Founder – Life Learning

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

Every child deserves a chance to thrive, and with the right support and guidance, we can unlock their limitless potential.

Maria Johnson, BEd, DipTchg, DipTchg(ECE)

Managing Director/ Owner/Licensee

Our Purpose and Vision at Life Learning

Life Learning - Shaping the Future

Life Learning’s purpose is to improve the quality of early childhood education throughout the world.

Our Core Values: Shaping the Future of Education Together

Change: We are committed to driving meaningful change in education, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to succeed, with no one left behind.

Empowerment: We believe in empowering teachers, parents, and educators to make informed decisions and foster an environment where children thrive.

Trust: We build and maintain trust through transparency, honesty, and integrity in all our interactions.

Respect: We treat everyone with respect, valuing diverse perspectives and fostering a culture of inclusion and understanding.
Love: We are passionate about education and believe that loving what you do is key to inspiring and nurturing the next generation.

Collaboration: We value teamwork and collaboration, recognizing that working together strengthens our impact on education and enhances the outcomes for the children we serve.

Life Learning's Vision: Changing Education throughout the World so NO Child is Left Behind

We can realise this future by introducing best practice standards to learning environments in the following areas: programme development, team development, design of environments and regulatory framework. Empowering both teachers and children to be the best they can be.

We work to ensure teachers are not just qualified with theory but also with an understanding of what best practice looks like. Learning how to be a teacher that can engage with children, listen attentively, and ask the right open-ended questions that spark a sense of wonder and creativity in each child.

When teachers are passionate and purposeful with their work they feel as if they are part of something bigger. Our vision is to empower these teachers across the sector with a voice when they feel things aren’t right or where there is room for improvement.

Ultimately, your child is at the heart of every decision we make. We believe that a child’s skills and interests should be the vehicle for learning. And that success is not just measured by pure academic outcomes but also by confidence, resilience, creativity, risk-taking and well-rounded social and emotional capabilities.

We want to help create environments where children are comfortable to be themselves and are confident in who they are. The benefits of maintaining best practice in our early childhood learning environments are massive for children, families, communities and society as a whole.

By placing the right stone in the lake we can create a positive ripple effect across society, creating the innovators and leaders of the next generation.

We will help you:

We work with individual teachers and the leadership group to develop a programme that is purposeful for both teachers and children. So, at the end of each working day teachers feel as if they’re making a real difference to children’s lives.

Team Development and Leadership

At life Learning, we empower individuals through collaboration and a shared vision, fostering strong team dynamics and effective leadership.

Our programs equip leaders with practical strategies to inspire their teams, driving collective success and creating a positive organizational culture.