I love working with young children because they are so eager to learn and are excited by all the things around them. They are also great teachers; I love coming in each morning knowing that I too will be learning something new. I look forward to each school year as together we create, examine, study, explore, reflect, and laugh. I enjoy the potential of each day, from diving into an experiential art project to revisiting a favorite book, it is sure to be fun and it is sure to be busy.  I fulfilled my dream of designing and building out a complete school space in and now I am fortunate to spend my days with a great teaching team, happy families, and fun children! I get to wear all the hats and float from the role of tour guide to storyteller to problem solver! I look forward to sharing the space with you.

Allison is thrilled to bring her passion for teaching to work in her own school environment. It was in 2003 when Allison first worked as an assistant preschool teacher in her hometown community of Missoula, Montana. She found she was again and again drawn to the field of early childhood and worked in a variety of settings from Mott’s Children’s Hospital to a unique program from Gifted and Talented children. Allison holds her BA from The University of Michigan, she additionally obtained her Child Development Associate(CDA) from The Council of Professional Recognition and maintains multiple professional memberships including NAEYC and NAFCC. Prior to settling in the Pacific Northwest Allison took a position with a small nonprofit preschool as lead teacher and administrator fulfilling the roles of fund-raising coordinator, web designer, closing supervisor and many others (in addition to storyteller, crafter, puppeteer, silly song singer, etc.). During this time she continued to gain an appreciation for Reggio-inspired design and her classroom environments were featured on environmental tours and in early childhood textbooks.

Together as a team Allison and Nick Morton own and operate Small Wonders School. Nick as Business Manager chiefly works behind the scenes, making the operation at Small Wonders run smoothly, filling many roles from bookkeeper to handyman. Allison as Program Director is there to share the space with you during tours, welcomes you to the center in the morning, and joins in the daily play! Allison and Nick are thrilled to be living in the wonderful city of Portland, where they can enjoy the Pacific Northwest with their Vizsla pup Haley and daughter Adelaide and son Teddy and newest addition Ellery while fulfilling a dream of opening and operating great preschools in a great community.