The Essential Role of Creativity in Happiness and Child Development Creativity is the bedrock of happiness and an indispensable component of a child’s development. It teaches children to find solutions to problems and understand “how things work,” which is crucial for brain health and overall well-being. A world devoid of creativity would be unimaginably dull and lifeless. Consider everything around...

Do you love to create with your kids!?  As a Visual Arts Teacher, I love designing art lessons that challenge my students to grow creatively.  I expose my students to a wide variety of art materials, artist exemplars, and techniques. Experimentation and playing joyfully through creativity is so much fun for kids, and believe it or not, it’s fun for...

Want to serve your sweethearts fun and healthy dessert treats?  These rich Coconut Cocoa Fudge Bites (Coco Bites) make 85 bite size fudge pieces that can be paired with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or pomegranate seeds. This healthy dessert is non-dairy, non-GMO, raw, gluten free, and made from real superfood ingredients.  Depending upon the type of celebration, or the time of...

My original recipe posted on The Essential Classroom in 2013, contained eggs and a lot of oat flour!  I since have evolved in my understanding of how certain ingredients, such as eggs, can affect our health and well-being, so I’ve updated the recipe….and let me tell you, it is super delicious!  I replaced the eggs with applesauce, swapped out a...

This delicious “skinny cabbage soup” is Vegan, Gluten Free, non-GMO, soy free, and corn free.  It is a wonderful soup to eat before, during, and after a period of detox. I use all organic ingredients and do my best to buy fresh produce from my local organic farmer.  This recipe serves 4 – 6.  My favorite thing about this soup...