Adventures in Kindergarten: Rubber Boots & Elf Shoes

This week I thought I would feature a fun and unique blog by a colleague (and friend!) of mine that shares the adventures, learning, creativity and fun from her Kindergarten classroom. Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes is a fantastic blog by Sandi (or Mrs. Sandi), friend and teacher to many a charming munchkin, brilliant educator and Masters degree holder, and wearer of both rubber boots and elf shoes (I have also seen her in the classroom dressed as a pirate, an 1880's school ma'am and a "west-coast" Cinderella, to name a few!).

Sandi describes her blog as...
"Kindergarten adventures: inside, outside, creating, exploring, building, imagining, growing, usually messy, rarely quiet, always fun."

Sandi's classroom is a fun and welcoming place full of learning and exploration. What I love about her blog is the huge variety of posts in such a friendly, fun and accessible format. Not only does Sandi share her classroom's adventures, activities and creations through photos and short, entertaining posts but she also offers free printables, shares videos, introduces us to new books to find and new blogs to follow, and a ton of great craft and activity ideas (that fellow educators and parents will both love). Not to mention the occasional giveaway and guest blog posts! At Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes you will not only share in the joy, spontaneity and creativity of a Kindergarten classroom, you will also learn new things and might even make some new friends - and isn't that what Kindergarten is all about?

Go check out Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes HERE and please "like" this fantastic blog on Facebook HERE.

Thanks!
More fun features yet to come.

Suzi

Baby Bloggin' with Cara and Thorin

I just love things that rhyme.

So my second featured blog is Thorin's First Year ! This is an adorable blog written by Thorin's mommy, Cara. When I asked Cara to describe what her blog is all about, she said...

"My blog is basically my journal - a way to document all Thorin's milestones and achievements over his first year, I don't want to forget anything!"

I look forward to reading Cara's posts each month for several reasons. The most obvious reason is because Thorin was born just days after my second son. It's fun to read about what Thorin's up to as I can DEFINITELY relate and I'm sure other moms can too. And I love personal blogs that give their readers a glimpse into the writer's life - I find it fascinating (I'm a reality-TV fan, can you tell?). Thorin is Cara's first child and her obvious enthusiasm and pride in all that he does is both heartwarming and inspiring. Cara's posts remind me to appreciate and acknowledge how much our little ones change and grow each day. And, of course, to cherish every minute.

Cara is also a talented amateur photographer and her beautiful photos document Thorin's adventures and compliment her posts perfectly. He is such an adorable little guy; it's pretty hard not to smile back at the screen! Here are just a few of Cara's photos - you'll find lots more on her blog.



I think all parents can enjoy and appreciate this blog, along with Cara's family and friends. I hope you'll check it out! And just in case you missed the link - go HERE.

Stay tuned for the next feature and a new blog post with an exciting announcement, coming soon! :)

Suzi

Sewing, Cooking, Crafting and Being Awesome: Lil Duckie Arts

Woo-hoo! Welcome to the first feature on my blog! I thought I'd start off this "feature series" with Lil Duckie Arts, a fun blog by my friend Shauna, that has a lil' something for everyone (haha, see what I did there? Sorry, I'll stop.).

Shauna describes Lil Duckie Arts as:
"...where I share my adventures and ideas in paper crafting, sewing, and cooking, with a dash of life sprinkled on top."

I love reading Shauna's blog. I am jealous of her mad sewing skills (because I have none!) and inspired by her delicious recipes and creative projects. Shauna is also a new mom and you'll notice there's a bit of a baby theme to her projects lately - from sewing your own sling, creating beautiful cards and gift boxes, a fabulous nursing wrap design (aka. a "hooter-hider"), to recipes for yummy treats and desserts, these are just a few of her recent posts. You'll see why I love Lil Duckie Arts - be prepared to be impressed (and maybe a tad envious).

Shauna also has a store on Etsy and runs classes out of her home - check her site for a schedule. And if you like Twitter and Facebook (like I do!) you can follow Lil Duckie Arts on Twitter here. Let's all harass Shauna about creating a Facebook page because obviously she is just sitting at home doing nothing. Come on lady! Time to get on that. (I really hope you know I'm joking! I'm in awe of how much you're able to accomplish.).

So go check out Lil Duckie Arts and stayed tuned for more featured blogs (coming soon: sharks, crafts, photography, music, and life experiences!).

Suzi

What's New

Oh, my badly-neglected blog. I'm so sorry I've been ignoring you! This blog is where I first started "sharing" my writing. It began as a way to get my writing out into the world and to search for an audience - and to get feedback. I love blogging. I haven't had much time for it lately though. In the past three years I've had two children, two books published, we sold our home and moved into a new one, and then there's also my "day-job" with the school district that I've worked in between babies! Life has been busy. I'm not complaining - I've been loving every minute of it, but I have been struggling to find time to write. Which leads me to my first announcement...

BOOK THREE in THE LOST MAGIC SERIES will be released by Central Avenue Publishing sometime in late 2012/early 2013!! It depends on a few variables and I will share the exact release date with you as soon as it's decided upon. But the third book is in the works! Title and synopsis will be announced soon - look for it in the Central Avenue summer catalogue (available July 1, 2012).

And my second announcement, that I'm quite excited about :) I've decided to restart my blog and to run a short series of "features" to connect with and support other artists, writers, musicians, etc. in my community. I'm lucky enough to know quite a few talented individuals and to live in a supportive and close-knit community. I thought running these features would be a neat way to show people what I'm into, the unique businesses in my community and the creative and talented people I know. So stay tuned...

Suzi