Bio

Fast forward through the ordinariness of childhood and college to a honeymoon that ended in a chicken coop! And that's where I lived my first year of married life. The residents of the town next to my husband's temporary military base scrounged for any thing they could convert into makeshift married housing. That's why the chickens moved out, and we moved in. Just one bare room, a light bulb in the ceiling, our books, and each other. But we were happy in our chicken coop, learning lessons of frugality and singular devotion that have lasted a lifetime.

Now, years later, I am mother of four, and grandmother of 14. For as long as I can remember, my life has revolved around faith, family, children, learning, and literature. So I guess it's no surprise that I am an early childhood educator and author. I have taught children, their teachers, and their parents for 39 exciting years, and loved every minute of it (well, almost every minute!)

I've had some honors, like one of the first National Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Awards for educators, Teacher of the Year in my county, and nomination for Who's Who in American Education. And because I believe parents do more in the first five years of a child's life than all the years of schooling that follow, I founded a nonprofit organization for parent education 

But for today, I live with my family in a house full of books, and an ever-changing number of visiting children and their pets, including chickens! I'm so glad you joined me. I can't wait to tell you what I've learned about raising emotionally healthy children in the early years.