Natalie Mullaney

Our Teachers

Natalie Mullaney, Teacher , Co Founder, and Director of Little Jack’s Corner.

Natalie Mullaney was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, (formerly known under the British rule as Rhodesia). After the birth of their miracle baby, Ella, Natalie had a vision. After much research and not finding a program locally that could cater to Ella’s needs, Natalie, a dedicated mother inspired by her late and talented mother Judith, who was a teacher and extraordinary musician with over 35 years of experience in the British and New Zealand systems, Natalie quickly learned growing up, the importance of a high quality education with the love of the arts at a young age. Out of this Little Jack’s Corner was born. They wanted what every parent wanted for their child. The freedom to express their personality in many ways.

Natalie continued her education as she completed her Associates in Social Science, and Bachelor degree in Child Development, with a minor in Child Administration. Among many of her qualifications and talents, she not only comes with a background in the Fine Arts and a Royal Academy of Dance trained dancer, but has achieved the Scholastic Achievement award, by being nominated in the top 5% out of 675 students in her graduating class of 2013. She is excited about the recent new upgrades to their program since her recent visit to New Zealand, and throughout the U.S.  The school feels like a home away from home for the children. This is very important to maintain a sense of calm,  serene environments where children are deeply engaged especially during a time of Covid 19, where children need a sense of calm, and from the isolation they’ve been in. ​

Natalie is married to her wonderful husband, Chuck Mullaney, and together they are enjoying this time with their daughter Ella, Rose.   She enjoys dining, world travel, supporting the fine arts and culture, museums, plus a variety of world music, including classical, and jazz.  

Excited to create her own Play based program, Natalie looks forward to setting the bar for the highest standards.  Her goal remains to instill a love for learning in each child, and build meaningful relationships with her parents, the local community and her students. A creative individual, her passion is to develop an inspirational Reggio Emilia Inspired Curriculum where Reggio meets Te Whariki, Montessori, Emi Pikler, Steiner, and so much more…

Chuck Mullaney, CFO

Born in Massachusetts, and a graduate from Fitchburg University, Chuck was raised by a hardworking and loving family.  Since moving to California in 1993, his career has flourished in the Entertainment Industry, whilst letting his creative juices flow in editing, photography, and Graphic Arts. Happily married to Natalie and a joyful father, Chuck is excited to be a part of this program.  His tireless efforts towards upgrading the school environment, his continued research in Child Development theory, and love for the children, has well equipped him to participate in volunteer programs, and to assist in the school environment wherever possible.  

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Testimonials

Natalie took us on a tour. We not only discovered that we could first set up an online tour, which made us feel safe due to the pandemic, that once we decided the preschool was the right fit for us, she was happy to meet us in person, give us a tour, and had all our paperwork ready so we could start our child up right away. We are thankful for all the hard efforts she has done to ensure our child is safe at a time during Covid. Lynn

Philosophy

At our early childcare facility, we draw inspiration from a variety of esteemed pedagogical styles, such as Reggio Emilia, Rudolph Steiner, Maria Montessori, and Emmi Pikler. We believe in valuing and documenting children’s interests, which are integral to our philosophy. Children’s ideas are cherished and incorporated into lesson plans, encouraging them to hypothesize, investigate, and collaborate within their environment. We create magical lesson plans that come alive through engaging mediums like materials, journals, photography, shadow play, and more.

Our indoor environments mirror authentic home settings, providing cozy spaces for children to be alone, in small groups, or as a classroom community. We emphasize offering rich, open-ended materials to promote creative play, social-emotional development, critical thinking skills, and academic understanding. We view parents as key contributors to the curriculum, encouraging open communication and collaboration. Together with teachers and children, they embark on a journey of learning through various activities and celebrations, ensuring a holistic educational experience.

Additionally, our approach values children’s freedom to explore, create, and learn from their experiences. We believe in fostering collaborative relationships with peers and embracing each child’s unique abilities. Through documentation, we celebrate children’s achievements and self-expression, instilling self-esteem and a sense of belonging in each child. Moreover, we recognize the importance of learning a second language during the critical stage of brain development in preschool years. We introduce languages like Spanish through conversation, story-telling, and music, promoting memory, self-confidence, mutual respect, kindness, and cultural sensitivity within our curriculum.

Location

We are located in a private, quiet, and safe part of Castaic exit Lake Hughes with a magnificent view of the mountains. We have access to local parks, Castaic Lake, and our in-home preschool facing a hill offering an abundance of learning opportunities.

About our program

We are enormously excited about the transformational changes to our in home program that recently took place due to the Covid 19 pandemic. We recently participated in 2 Global Play Summits with over 75 000 educators that lasted 20 total hours in 5 days. As a result of this Professional Development hosted by Reggio Emiiia Inspired Worldwide group, our new location in Castaic and curriculum was revisited. Lella Gandini author of several books including The Hundred Languages of Children hosted our zoom pod. She reminded us of the importance of the the teacher’s role when children have conversations with the materials from nature. With these changes in mind, we pride ourselves on the deeply engaging environments known as the Third Teacher (hygge) in Danish, that we have created both Indoors and Outdoors. Our focus at present is to remain Outdoors as much as possible, at a time where children in the Early Years are in great need of Socio Emotional and mental health awareness. Teachers have a passion for what they do. Our goal is to remain safe, disinfect all areas consistently, and keep everyone safe from the spread of the virus. Please follow like, and share our most recently added resource and Parent Education page at www.littlejackscorner.org

Admissions

Join the Little Jack’s Corner community in four easy steps:

1. Explore our website (littlejackscorner.org)

We’ve provided information about our philosophies and offerings to help you decide if our program may be right for your family.

2. Tour our program

Come see what makes Little Jack’s Corner unique. If we are currently hosting tours, you can request or schedule a tour at the top of this page. If we are not currently hosting tours, you’ll see a “Request Info” button at the top of this page; if you submit your information using this button, we will notify you when we start host tours again in the future.

3. Submit an Enrollment Application

If you would like to enroll, please submit an application at www.wonderschool.com/little-jack-s-corner-6275/apply – note that we require tours for all prospective families. Please do not submit an application if you have not visited the program.

4. Enroll

After reviewing your application, we’ll send an enrollment invitation. Upon accepting your invitation you’ll pay your enrollment fee, fill out enrollment documents and review our Parent Handbook.