The way I approach life changed beginning in July of 2021. Thinking back on 2020 and the beginning of 2021, between the pandemic, an addition to our family, and political and social unrest, I was tired, stressed and frustrated far more often than I was in a state of contentment and peace. And even as things began to settle a bit in each of those areas, I was more or less still in the same mental and emotional state. I can pinpoint a few times in my life that have felt significant and life changing and I will certainly look at this period from mid to end of 2021 as one of those times. And it ..read more

Recently, I had to pleasure to work with an awesome company, STEMearly LLC, and create some hands-on, educational activities. STEMearly LLC provide highly engaging, inquiry-based, fun workshops to show childcare professionals and teachers how to use simple, readily available, inexpensive materials to create meaningful, STEM-based lessons. (STEMearly.org, 2021) Also if you are a parent in a Christian household or want a fun, engaging way to introduce your children to the Gospel, check out The Gospel According to STEM, a 5 day interactive journey, complete with 15 mini lessons, 4 original mus ..read more

If I were to give a piece of advice to any new moms, other than getting outside once every day and investing in breast shields if you’re breastfeeding (look them up), I would absolutely say “get you a mom squad.” If you don’t have 2 or 3 good girlfriends currently pregnant alongside you, you may not know how to begin approaching this. First, I would suggest you decide on the criteria for your squad members. Remember, the ladies in your mom squad may not necessary be people you start off being personal friends with. If you don’t have friends who are in a similar stage in life, look for ladie ..read more

One of the biggest surprises I’ve had in parenthood within the last couple of years is how hard disciplining my daughter has been. It’s surprising for a couple of reasons: 1. As a kindergarten teacher, behavior management was an area of strength. 2. I naturally don’t have a passive mindset when it comes to discipline, so I believed my active participation in it would make discipling easier. 3. My daughter challenges me in ways my students did not. Some days I feel like I do a successful job but other days, I feel like an utter failure. Through trial and error and tapping into my experience ..read more

This three step lesson is an easy way to help your young child train their ear to hear the first sound, or beginning sound, in a word.  This lesson incorporates three elements that I love using when teaching: music and hands-on learning and movement for the child. Part One: Music For this lesson, I’m sharing The Beginning Sounds Song by Jack Hartmann. He has tons of fantastic children’s song and videos if you’d like to check out his YouTube channel. This song encourages the children to get up and get moving as he highlights the beginning sound of the word showing them how to move. For ..read more

Room On The Broom- A witch and her cat meet new friends along the way as she clumsily continues to lose her belongings. Those friends band together to help the witch when she finds herself in a fiery situation. Click the link below for a read aloud of Room On The Broom. Below is a link to the following activity: Your child will recall the order that the witch lost her belongings. Cut out the pictures and place them in the correct box to show the correct order. room-on-the-broomDownload Happy reading ..read more

Something I’ve come to find in life is that you never really have a full perspective on something unless you experience it.  I thought I had a pretty realistic view of what marriage would be like and then I got married and found there were challenges I never even considered.  I felt fairly prepared for motherhood prior to having my first child. Then after her arrival, I was paralyzed and overwhelmed that first weekend because I was dead tired and realized that I don’t get to stop mothering on Saturday and Sunday. In the same vein, I feel that people who have never been in the educ ..read more

Meet Gerald. He feeling sad because there is a Jungle Party and he’s not very good at dancing. But he meets a friend that gives him fresh perspective and some encouragement and that changes everything Click the link below for a read aloud of Giraffes Can’t Dance. Below is a link to the following activity:  Your child will draw his/her favorite jungle animal from the story (he/she can even draw that animal dancing) giraffes-cant-danceDownload Happy reading ..read more

This three step lesson is an easy way to help your young child learn their colors. This lesson incorporates three elements that I love using when teaching: music, hands-on learning and movement for the child. Part One: Music For this lesson, I’m sharing The Colors Song Part 2 by KidsTV123.  It highlights each color by showing objects of each color. So, first, go to YouTube and search :KidsTV123, Colors Song Part 2. Here is the link: Part Two: Identify The Color Below is a sheet with objects of various colors. You can download it and print it or just show it on your screen. Color-Activ ..read more

I’ve been in a new stage of parenting in the last few months. My baby is no longer a baby. He enjoys playing and exploring with his toys, which is great. The only issue is my preschool age daughter wants to play with me too. At first I was finding it challenging keeping them both occupied at the same time. I would play with my daughter and some of her toys while my son was in his bouncer then I would tell my daughter it was time for me to play with son and some of his toys. I felt bad leaving my daughter to find something to play with on her own, even though it’s a good skill for her to lea ..read more