Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in Houston?
Jodie: I moved to Houston 4 years ago from Birmingham, Alabama.
Child(ren) and Age(s)? I have 2 sons, Max (9) and Jack (12).
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
I am afraid of heights!
Favorite local things to do in Houston?
We enjoy going to Levy, Evelyn’s, and Fleming’s Park. We also enjoy the Spark Park at Robert’s Elementary. We enjoy exploring Houston!
Do you have a favorite family-friendly restaurant in the area? We enjoy Molina’s, Candelari’s, the patio at Cyclone Anya’s and Punk’s, and Skeeter’s.
What is your go-to activity for yourself for pampering or for fun? I love coffee, facials and Cloud 9 Foot Spa.
Funniest shortcut/routine for helping you through parenthood? Starbuck’s and Amazon Prime.
Are you involved in a business venture, a local organization, a creative endeavor, or in the corporate world? Please share!
I am part of the management team for Creative Learning Academy-Rice Village. We are an early premier school for infants, toddlers, and Pre-Kindergarten. Our mission is to provide an inviting, structured, and stimulating educational experience that promotes every child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
The Mangement team and staff at Creative Learning Academy-Rice Village are highly qualified and dedicated to ensuring that each child’s needs are met. Our lead teachers hold a 4-year degree and the balance of our staff have either studied early childhood development or have 5+ years of experience.
About our Curriculum: At Creative Learning Academy, we believe that children are active learners, explorers, experimenters, and artists. It is our belief that children benefit from concrete experiences. We provide a diverse, research-based curriculum that provides an opportunity for hands-on learning and exploration.
Created by Teaching Strategies, the Creative Curriculum encourages that children learn through exploration and discovery of the world around them. Through their investigations inside and outside the classroom, children will learn and enhance necessary math, literacy, science, and other skills. The Creative Curriculum helps our teachers plan developmentally appropriate hands-on lessons that allow for each child’s progress at his/her own pace and gives each child a chance to practice critical approaches to learning (e.g. attention, engagement, persistence, problem-solving, flexibility, inventiveness in thinking, curiosity, and motivation). These approaches will help children develop the social-emotional skills they need to resolve conflict, share responsibilities, and work collaboratively in school and in life.
How has this community been instrumental in getting you to where you are now?
Before our move to Houston, I LOVED my life in Birmingham, Alabama. I was “nervous” with our move to Houston and having to begin a new life. We were leaving our home, jobs, friends, family, and school. During our move, I was surprised with the warm welcome received by our community. My children’s school was warm and inviting and the PTO gave us wonderful recommendations regarding Pediatricians, family-friendly restaurants, and local events. I Love the community feel of the area. I have relied on the “word of mouth” from others regarding places to visit and growing Creative Learning Academy Rice Village.
What is the best advice for juggling mommyhood and running a business (or volunteering, working, etc)?
It takes a village to raise little ones!!!! It is ok to ask for help and remember to slow down and enjoy life’s simple moments.
What would you tell the old “You” before you had kids?
I would tell myself, to explore the world(travel).
