Our Team

Marnie has lived in New Canaan for 20 years with her husband and three children. Marnie has Bachelor of Art in Philosophy and pursued her Master of Divinity at Andover Newton and Harvard Divinity School. She is, aside from teaching, most notably a “hockey mom” spending most of her weekends driving to mediocre hotels and freezing in rinks. She has worked with children most of her life and is thrilled to be working with yours.

Emily lives in New Canaan with her husband and three young children. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in forensic psychology, and is currently pursuing her certificate in early childhood education.  When Emily is not teaching and attending classes, she is busy taking care of her ball python, 2 leopard geckos, 1 crested gecko, 12 mice, 3 rats, 3 hermit crabs, 1 fish and 1 cat. Fun fact- she’s afraid of bugs!

Jen grew up in New Canaan graduating from NCHS. She met her husband while earning a Bachelor of Art in English at Lake Forest College. Together they raised their two boys in New Canaan close to her parents. When she’s not spending time with family and friends she will be outdoors running, playing golf, tennis and paddle. She has a sport for every season, and she excels at them all!

Having been at Toddlertime for over 36 years, Diane is Toddlertime’s favorite matriarch. Diane has taught some of our teachers and our parents. The wisdom she hands down to all of us is priceless! There is no doubt about it – Diane loves babies (she even collects baby dolls). Her other passion is dogs and she has bred Labrador Retrievers most of her life. Diane has three children and six phenomenal grandchildren!

We are thrilled that Maura loved being a parent of three Toddlertime students so much that she came back to teach for us.  A tireless volunteer, Maura has given her time to the New Canaan Public Schools, New Canaan Cares, Girl Scouts and the National Charity League.  After earning her Bachelor of Art from Hamilton College and giving Wall Street a shot, she taught at The Collegiate School in NYC while pursuing her masters at Bank Street College of Education. While her children were young, she and her husband spent two years as expats living in Tokyo and traveling throughout Asia. 

Nancy is both our lead 5’s teacher and our summer camp program director! She holds an Early Childhood Credential and BS in Education with 30 years of teaching experience! Nancy brings a tireless passion for creative “out of the box” teaching and exemplifies a “can do” attitude that is contagious to all! She continues to learn about early childhood education and even teaches others by presenting workshops at the CTAEYC (CT Association for the Education of Young Children). When Nancy isn’t teaching in the classroom or one of her enrichment/creative/alumni workshops, she is off exploring! From beaches to cities, nature to art, she loves it all! Fun facts about Nancy – she loves gorillas, beaches, cooking, art and pranking friends and co-workers!

Aurelia is new to Toddlertime this year, but it’s not her first rodeo! She lives in town with her husband and 3 boys. Before her full-time Mom gig she attended Manhattan College and studied Elementary Education and English. Needless to say she loves books & enjoys going to the New Canaan library to pick out books for her class. When she isn’t scrolling through Pinterest searching for kiddie craft ideas, she enjoys exercising with friends & snuggling her two other children, her dogs!

Debbie graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Education and then went on to get her Master’s in Reading. She has taught all ages over the past 30 years but joins Toddlertime in the fours. Debbie is passionate about dancing and teaching children’s aerobics. She danced ballet from the time she was three until college when she switched to modern dance. Her claim to fame is that she danced in front of Princess Margaret and Prince Charles! Debbie has three grown children, three brothers and a dog named Frankie. If you hear her say an English word or two, that’s because she was born in London, England!

Kristin may be new to the classroom but she isn’t new to Toddlertime. Since day one of Toddlertime, Kristin has been the brains behind all our graphic design. She lives in Ridgefield with her husband, two daughters and her dog Maggie. Kristin is an avid racquet sports player, plays competitively and is co-captain of a tennis team called Good Vibes. Besides graphic design and teaching at Toddlertime, she teaches tennis to elementary age students. Other hobbies include volunteering, hiking, photography and cloud chasing.

Kristen has lived in New Canaan with her husband, 3 children and 2 dogs for the last 8 1/2 years.  She earned her degree in Elementary and Special Education from Providence College and a Master’s in Special Education from Fairfield University.  She put her education to good use teaching Elementary and Special Education in the Stamford Public Schools for 8 years before starting a family. She volunteers at her church and her children’s schools. Kristen loves to spend time with her family watching all their sporting events and enjoys being at the beach whenever she can.

