Crayonbox Learning

So you'd like to know a little bit about me.... here goes!

I reside on a farm in a small, rural town in Arkansas. I have 2 dogs, Maggie and Jake. A handful of barn cats, and a small-ish herd of Alpine and Oberhasli dairy goats.

Jake as a puppy in the upper picture, and then him as an adult. Jake was so fluffy as a pup. He is aussie x red heeler. He's a gentle, sweet dog. He loves my Dad "Grandpa" He'll sit by the hour by the window watching for my Dad's truck to roll by. He also loves his Maggie.

Maggie as a puppy in the upper pictures. She was a gift from my best friend, before he passed away in 2012. I was told she was a Beagle, but um... well.. she's not. LOL She is more likely an American Foxhound. She points, sets... and is an all around pretty cool dog.

I began creating original learning resources in 1999, and then in 2000 I began marketing my work under the Kinder Printables name. Some people still stumble across my old website, which I sold in May of 2010. Crayonbox Learning was established shortly after the sale of Kinder Printables, allowing me to create a broader spectrum of learning resources. I've been illustrating and designing learning resources for over 12 years. It has been quite a journey, one which I am thankful for.

Before I chose to create learning resources full time, I worked within 2 school districts, a state department and the local youth organization. My job involved working with kids that the system failed or had given up on. Some of the kids that came to my office were severely abused, and demonstrated behavior that was harmful to others as well as themselves. Many of the kids I worked with were ADHD, Bipolar, and had a combination of learning challenges. The first cases that I accepted were challenges by far, but the work was something that I really thrived at. It was because of those kids that I began developing my own learning resources. I used observation techniques and straight forward dialog with the kids to reach them. It was through that work that I came to understand that not all students learn the same way, or can process information in a standard classroom setting.

During the summer months, I trained camp counselors and oversaw the summer camp facilitated by the youth organization. It was my job to make sure that all of the staff was trained to work with kids, as well as supervise the program. I was hired to develop/design a summer camp program for communities in schools. It was a cooperative between the school district and Costco. Costco often goes into low-income areas and funds educational programs. In this particular program, I was employed to design the program (day to day schedules, budgets,training, and implementation). I trained all of the staff, and supervised the day to day activities. What was amazing about this project is that there were 13 different ethnic groups which many participants were non-English speaking. It was a fun challenge to create activities that children that didn't know the language could all participate. This particular program became a model for the state, and was subsequently used in other school districts as well.

I have served as a soccer coach for Kindergarten (non-competitive) and a competitive team grades 2-3.
I am a certified coach. I have served on the Executive Board for a local Little League and the Youth Club for several years.

I've written a lot of freelance articles for publication in various agriculture, and craft/home magazines. I've written training manuals and courses on grant writing, marketing, child care (various topics), and goat husbandry. How cool is it to be paid for something that you love to do? I continue to take on freelance projects when time permits.

For hobbies I like to take photographs of wildlife, and the farm animals. I have a series of children's books in the works that feature some of the farm animals. I hope to have some of these stories in print within the next year.

I talk a lot about my goats. They are a big part of my life. I raise registered Alpine and now Oberhasli dairy goats. They are very intelligent, as well as sweet. They are fairly easy to train. I have a few goats that are so smart that it only takes one time showing them something and it's committed to memory. Routines are VERY easy to work out with these goats. They are the best time keepers! If I am 5 minutes late getting outside, they walk to the other side of my house and start calling for me. I can tell them apart by the sound of their "voice." I've been raising goats since 2001. People come from all over the country to see my goats, and to buy the babies (and some adult goats).

Favorites

Color: Purple/Blue

Food: Pizza or Chinese

Vegetable: Corn

Drink: Sweet Tea or water

Place: Pacific Northwest

Coffee: Starbucks

Pens: Zig Memory Writer - Black

Perfume: Clinique Happy

Style: T-shirts and blue jeans

Music: Anything but Rap

Movie: Harry Potter Series