Progressive Parenting Project

Hi SweetSmarties! I finished my card deck, SweetSmarty Shuffle!! I'll let you know when you can officially buy it, and I am so excited to continue each step of this long, complex, effortful, yet ultimately gratifying process! In this rare solo episode, I speak about that, review the interviews I've published so far this season, and let you know what's coming up in the second half! Ther...

SweetSmarties! I had an amazing conversation with Transitional Kindergarten teacher Megan Larquier this month! I've considered doing her job, have already done a version of it, and am currently earning a certificate to do it to a greater extent, if I choose to pursue that path in the future, so we were very well-matched for this discussion! She's incredibly knowledgable, and I was fascinat...

Hi SweetSmarties! I got to interview Nancy Jo Rettig this month! We bonded so well and had so much to discuss, our recorded conversation lasted two hours! I decided to divide our interview into two parts, and here is the second! I mention this in the epilogue to Part 1, but just to write it here as well: She has 40 years of experience as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, and she was a sc...

Hi SweetSmarties! I got to interview Nancy Jo Rettig this month! We bonded so well and had so much to discuss, our recorded conversation lasted two hours! I decided to divide our interview into two parts, and here is the first! I mention this in my epilogue, but just to write it here as well: She has 40 years of experience as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, and she was a school counsel...

Hey SweetSmarties, I had a lovely conversation with Morgan Abraham on Wednesday, March 25th, three days before my final Pretend & Play performances I mention in this episode. I’m publishing our discussion on Monday, March 30th, and our shows went really well this past Saturday; I’m so proud of my little performers! Anyway, Morgan is my fourth and most likely last Social Worker interview on thi...

SweetSmarties, I published my 22nd interview on 2/22 with an Olympian on the last day of the Olympics!!  I really care about all those synchronicities, so it was important to me to release the episode on this date, and I hope you enjoy how everything aligns so well together too. :) Sarah Straton played beach volleyball for Australia in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and then went on to have a career in...

Hey SweetSmarties, I'm excited for you to listen to my interview with Rebekah, who founded and directs the nonprofit I work for, Haven Academy of the Arts! I'm currently teaching my second season of Pretend & Play there, which is Social Emotional Learning through Performing Arts! We learn kindness, empathy, theory of mind, emotional intelligence, and many other important aspects of being a wonderf...

Hey SweetSmarties, I’m setting a new record this month and season: publishing 3 interviews with a combined 5 hours of audio during these last few (consecutive) days of the year! I hope you’ve been enjoying my Social Worker series so far, and that you love this Season 2, 2025 finale! There is still one more Social Worker interview to come in March, but this is the end of our December trio. :) This...

I interviewed a young, new social worker named Lydia Johnson, who just graduated from the University of San Diego in May 2025! She's only 22, and has already done so much varied, helpful work! I'm very impressed with her, and I imagine you will be too, after listening to our conversation. We spoke about everything she did throughout her schooling, and in the months since she began her current posi...

SweetSmarties, I'm so excited for you to listen to my conversation with Lyn, the first social worker I interviewed in my series of four! We're kindred spirits in many ways, and it felt amazing to connect so deeply in profound areas of our lives! I enjoyed and appreciated our discussion immensely; I'm so grateful she reached out to me earlier this month. <3 We talked about her background and car...

Hey SweetSmarties, I hope you enjoy listening to my interview with Speech Language Pathologist Jessie Ginsburg! She focuses on connecting with her clients, regulating their nervous systems, and developing their sense of intrinsic motivation. :) She has a private practice called The Pediatric Therapy Playhouse, and an online organization called the NeuroAffirm Therapy Academy. She also wrote a book...

Hey SweetSmarties, I hope you enjoy listening to my interview with Ashley, a Child Life Specialist, which is a job that I value really highly! You'll understand why when you hear our conversation about it, and I've even heavily considered doing this career myself! Happy Halloween, if you're listening to this on release day! This year, 2025, I'm Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus...

Hi SweetSmarties, this month I got to interview my local children's librarian! I've loved libraries and wanted to interview a librarian, specifically one focused on children's literacy, for a long time! Fun fact about me: I currently have 8 active library cards just for different districts around Southern California. 🤓 We talk about his background and path to this work, what he loves...

