Unleash Your Creativity with Pop-Up Cards This is one of my favorite holiday crafts! 🎉 Once you make one pop-up card, you can whip up a few more and turn them into a whole pop-up book that kids will absolutely gobble up! 🦃 All you need is cardstock, scissors, crayons or markers, and a sprinkle of imagination. These pop-up projects are not just fun; they’re a fantastic creative literacy activity for kids. I first got hooked on making pop-ups after taking a workshop with Robe

Norbert is a Worry Wart. And he loves to show up (especially at bedtime) to list every single thing that could go wrong. 🙄 Sound familiar? Your kids—or the kids you work with—might not have a Norbert yet. But chances are... they’ve got worries. Big ones. Small ones. Sneaky ones. And that’s where Norbert comes in. Why Give Worry a Name? When kids give their anxiety a name, a face, and even a goofy voice, something amazing happens: Worry becomes easier to handle. Instead of

Did you know… Snakes smell with their tongues?🐝 Bees hear with their legs? These wild facts recently sent me tumbling down a rabbit hole of story ideas about how different creatures use their senses to explore the world. (Stay tuned—there may be a book called Taste with Your Feet in the works!) But in the meantime… Let’s talk senses —and how we can use them to help kids manage stress and anxiety. 🌈 A Simple, Sensory Trick for Calming Nerves One of my favorite quick tools

It’s back-to-school time…Woohoo! Or should I say…Choo Choo! 🚂🚂🚂 Back-to-school can be such a fun time of year–new teachers, new friends, new experiences.  It can also be a stressful time of year–new teachers, new friends, new experiences. 🤣 That’s why I created LESS STRESS EXPRESS, a series of ten short videos with simple fun exercises to help kids (and adults!) calm down, relax, and banish worries. In case you haven’t guessed by now, it has a train theme. 🛤️ 🚃 As we pu

Let’s help kids start the school year calm, confident, and ready for adventure!  I believe stories are the most powerful force on the...

Unleash Your Inner Storyteller! World Storytelling Day is the perfect time to help kids discover the magic of storytelling —and you don’t need a stage, a giant book, or even a perfectly planned story. All you need is a little creativity.  So whether you’re a teacher, librarian, parent, or just a fan of a great tale, here are some playful ways to turn kids into fearless Storyologists!  Get ready for giggles, gasps, and maybe even a talking pickle or two. 😊 1. The Magic Three

August 12 - 16, 2024 If you’ve been reading my emails or posts these past few weeks, you’ve probably noticed that I’m sharing a lot of...

Some of my happiest childhood memories are when I stayed at my grandparents home for the night and curled up at my grandmother's side...

ONCE UPON A TIME … Someone decided that February 26th should be national READ A FAIRYTALE DAY!  Imagine how surprised I was when I found out that this was the same day that my latest book would be ready to launch. Talk about Fairy Godmother magic!  This is the blurb from the back of the book.   YOU are the hero of this fractured fairytale featuring well known characters in an all-new story about problem solving and bravery.     When a Sleeping Spell is placed on everyone in B

Groundhog Day is this Friday. It's a perfect opportunity to toss in STEM concepts while kids have a great time with fun learning...

Hello and Happy New Year! I hope 2024 is off to an amazing start for you and your family and is filled with many huge smiles!  Things in my world have been very interesting since I joined South Florida PBS as the KidVision Producer. It’s so much fun being on the set and I love working with this amazing team of people who are passionate about creating excellent educational content for kids.  I’m mostly behind the scenes in my role as producer, but Page Turner will pop in for a

Stories are the best way to teach kids EVERYTHING! “Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” - Native American Proverb I believe wholeheartedly in that proverb. That’s why stories are at the heart of absolutely everything I do! Of course, I LOVE BOOKS but I also love audiobooks, movies, plays, and cooking shows. Oh, man, do I love cooking shows. Seriously, don’t get me started on the Great B

WRITING IDEAS FOR KIDS Combine Fact and Fiction to Boost Learning AND Creativity Sloth Moths Eat What??? I was scrolling through social...