshops at Reggio-inspired schools in the United States and been to Reggio Emilia, Italy to visit their early childhood programs and study their philosophy. She has presented at the 92nd Street Y, Kean University, and The European Early Childhood Research Conference in Birmingham, England.

Jane has been an adjunct lecturer in the department of Early Childhood Education at Hunter College, received a BA in Psychology from the University of Vermont, a Masters in Early Childhood Education and a Masters in Supervision and Administration from Bank Street College. Jane served on the board of ISAAGNY from 2020-2022.

Link:

https://www.teachingbeyondthesquare.org/

Dayna Abraham has become a trusted and proven leader in the parenting community. She is the founder of the popular parenting site 'Lemon Lime Adventures' which has accumulated over 41 million viewers in less than seven years.

She is also the CEO of Calm the Chaos, a seven-figure company which offers Dayna's compassionate framework to support thousands of parents worldwide. Her work has also been showcased in Huffington Post, Babble, Scary Mommy, Buzzfeed, ADDitude Magazine, and Positive Parenting Solutions. She is also the author of Superkids Activity Guide to Conquering Everyday and Sensory Processing 101.

“My name is Dayna. Despite being a National Board Certified teacher with a background in Early Childhood, I spent the first 7 years of parenting thinking I was alone and terrible at parenting. It has become my mission to never let another parent feel this way. Much like many of you, I was never told there were more than 5 sensory systems, and I was for sure never told about the effects of the sensory systems on behavior and navigating life. I’ve dedicated my life's work to sensory processing, intense emotions and embracing kids that don't "Fit". I have made it my mission to learn as much as I possibly can, and in turn share as much information with others. My book CALM THE CHAOS: A Failproof Roadmap for Parenting Even the Most Challenging Kids is a revolutionary guide for parents of kids that struggle with big emotions, power struggles, or challenging behaviors.”

Links:

https://lemonlimeadventures.com/

https://calmthechaosbook.com/?utm_source=lla&utm_medium=menu