Hi SweetSmarties! Here's the second part of my interview with Dr. Judy Y. Chu! As you'll hear in the prologue I recorded for you, last episode we talked about my connection to her work, her background and path to it, her study observations regarding the gender socialization of a group of young boys from pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten and then briefly in 1st and 3rd grade, and how human q...

Hi SweetSmarties, I'm so excited to share my interview with Dr. Judy Y. Chu! Her work is really important to me, and her book, When Boys Become Boys: Development, Relationships, & Masculinity is my favorite of all the literary sources I've read in my Progressive Parenting Project research. She was also in one of my favorite documentaries, The Mask You Live in, by the Representation Project. I rewa...

Hi everyone, I'm excited to introduce you to my friend Natsumi Koizumi, who will be at my event, Super Summer Sunday, on 7/27/25, if you'd like to meet her in person! She was a preschool and prekindergarten teacher for nearly 6 years, until the school closed, and she decided to create her own organization called Sumi Zumi Adventures! She offers nature-based sessions outdoors, including exploring p...

Hi SweetSmarties! I was so excited to interview Oona Hanson this month! I have been aware of her work for many years, so getting to talk to her directly was a dream come true! We both have a lot of theoretical knowledge about Body Image and developing a healthy relationship to food, eating, digestion, etc., and while I really appreciate that, I wanted to focus on practical applications during this...

Hi everyone, I got to interview Jennifer Maslar Teer from Beach Cities Literacy, and I’m so excited for you to learn about all her helpful services! She’s a reading interventionist, special education teacher, an executive functioning coach, accountability partner, IEP (Individualized Education Program) advocate, and so much more! We spoke about her background, her path to this beautiful, important...

Hi everybody, I had the best time talking to Natalie Croswell, Fit4Mom Torrance franchise owner, the second person to approach me for an interview! Can you believe it?! Two now! We're leveling up! :D We spoke about the value of developing genuine bonds from a place of empathy and understanding, building a beautifully supportive community of connected caregivers, as I mentioned in my title. :)...

I interviewed Tiffany Spadola of South Bay Parent Coaching, and we discussed so many amazingly fascinating, helpful topics! We talked about being highly sensitive people, as well as spirited and strong-willed. We spoke about Neurodivergence, Theory of Mind, the Excitability of Giftedness, non-stop active minds that struggle to sleep, the immense benefits of pretend play, and so much more! She’s al...

I interviewed Leanne Sargeant from the Wonder Workshops earlier this month, and we had such a fabulous adventure together! We both marvel at the beauty around us, and we experienced a fantastic example of that perspective while searching for a place to record! We first went to a library near and dear to our hearts, planning to use one of the study rooms, but when they were unexpectedly occupied, w...

Hello kind curious cuties! I’m thrilled to begin a new season with you! Welcome to the first episode of season 2! I got to interview Bryana Kappadakunnel this month, the first person to ever come to me, which was a huge deal for this project! She has an organization called Conscious Mommy in which she helps people parent themselves, which in turn helps them parent their children. 😇 She’s a licens...

Hi SweetSmarties! Here's the second part of the finale, featuring my subsequent three interviews with Joslyn, Charlotte, & Skyler! Joslyn is my neighbor whose children I take care of, Charlotte is a Psychology professor at Rutgers and published author of research I studied before I launched this project, and Skyler works at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, which we're both connected to, b...

Hello Lovelies, in this episode, I speak about my solo introduction, and first three interviews with my cousin Genevieve, her husband Mark, my neighbor Lauren, and the founder of Children's Place Montessori School, Jennifer, and her son Craig. These are the first seven episodes, because I divided the second interview into two parts and the third into three. I hope you enjoy listening to my comment...

Hello SweetSmarties! I'm thrilled to present my conversation with Skyler to you! I was so looking forward to speaking with her, because we were both diagnosed with a similar chronic illness in childhood, and I knew I would love bonding over it!  We have inflammatory bowel disease, she Ulcerative Colitis and I Crohn's; her symptoms began at 16 years old and mine at only 8! We talked about our healt...