So yeon Son 
​(director)

​So Yeon is the director of Little Atelier. She believes early childhood education should encourage children truly to be  children : giving them time to explore, play, wonder, make choices, feel emotions, express ideas and be loved. Her first encounter with the Reggio Emilia philosophy was during an internship at an Reggio-inspired school in NYC in her master's program. Deeply inspired, she joined the study group in North America Reggio Emilia Alliance and visited the preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy to see how the original Reggio schools are like. There she discovered the richness of the Reggio Emilia approach, and how the educators enjoyed facilitating open-ended art projects with small groups of children, and how they put their effort to awaken and cultivate each child’s imagination, curiosity, confidence, empathy, and joy. Based on these experiences, her genuine love and passion for the children have been blossomed in her own practice in Little Atelier of Young Children. ​
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• BA in Psychology at NYU
• MA in Early Childhood Education at Teachers College, Columbia University
•  NYS certified for birth to 2nd grade (General & Special ed)

esther lee
​(teacher)

Esther is a head teacher at Little Atelier. One of the most important aspects of her teaching philosophy is to make meaningful learning experiences for all the children in the classroom. She actively seeks to achieve this in the classroom everyday by creating lessons based on children's interests and developmental progress, while also introducing new knowledge that will engage and challenge the children's thinking. Social emotional growth is another value that Esther holds highly in her teaching. She believes that children learn, grow, and explore the best when they know they are seen and loved by the teachers. It is always her priority to build a trusting and loving relationship with every single one her students. Through her teaching, Esther hopes to see the children at Little Atelier grow up to be active and explorative learners who will use their knowledge to bring a positive impact to society.

• B.A in Social work at Syracuse University
• M.A. in Childhood Education at Queens College 
• ​NYS certified for birth to 2nd grade (General ed)

stephanie ye
​(Teacher)

Stephanie earned Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education (Birth to Grade 2) at Queens College. She always had a passion for teaching young children ever since her first job where she worked as a teacher's assistant for first grade. Ever since that, she knew working, interacting, and teaching young children will always be a passion for her, and that is what made her pursue education. Stephanie is excited to be a part of the Little Atelier family and can't wait to educate and lead children, but also at the same time, learn from the children as well!" 
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• B.A. in Psychology and Health and Human Services with a concentration in Early Childhood Education at the University at Buffalo
• M.A. in Childhood Education at Queens College
• NYS certified for birth to 2nd grade (General ed)