09/12/2026
There are some professional development days that give you information.
And then there are days that remind you why you do this work in the first place.
I’ve always been drawn to Laura Shea’s work.
Before we even met, I was captivated by the stories she shared from her preschool classroom—stories she scribed from children’s words. There was such joy in them. Attention. Wonder. A celebration of each child’s words and world.
Years ago, I had the pleasure of learning story acting and storytelling from Laura, and I’ve been captivated ever since.
So this year, I invited Laura to join us here in the woods for a day of training—and opened it up to seven other nature- and play-based educators from neighboring programs.
Laura didn’t just teach us how to use storytelling and story acting.
She helped us understand why it matters.
The science behind storytelling. The relationship between oral language, literacy, play, and connection. And the ways children are already building the foundations for reading through meaningful experiences and relationships.
She also gently reminded us where we are going, helping us reframe the expectations and imposed timelines we so often place on childhood.
And she gave us a simple, practical framework to return to when doubt creeps in.
But something else happened that day.
People lingered.
Over lunch. Between breaks. During transitions.
We talked about teaching, parenting, our own experiences as readers, what has been hard, and what has been beautiful.
And I kept thinking:
THIS is what is missing in this field.
Togetherness.
There is so much deep and GOOD work happening right here in our own neighborhood.
We just need to know each other.
Laura, thank you for sharing your wisdom, your work, your stories, and your deep belief in children with us.
And to the women who made the time to be here: thank you.
My hope is that this was the first of many days like this.
Because we were never meant to do this work alone.