You’d never know that Molly is new to Toddlertime. She jumped into the role of office manager in June 2019 and immediately it felt like she’d always been here. Molly taught for 10 years at another preschool before deciding to return to administration, so she understands the classroom from both inside and out. Molly lives with her husband, two daughters and their dog Rosie. A 20-year resident of New Canaan, Molly has served on the board of the Newcomers, National Charity League, PTC and Girl Scouts. If you need a laugh, just ask Molly to say a tongue twister-it’s her hidden talent!

Pam is a friendly, energetic and funny educator with over 20 years’ experience. Being born into a family day camp business that she went on to direct, Pam has been around children her whole life. She received her Bachelor of Art in Communication and Marketing from Plattsburgh State College. When Pam’s three children were grown, she started teaching at a preschool in Darien before we brought her over to the bright side. When she is not traveling, you can find her taking her therapy dog Coco to visit patients at various facilities, helping friends with interior decorating and spending time at the beach.

Cornelia grew up in Germany where she received her undergraduate degree in business. She moved to the United States in her late twenties for a two-year expat position in NYC where she met her husband. After moving to New Canaan to raise her two daughters, she returned to school to pursue early childhood education. With over 20 years teaching experience, Cornelia joined Toddlertime sharing her creativity and kindness with our children. She is soft spoken but commands the love and attention of the children in her class. In her free time, she loves to paint with acrylics, play tennis and curl up with a good book.

Stephanie has lived in Darien for over twenty years with her husband and four children. She received a Bachelor of Art from Dickinson College. She has a lot of volunteer and work experience in the Darien schools including Saint Luke’s Parish School.  One thing you may not know about Stephanie is that she is an Army brat, living all over the country and abroad as a child. She loves making new friends, walking, hiking and reading.

Judy is a twenty-five-year resident of New Canaan and has four children who all attended Toddlertime. Judy holds a Master of Education from Fairfield University.  Judy’s hidden talent is that she can make a song up about any topic and is known for singing all day long. Judy loves to be outside and always wins the prize for getting her class out more than any other class at school. When she isn’t at Toddlertime she loves to exercise, play racquet sports and go on long runs. Judy loves to travel; never turning down an opportunity for adventure.

Marnie is a ray of sunshine that lights up any classroom she’s in. She loves children’s literature and math games and adores the toddler age group. She holds a Bachelors in Elementary Education from Ohio Wesleyan and a Master of Science from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education.  Marnie taught elementary school at the Brearley School in NYC before having babies and then transitioned into admissions. She moved to New Canaan with her husband and three daughters. In the summer she likes to hide away on an island off Maine.

Lauren worked at Toddlertime 10 years ago before taking time off to raise her twin boys, Zach and Tyler. They are now 10 years old, swim competitively,  and are chasing their dreams of learning to surf.  Born and raised in Darien, CT followed by studying elementary education at Sacred Heart University, Lauren has a passion for early learning and loves seeing a child’s face light up when they learn something new. Her philosophy is that each child is unique, learning at their own pace. She has spent the last few years teaching pre school in Darien, but is thrilled to be back at Toddlertime! On the weekends Lauren, her husband Tim, and their boys can usually be found at their cabin in Vermont…. but fun fact, she’s never been on skis!

Gabbie grew up in New Canaan, went to the University of Connecticut and then received a Masters of Family Studies from Fairfield University. Rather than choose her family business of tomato products and olive oil, she followed her passion into teaching. Gabbie worked in several of our age groups before finding her fit with the 2’s. She is most notably the youngest person we have ever given a lead role to! She somehow gets our 2’s to do things nobody else has. When not in the classroom, you can find her at the gym doing CrossFit.

Kendall holds a degree in Art History from Smith College.  Art is her passion and the messier the better. She sews, paints and can be found prowling the halls of any and all museums. She is the mom of three sons and two adorable Pugs. She came to Toddlertime through our enrichment program, but we quickly figured out that we needed her creativity and warmth to play a bigger role at Toddlertime.

Rachel is our school nurse who decided that monthly rounds wasn’t enough time around the little ones, so she decided to join a classroom. Rachel earned her Registered Nurse degree from St. Vincent’s College of Nursing. She and her husband moved to New Canaan over 20 years where they are raising their five children. When not at Toddlertime or busy with her family, Rachel can be found cooking, reading and practicing yoga.