Hi there, I’m Jeanette. I’m a mom of three, a certified elementary teacher and the creator of Little Connections. I’m so happy you’re here for the first episode of my podcast.

So I want to start off by sharing my background and just telling you about why I chose to create Little Connections. I have always loved working with kids. Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Every single job I’ve ever had has been working with kids. I was a daycare worker, a preschool teacher, I did babysitting, and even helped out at my local gym’s kids care facility. I’ve loved every moment I have working with kids.

I went on to get my degree in elementary education. I went to BYU-Idaho for a couple of years and then I transferred to Grand Canyon University and graduated with my degree in elementary education. I went on to teach for a year at a local elementary school in fourth grade and I loved it. I have always loved working with kids. It is my pride and joy and through all of my education and all of my experience working with little kids, I have been able to learn so much about child development. About how to work with them, how to communicate with them, their behavior and most importantly how to connect with young children.

Then I became a mom and things are different when you’re a teacher and when you’re a mom. I found that even with my background in education and with all of the work I had done with kids, parenting had so many different challenges. It was a lot harder for me to do certain things at home than it is in a classroom setting. I realized that if this was something that was hard for me even with my background and my education and all of the stuff I thought I knew, that this is probably hard for a lot of other parents also. Things that were more obvious to me because of my background weren’t always as obvious to other parents and I found that I’m still struggling and so if I’m struggling with my background then these parents are probably struggling also.

I want to be clear that I do not know everything. I don’t have it all figured out. I’m still learning and I’m still growing and I’m still working on becoming a better mom every single day just like you are. 

I was able to find that the days that I felt the most successful as a mom wasn’t the days when everything was picture perfect. It wasn’t going out and doing the most fun activities. It wasn’t having zero meltdowns or whatever. The days that I felt the happiest, where our home felt happy, I found that those days were the days that I took just a couple of minutes to connect with my kids through intentional one-on-one time with my child. This little act of connection really made an impact in our home and the way I felt with my children. I wanted to be able to use this experience, this knowledge that I had and share it with other parents because that was the missing key.

All of those moments of frustration and the hard times that I felt, it wasn’t because I didn’t have the right materials. It wasn’t because I wasn’t disciplining enough. It wasn’t because of all the other factors in life. It was simply because I wasn’t making time to connect with my child. I wasn’t making time to bond and learn and get to know my child. I totally get it that there’s always things that come up and it can be really frustrating to know how to do it. It can be frustrating to find the time to do it. There are so many things and again, I don’t have it all figured out. I don’t.

I want to be able to take what I have learned and what I have found that works in my own life and with other children that I’ve worked with, and I want to be able to share it to hopefully help other parents who might feel stuck like I felt stuck to be able to find success, to be able to find peace and happiness and calmness in their home with their family, with their kids.

That’s kind of how Little Connections came to be. To bridge the gap between the overwhelm of trying to figure out how to be a parent, how to do it the right way or whatever it may be, was connection. So I came up with Little Connections, which is simply seven new activities that get sent out to you each week that you get to do with your child at your own pace, with limited materials, with limited prep. I do the hard part for you. The point is so that way you can just get with your kid, grab a couple of things that you might need, and you can focus on connecting with your child. And I promise that as you focus on that connection with your child that it will be a world of a difference.

I really just want to support parents in creating small realistic moments of connection with their children. And it’s not about being perfect, it’s not about taking perfect pictures and posting it all. That’s not what it’s for. I’m not perfect, and it’s not meant to be. It’s just about making progress and being present and having fun with your kid, making that connection fun and joyful.

Along with the activities, I’m also going to be doing a podcast and a blog with extra tips and suggestions and advice on different parenting struggles or just anything with child development. I’ll have some shorter episodes like this, where it’s just me talking about one issue, and I’m also going to have guests on who are either friends, parents, followers, or professionals who can help give a deeper dive into specific topics and questions that you might have. So whether you’re wanting to just have something to give you extra support in your parenting journey, or if you’re looking for a deeper dive into specific topics, this podcast, the blog, it’s just for you.

I invite you to join along with me as we dive deeper into parenting and finding real connection with our children and creating a happy and joyful home. If you are interested, you can always sign up for a 14-day sample on my website that gives you 14 free activities that you can do with your child and you can start it today.

I hope you can join me as we figure this out together. Until next time, have fun and happy connecting!