Happy New Year everyone, and happy first podcast episode of 2020! This week I sat down with Jessica Lahey, the author of the New York Times Bestseller “The Gift of Failure”. Guys, this book is no joke. After I read it last year I had my whole team read it and, because my team is made up of parents and teachers, it really resonated with us. If you haven’t yet, you’ve gotta check it out. 

In addition to being a bestselling author, Jessica has been teaching English, writing, and Latin to six through twelfth graders for the past 20 years. When Jessica noticed that her own kids weren’t being motivated in school for the right reasons-...

Guys, we did it! We made it to episode 100 of the Voices of your Village podcast! I am so grateful to any and all of you who have been listening since we first hit record in February of 2018. It has been one heck of a rollercoaster, y’all as we dove headfirst into a vast array of topics, most of which were directly requested by you, my village! So take a moment here to give yourself a pat on the back, because I couldn’t have gotten to 100 episodes without you! Not only did I get to share my insight on sleep, emotional development, and behavior support for your kiddos, but we also got to tap into the brilliant minds of so many other professionals whose passion...

Hey villager, welcome to episode 99 of Voices of Your Village! Before we dive into this week’s topic-  Reward, Punishment, and Behavior Charts- I need to preface this episode by saying it is unlike any episode we’ve ever released before.

I got to interview Alfie Kohn who is widely known for his work on unconditional love and moving away from things like punishment reward systems. He is very outspoken and I find his message to be rather intense. He and I had only half an hour to speak, within that limited time I found it really hard to get a word in. It was a different type of interview than I’ve ever done before. I’ve been holding onto...

In this episode, I was jazzed to talk with Lizzie Asso, the mom behind the Workspace for Children. Prior to becoming a mom, Lizzie received her Masters in Education from Bank Street College of Education and taught nursery school in NYC. Fast forward a few years and she is a mom of three creative kids, ages six, nine, and eleven. She is a blogger and content creator, living in Maplewood, NJ, combining her passion for play, art, and parenting. It is her joy to provide knowledge that helps parents, teachers, and caregivers find joy in making space to be playful. At The Workspace for Children, you will find creative inspiration for living a play-based life with kids. 

We...

Hey there! This week on the podcast I am joined by Mimi Lemay, author of the memoir “What We Will Become: A Mother, A Son, and a Journey of Transformation.” Back in 2010, Mimi and her husband had what they initially thought were three little girls until their middle child, M, began telling Mimi that they were a boy. With this new expression of identity came some uncharacteristic behavior changes with M, they were growing increasingly anxious and angry all the while insisting that they were a boy. This insistence lasted two years before Mimi and her husband gave M the option to transition.

“From that moment on M was Jacob and the transformation was...

Today’s episode is another episode in our Q&A series. I sat down with Nicole, a stay-at-home mama to an almost-two-year-old, who wanted to ask me questions and talk to me about the anxiety she feels as a mama, specifically as a response to her kiddo’s crying.

Watching anyone that we love, especially our tiny humans, feel something hard, is tough. I explained to Nicole that we’re never going to get to a place where it doesn’t bother us at all to hear them cry; our goal is getting to a place where we can regulate our own emotions in order to respond. 

Society puts so much pressure on mamas when it comes to a crying kiddo. If baby...

Happy Fall, ya’ll! We officially have one foot into November which means it is that time of year again where we catch these last glimpses of daylight in the evening before Winter knocks on the door to announce it is time to start eating dinner after dark. That’s right you guys, time to get out those red sharpies and circle November 3rd on the calendar because daylight savings time is upon us.

In today’s episode, I get real by real-quick letting you know the tips and tricks on how to prevent your kiddos’ sleep schedule from getting all wonky when we lose an hour. Alright, let’s dive in on how to navigate these sleep changes.

There are two...

Today on the podcast, I chat with Michelle Purta all about co-parenting through different parenting approaches. Michelle is a life coach who helps moms become happier in their relationships. She works one-on-one with women so they can create more of a connection with their partners rather than conflict. Her goal is to empower women to get to do all the things without having to sacrifice themselves in the process. There are multiple ways to raise tiny humans, and partners may have different ideas. Michelle helps people navigate coming to a common ground in parenthood. 

Michelle opens up by suggesting that you meet your partner with compassion. You may be the one...

Happy Pod Day! Today we are diving right on into a new Q&A Series with Julie. Julie lives in Manchester, New Hampshire with her husband of 6 years and their two sweet kiddos, four-year-old Brady and three-month-old Morgan (who you can hear happily chattering away in the background! Hi Morgan!)

Julie opens the episode by expressing concern over daily transitions with her two kids, especially daycare pickups for Brady. She wonders why his mood seems to change when she goes to pick him up after school, and how consistency can be accomplished within a busy schedule. 

Julie’s family is already aiding transitions with the use of visual tools, a great start that...

In this episode, I was jazzed to talk with food and healthy living expert Taesha Butler, also known as The Natural Nurturer. Taesha originally started her Instagram account @thenaturalnurterer to share her ideas for simplified eating in a busy, modern life as a full-time working mom, and it soon evolved into a community of people who she passionately helps and shares meal ideas with. She focuses on helping people get vegetables into every meal, and create healthy relationships with food. Taesha taught preschool as an early childhood educator for 18 years before The Natural Nurturer became her full-time gig. 

We put this topic out to the village and got a whole bunch of...