Meet Amanda
Passionate About Early Childhood Literacy
Who am I?
- National Boards Certified Teacher: Early-Middle Childhood Literacy
- Dean of Students for a PreK-5th school
- Coach
- Mom
Now that the titles are out of the way, let me share some authenticity and pieces of me and my story of starting this company…
When I was 8, I bundled up under my Harry Potter scarf and hat to line up around the side of Borders Books with my brother and friends for the midnight release. We weathered the cold winding around the parking lot cue, and then the sweltering heat of the line once inside while still in our layers in order to get our hands on the beautiful hard copy of our soon to be magical literary adventure. The next several days I camped in the living room in a fort we made of a hodgepodge of blankets and couch pillows, my mom bringing me snacks that our dog Chance would try to steal while I urgently read every page before spoilers could be released.As a 1st grade teacher, I talked to countless families concerned about their child’s reading level. I saw first hand how a child’s efficacy around reading (the ability to confidently say I’m a reader) far outweighed whatever tutoring or worksheets or small groups towards their growth, and consistently impacted them in all social and academic areas. Knowing collective schema and shared experiences help with comprehension, with the Washington rain soaking our shoes we tromped through the playground to find weeds, grass, and plants before reading a book about a seed life cycle. But how does that translate to a child’s inner voice?As a mom, I want my girl to experience joy in reading and have the inner monologue she is a reader. So when I found out I was pregnant I powered up my computer and dove deep into every opinion or suggestion I could find. Yet, what i found was silos. “How to read to your baby.” “What’s new for speech in leap 4!” “STEM for toddlers.” I could feel the anxiety of learning it all churning in my already nauseous pregnant belly. The love of reading doesn’t come from silos of topics, but rather the connections between them, joy, memories, traditions, and experiences made around each book, bringing each character or new learning from all academic and social areas into our life as our new favorite pastimes.
My parents didn’t just hand me a stack of books and say good luck and become a reader, they made bedtime traditions reading our favorites and their effort to continue those traditions when my dad was away for a week meant I found comfort and love in the pages of a pile of books. As a teacher i didn’t just practice flash cards of site words, the discussion after trekking through the playground muck to find signs of plant life meant they found comradery through discomfort which made them more willing to share ideas with each other while reading, and nostalgia in the smell of soggy clothes (although i dont think ill ever find “joy” in the smell of wet dog that permeates from soaked kids shoes in a classroom, I’ll never forget the one 6 year old who sat tall, breathed deeply and said “ahhhh the smell of nature”…that’s one way to say it, kid…), all then nurtured their love of reading and identity as readers within a book about seed life cycles.
Every child is different and there are an overwhelming amount of “book activities” and “book lists” online at our easy grasp, so why is this different? Because instead of starting with a book and listing fun activities, Every experience or activity on this site is grounded in developmental science or standards with explanations or reasoning to equip you with foundational knowledge of Literacy and child development. Each post is in bite size bits of child development, often with various options and scaffolds for various children.
The best part? You’ll learn too! You’ll know better with each post how to take what we know about our children and meet them where they are developmentally. You’ll know how to pick out books and integrate them into your daily lives in meaningful ways. I’ll be learning alongside you as I consult other experts in the field. If you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or confused growing a reader who loves reading, you just have to know your child(ren) and we’ll take it from there together.
Let me be the first to welcome you to Picturebook Pastimes! You landed here because you value children loving reading, and by visiting, you have found a community of caregivers and parents who feel the same. Even better, I created Picturebook Pastimes to align with development (social/emotional, acaedmic, behavior, & physical), and because you care about that with your child, you just found our own little online haven so raising readers can feel like adventures and growth rather than a siloed list of things to do. I’m so glad you joined us in the world of no longer scrolling for hours on social media feeling overwhelmed by development ideas and booklist, and, instead, found a place where we grow as adults to put it all together.
