Get to Know Me!

I wanted to share a little bit about me- the voice behind “Enriched Children.”  Why write an entire piece about myself?  It’s not something I would normally do, but for those who don’t already know me, I thought this would give you a bit of an insight as to why I am so passionate about sharing my ideas about you connecting with your children!

I’ve been writing since I can remember.  I wrote my first book when I was six, “The mystery of the lost button” and my Mom got me into journaling when I was young.  That took off like crazy.  I now have a ridiculous collection of journals, of which I’m truly thankful for as it grew my love for writing into what it is now.

My education is in Early Childhood Education and I’ve always been fascinated by children’s development- plus they’re so darn cute right?!  My love for children, quickly took me from working in a daycare to moving to Kenya where I worked as a missionary at an orphanage of 130 children. 

One of the things I did was teach pre-school to 30 children ages two to eight- that was interesting!  Having just left from being the lead teacher in my junior kindergarten classroom, I thought I knew everything there was to know.  Suddenly, I’m in an unfamiliar environment, 2 year olds are expected to sit at desks for a five hour day, and everything I knew flew out the window.

This grew me as an educator in remarkable ways and shaped a lot of how my parenting style is now.  Not more than a month passed by after moving to Kenya that I met my husband and just a few months after that we got married.

We lived together in Kenya as missionaries for 3 years and in late 2014 moved back to Vancouver, Canada.  We now reside on Vancouver Island with two little boys (ages 1 & 3). 

The differences in parenting is so profound in North America compared to Kenya.  Something that has stood out, (and yes, I’m guilty of this too!) is the time we spend scrolling through social media on our phones. And as much as I’m not accusing any of you, this does occur.

I had never even owned a smartphone until I moved back from Kenya, and once I did I found myself scrolling through Pinterest searching for activities to do with my son.  Before I knew it, 30 minutes had passed, I still hadn’t found an activity to do and I haven’t spent any time with my son!

Taking time to intentionally connect with our children is so important to us and them.  Think back to some of your childhood memories.  My fondest memories are of my brothers, parents and I goofing off and dancing around the living room, staying up too late and not at all of the things they bought us.  The time they spent with me is what I remember.  So whether you’ve found the perfect Pinterest craft or not, your child will likely just remember that you spent time with them!

That’s why I’ve created this blog.  Not only to encourage intentional connections with your child, but also so you don’t have to spend hours searching online for ideas and activities.  I post one activity in each blog.  Plain, simple and with items you probably already have at home.

Whether you choose to do it or not with your children is totally up to you…above all my hope is that you will leave feeling inspired to take that time in your day to stop what you’re doing, get down on their level and connect!