Your Early Childhood Expert

Hi my name is Maria Johnson. I spent my childhood growing up on a farm in New Zealand with my parents, two brothers and three sisters.

I moved to Wellington, New Zealand after training as a Primary School teacher at Hamilton Teachers College and completing my Bachelor of Education at Waikato University. B.Ed, Dip. Tching Primary. In 2006 I studied full time and gained my Early Childhood qualifications from the New Zealand College of Early Childhood Education.

I have four beautiful boys – Mathew, Joshua, Benjamin and Jacob (twins). I love being with my children and watching them grow and develop as individuals! Being a Mum is the greatest job in the world (even though sometimes it tests our patience).

I really enjoy spending time with family and friends, relaxing in my garden and being creative. When there is any spare time I also like to exercise.

I established Little School in 2002 and since then the organisation has grown to continually meet the demand of our families.

I have been involved with education since 1992 and involved with early childhood education since 2003. I want to be able to share our knowledge, skills and expertise in quality education – especially within Early Childhood and Leadership within the sector. So in 2016, Life Learning was established – to help teachers, educators, leaders, and parents within Early Childhood Education provide quality programmes for children.

I am passionate and ambitious about young children discovering their abilities and providing them with the knowledge, skills and values to make them lifelong learners. For this to happen children need to have teachers and parents who are educated, passionate and wanting to make a difference in their lives.

I continually aspire to be a leader in education and thoroughly enjoy this journey. I am extremely fortunate to work alongside a brilliant team of dedicated teachers at Life Learning and Little School. Together we aspire to be widely recognised leaders in preschool education.

I have also been an executive member of the Early Childhood Council since 2008 and was the President until 2015. I am currently on the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal – a role where I enjoy being able to give back to our professional community.

I have been on a number of a National Educational and Business Boards. I thoroughly enjoy all of these roles and again I am fortunate to work alongside teams of people who are dedicated within business and the education sector.

Recognized Excellence in Early Childhood Education

Celebrating Over 40 Years of Dedication, Leadership, and Impact in Shaping Young Minds

2011 HER Regional Wellington Business Woman of the year Supreme Winner
2011 HER Regional Wellington Best Small to Medium Business
2012 Finalist in Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
2012 Education Finalist in NEXT Woman of the year Awards
2017 Finalist in the New Zealand Woman of Influence Awards
2017 Finalist in the Wellington Gold Business Awards
2024 Finalist in New Zealand Leadership Awards for Small to Medium Businesses
2024 Finalist of the SME Business Leadership Award