If you ask Montessori Assistant Nancy Palacios what she loves most about working with 2-year-olds, you can see her face light up before her words form the answer. “I truly care about the children, and I love helping them transition to their first classroom experience. They can feel my warmth, and the parents sense that, too. Each child, and each family, has unique needs.  My message is, ‘We’ll get there, and we’ll get there together.’  Being positive and optimistic is so important.  It has helped me in my life, and it helps me help others.”

Mrs. Palacios is the oldest of three sisters, and says, “From Kindergarten, I would get a book and pretend I was reading to classmates.”  She and her siblings have all worked in Montessori classrooms.  After becoming Montessori Assistant at Leport Montessori (Now named Guidepost Montessori School) in Reston, Mrs. Palacios took a position as Lead Guide there.  “Montessori follows the child, takes time to understand each child’s needs, and introduces new learning in a well-paced, thoughtful way,” she says. She is currently completing course work toward full certification from the American Montessori Society.  Coming to Green Hedges, she was drawn to the home-like feeling, the Core Values, and the prominence of the arts in school life.

Being fluent in Spanish and having been an avid violin player during much of her youth, nowadays Mrs. Palacios counts among her chief joys spending time with her husband and young daughter, and visiting the Outer Banks in North Carolina each summer.