• Teachers
  • Specialists
  • Director
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Nancy is a Lead Teacher and comes to the Caterpillars with over 25 years of experience teaching preschoolers in parent co-ops. Nancy enjoys the curiosity and quick laughter of preschoolers. Nancy feels it is important for teachers and families to work in concert during early childhood, because the heart of a young child’s identity is with their family. In the classroom, she shares her love of books, music, and the natural world. Nancy has a BA in Modern Languages from Northeastern. She and her husband Tom live in North Cambridge and enjoy frequent visits from their two grown-up daughters.
Katie comes from a long background of working with children. She received her undergraduate degree from Lesley University and her Master's degree in Art Therapy and Counseling, with a specialization in Children, from The College of New Rochelle.  She believes in children learning through their imagination and creativity. Katie enjoys the endless possibilities of a child’s imagination. Her interests lie in art and science and she tries to incorporate both when working with children. She believes in letting children explore their worlds around them. Her favorite thing to do is help children come up with hypotheses about their surroundings and then explore possible answers through hands-on experience.  In the classroom, she shares her love and knowledge of theater, dance, art, yoga, and general silliness.

Music

Noted Boston-area music teacher, Jeff Jam brings a mix of traditional children's songs, rhythms, and movement to his weekly classes. Using his acoustic guitar and percussion instruments, Jeff Jam has been educating and entertaining children and families for over ten years.

Yoga

Our yoga teacher, Katie, believes that body awareness and mindfulness helps the child be more aware of their feelings and strengthens their school experience. Katie’s hope is to give the children tools, in the asanas (poses) and breathing techniques, to help navigate their day. Her favorite thing about teaching yoga is when the children use their breathing hands to calm themselves down, or when they say ‘look at me, I’m doing frog pose.’ “Namaste!”

Nature

MA Audubon / Habitat naturalists bring their Nature Detectives program to the classes at CNS. Children discover about local nature through exploration, stories, active observation and activities. Bringing nature inside and/or using our outdoor space, Habitat naturalists will help children to see some of the details of nature, note similarities and differences, and seasonal change.  They will bring small animal visitors (slugs, worms, snails, American toad, etc), specimens, and other materials to help guide children in their investigations.
Janet Kovner is the Director at CNS. She directed the Palfrey Community Children's School, a small, parent co-operative preschool program in Watertown, from 1986-1997. Prior to coming to CNS, she directed a new backup child care center, affiliated with Brigham and Women's Hospital and managed by Partners Child Care Services. She has an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education from Lesley University, and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England. She enjoys observing birds, mammals, wildflowers and trees, and most other flora and fauna. On occasion, she leads natural history walks, and brings these passions to her work at CNS.