Celebrating and Preserving Imaginative Play for Children. My endeavor.

I completed my Early Childhood Education when I was a mere 18 years old. When I was around the age of 30, I had the opportunity to take the Infant/Toddler and Special Needs courses so that I received a post basic specialty diploma. As life would have it with working and raising kids and building a house, that would be the extent of my formal education. I have read stories of 90-year-olds going back and finishing their grade 12 education and inspiring as that is, I don't see myself back in school.

However, it sure is great to live in the information age and be able to continually learn and be on the cutting edge of Early Childhood practice by following other Educators, reading rich and thoughtful articles, as well as participating in online forums and workshops. I think it's all pretty amazing and I find myself continually challenged to refine my work with children and apply the new things that I learn.

One of the fun things that I did a few years ago was to start what I call my work Facebook Page and blog. I thought long and hard about the name. And the carrot came up. It's based on the book, The Carrot Seed", by Ruth Krausse. In this short and adorable story, the little boy plants his seeds and his family is in doubt that anything will grow. The little boy faithfully waters and weeds and waits. Soon, he is rewarded with a carrot. The carrot came up!

I resonate with this story. Hope and hard work pay off.

I am at the point of my life and career where I am interested in sharing what I am learning and what I have learned. I post articles and share ideas on my facebook page that I am confident are good ideas with value. My blog is a combination of family life experiences, and work experiences mostly from my time spent with infants and toddlers. I want to be an encouragement to parents and co-workers.

I have, recently, started a small business of the same name. I am having so much fun designing handcrafted children's toys along with my husband Darrell. He is a journeyman carpenter and enjoys working in his shop.

As part of my business, I have opened an Etsy shop where I sell wet-felted play mats or small worlds, and sometimes accessories. This past year I have been a vendor at conferences and markets where I have been able to sell wooden blocks, tree blocks, Waldorf nature shelves and other items. I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback.

One of my main goals in this endeavor is to Celebrate and Preserve Imaginative Play for Children.

As my little business has been moving forward my daughter has helped me develop a web page. I am so proud of her and of my page! The blog is there, as is the Facebook Page and link to my Etsy shop. There is a tab listing workshops that I can facilitate.

Please take a look sometime! I will leave this post with a variety of items or related items that I have (or had ) available in my shop or will sell at a venue. I am happy to custom make play mats or toys if you want to leave a message in that regard, please do so.