Veronica Green is inspiring educators to incorporate more imagination and play into their early childhood settings And the children are flourishing with her.
Learn how creator Veronica Green is helping educators incorporate more creativity and play into their early years environments creating a company that is authentic.
What would happen if young children could lead their own education by exploring the world with creativity, imagination, and playing?
After realizing that the traditional techniques of teaching weren't always successful and early childhood educators Veronica Green set out to find out the answer to this. What she found revolutionized the entire course of education.
Presently, Veronica is an early child consultant, and also the creator of Cultivating confidence which helps educators plan engaging activities, understand student behaviors, and build deeper connections through play and imagination.
This is how Veronica leaned into her own experiences and became an industry pioneer, and change our approach to education for children in the process.
"When I was learning more about loose part play and found myself enthralled back."
Prior to when Veronica started her journey as a creator her life was full of hats as an early childhood educator and mom to a son that is autistic.
The instructor was operating an accredited program for children at her house and was learning how to manage her son's unique needs. The standard activities were not working and so Veronica dove into the research for solutions that would work for her students as well as her son.
It led Veronica to "loose parts play," an interactive, child-led learning method in which youngsters use their unique objects from everyday life as well as their imaginations to make sense of the world around them. They think about, experiment the world, create, apply divergent thinking, and, of course, have fun.
Veronica was also able to learn about different methods of teaching children that put curiosity and exploration in the front.
Her creative thinking, patience and persistence proved fruitful. Veronica discovered how to recognize her son's ways of communication, as well as his behavior while also providing support to all the children she cared for.
"Going through that really shaped the person I am today as an educator as well as a person" Veronica explains. "It allowed me to see the world from different perspectives."
"My son has been my greatest teacher, to see the world from a different perspective, to go against the grain...and having a blast while doing it," Veronica says on her website . "My son has given me all the things I've learned."
They appreciated her openness and her ability to provide a fun, inclusive learning environment. She thought outside the box as an educator, and students thrived. The audience was eager to learn more.
"When I started learning about the loose part play, I was able to discover my originality again. .... This brought out my creative side when I was in my ECE job. I posted photos as well as the "whys" behind what we were doing on social media, and others ECEs were enticed and even asked questions."
Veronica knew that the educational techniques she was learning could help early childhood educators reach thousands of children. She was hoping to one day share her experience on a massive number of people.
"I created my first lessonon my smartphone in Starbucks at the end of the 10 hours of work, and I'm keeping it in the process."
One of Veronica's first products was an online program on sensory issues. In it, she shares research-based information and her own experiences of working with her son.
"I wrote [my first course] off my phone in Starbucks towards the end of my 10-hour work days and I'm keeping it in the process. It's still the same format. It's the same format. And people have received an answer and receive the help they require following the treatment. This is a wonderful thing I'm extremely grateful to be a part of this."
The authenticity of Veronica's course made it distinguish itself from other courses available. By showing the real struggles and triumphs of her life, Veronica helped other families and teachers feel comforted and empowered.
The host explains how early childhood teachers often feel like they have to be "on" constantly and don't have the time to show emotion. The program incorporates a human element by discussing real challenges as well as how the family of hers overcame these challenges.
"A lot of it was sharing the journey. I'm very willing to share the good, the bad, and the not-so-great moments as that's the place we learnt from." Veronica explains.
In addition to her successful training course Veronica is also offering live seminars which she then repackages and makes available for purchase as replays on-demand.
They cover topics such as the use of loose play in making spaces that are centered around curiosity, which teachers can utilize for their professional development .
"I like showing up live and teaching because I'm more present in the current. While recording, I feel like I'm too caught up involved in my thoughts, and then I lose the words I'm saying .... But when I'm just talking on Zoom or in a class, I feel like I'm at ease. I've got notes. I'm ready to go. Therefore, I believe that the content comes out better in this manner."
Next, we'll take a look at how Veronica employs to manage her company from behind.
"[] has created an opportunity for me to focus on my business instead of problem-solving my business."
The creators must have a safe location to manage the nuts and bolts involved in running a business. Let Veronica reduce her work tools to stay organized, and not worry about technical concerns.
