Ms.Natalia - Art Teacher and Music & Movement Teacher

Natalia comes to Monkey Business with almost 10 years of experience working with children.  Having served as Director of Summer and After School Programs at several local private schools, she brings a wealth of experience working with children of all ages, and is bilingual in Spanish and English. A self-proclaimed artist since the age of 3, Natalia loves encouraging children to realize their own artistic potential while developing enthusiasm and appreciation for all kinds of art. Natalia graduated with honors from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1998, and continues to learn about and explore various mediums of art including painting, mosaics, stained glass and jewelry design.

Ms. Monica - Music & Movement & Spanish Teacher

Monica is currently working towards her psychology degree at George Mason University. She speaks Spanish fluently and has a deep understanding of French. As a child, she gained knowledge and experience in modern dance and
jazz. In the past she was involved in many school musicals, plays, and recitals which helped her gain the confidence she has now. In addition to singing and dancing at Monkey Business during her Music and Movement classes and birthday parties, she also enjoys shopping, reading, and traveling. Working at Monkey Business has opened new doors for Monica and she hopes to continue working with young children in the future. 

Ms. Shelley - Music & Movement Teacher

Shelley Amaddeo is one of our newest members and comes to us with about 14 years of experience with children.  She is educated in early childhood methods, including classes taken under the direction of the appointed head of the Clinton administration's early childhood education advisors committee.  Her background includes volunteering in Arlington County Public Schools helping disadvantaged and students with their homework; teaching in preschool, kindergarten, first grade and higher grades in a local private school, and also teaching preschool classes in a home school group of 200 families. Shelley takes ongoing professional development courses, holds a Fairfax County license for child care in her home, speaks fluent Italian, and lived in Italy where she studied Montessori and Reggio Emilia methods of learning.

Ms. Sara - Music & Movement Teacher

Sara is very excited to be working at Monkey Business! Sara has been studying music for many years, pursuing a career in opera. She received her Bachelor of Arts from George Washington University with a double major in Music and French. Sara has studied other languages as well, such as Italian and Spanish, and has had many opportunities to travel around the world because of her studies. Currently, she is working towards her Masters in Music. In addition to her love of music, she also greatly enjoys working with kids. She comes from a large family and loves playing with all her little cousins. She has much experience working with toddlers at day cares and camps, and she can't wait to "monkey around" on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

Ms. Ciria - Ballet Teacher  

Monkey Business is pleased to introduce Ms. Ciria.  Ms. Ciria studied ballet, jazz, and modern dance at the Center for Ballet Arts and performed with The Ballet Arts Ensemble (BAE) while studying at NOVA and presently at George Mason. She continues to perform with the BAE as well as with Dancin' Unlimited. She brings a wealth of knowledge having worked with children ranging from 3 to 18 years of age. She currently teaches ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, and modern dance at The Center for Ballet Arts in Fairfax County.

Ms. Colleen - Music & Movement Teacher

From the time she appeared in the starring role as Peter Pan in the 2ndgrade, Colleen has loved to sing and dance.  She has a great amount of energy and enthusiasm, and will be teaching our youngest set—the 6-11 month old Gibbons!  She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Communications, and worked for several years in the business/finance realm.  While in college, she was a camp counselor (specializing in water skiing), at an overnight camp in upstate NY.  Now that she has a Gibbon of her own, Colleen is anxious to share the wonderful music, movement and yoga experiences that she has had with her son, Charles.  Colleen is currently training to be a Yoga for Kids instructor through a locally-owned yoga company, and will be teaching a preschooler yoga class starting in late April.  As an added bonus to Monkey Business customers, she plans to do a demo of Kid Yoga at Monkey Business sometime this Spring! 

Ms. Cynthia - Music & Movement Teacher

Cynthia joined the Monkey Business team after attending class with her
two year old music lover Jasmine.  She first discovered her love of
working with children in high school when she became a summertime
program coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department in Texas. 
She continued this summertime position until she graduated from from the
University of Texas.  She then moved to Los Angeles where she  became a
Big Sister and was heavily involved with the Big Brothers and Big
Sisters Organization of Los Angeles.  While in LA she belonged to a
comedy/improv troupe was a certified personal trainer.  Cynthia moved to
Virginia in 2005 and is the organizer of Mamistad, a pregnant and new
moms group of over 450 local moms.  Being a music lover herself, she is
excited to have discovered the profound role music can play in the
education of children.  She is thrilled to share this excitement with
the adorable two-year old Spider Monkeys in her class.

•442 S Washington Street, Falls Church, Virginia 22046•