"I wanted to avoid spending all of my time thinking about how to sell something. [With ], I can just go in and make a product," Veronica says.
Educational professionals can order Veronica's materials directly on her website without having to change applications. When they log into their account to access the resources, Veronica's interface matches her branding to create a cohesive professional appearance.
"Customer experience is crucial. I wanted everything to be straightforwardfor customers to access]. [Early childhood educators are] tired. Most times, ECEs have to do training on their own. And a lot of the instances, this is not paid. It's therefore crucial the employees are able to do it easily," Veronica emphasizes.
"The solution has been a lot of the big technological issues that I was facing and also created time to focus at my company instead of trying to solve my business's issues. And that's significant. I didn't realize how much time I spent [troubleshooting] until I finally got everything across."
In the coming weeks, we'll take a look at different methods Veronica has found success in her work and also share some tips to aspiring artists.
"For the initial three years of my company, it was just about creating material. There's no need for me to create additional. I need to optimize it."
When it comes to material, Veronica knows that having there is no guarantee that more content will be better. She reminds creators that you do not have to be in the same hamster-wheel of continually generating new content.
For Veronica It's not about quantities and more about the high-quality.
"I don't feel like I have to write 200 blog entries . That's too many. Nobody's going to see them. If I've got 30 to 50 pages of content, that's a quantity. I can always go and refresh. I am able to alter things... My use it to keep my creative juices flowing."
"I'm obsessed with recycling content. Always. Every video I've ever made ..., it's utilized to the maximum."
The process of repurposing content involves take one piece of creative work and transform it into many different media and channels.
"I'm obsessed with recycling the content. Always. Every video I've created, ..., is used in the most effective way," she explains.
"I just created a YouTube channel , and that video came from a text blog article that I have written extremely well. .... Now I just need embed the video into the blog. After that, I post stuff via social media sites regarding it. I pull out videos and quotes, and I upload the pictures, and I make carousels. .... And then I email my list about it."
Veronica says that creatives should not get pressured into creating new content when they can frequently repurpose the content they have in inventive ways. By reformatting existing materials it is possible to work more efficiently and not work harder.
"I know everybody in our digital society says you've to create new content every week. For me, as a creative person it's exhausting to keep up with the same thing. If I'm in awe of something I can create, it's going to be amazing. However, if I'm not feeling inspired and not motivated, the result won't be good. If I have only one video or blog article published every month, I'm okay with it."
There is one aspect Veronica performs every week, whether it's raining or shining: she sends a message to her email address.
"I've been consistent emailing every once a week since I put it on the top of my list over all other things, which has significant."
After deciding to launch selling workshops, she observed the way other entrepreneurs attracted new clients.
Since then, word of mouth and social media have been significant growth engines to Veronica's wish list. Additionally, she offers numerous lead magnets that are free specifically designed to appeal to her target audience.
Because people must sign up to join your mailing list in order to receive the lead-generating magnet you have created, everyone wins. Creators draw subscribers interested in their area of expertise, and individuals learn something new.
Since the beginning of the year, Veronica took it as a priority to email her subscribers every week. The PDF newsletter was discarded. newsletter, and has now written from the heart.
"Now I utilize [my weekly email] to express my creativity. My Mondays are when I write to kick off my week, and I write my Sunday email for the next week. I make a list of the content I want to write however, I compose from me. It's the way I take my writing seriously and improve at improving my craft. I feel like it's more authentic. It's more of me."
The importance of authenticity is the mainstay of her work. the emails she sends out every week are no one-off.
"Carve the space you need to work on your craft."
One of the biggest advices Veronica has given for success? Take time to work on your skills.
Do not get overwhelmed by running your company that you don't remember what you were trying to accomplish when you began. Take time to enjoy the activities you're teaching and deepening the knowledge you have gained.
"Carve the space you need for you to focus on your work, whatever it is," Veronica advises. "When you first start a business, you don't do any of your own work. Most of your time managing the company rather than doing the work."
The last but not least is that Veronica emphasizes how important it is to be a self-directed person . Beware of letting comparisons or other views cause you to lose sight of the goals you want to achieve.
"Listen to what people are talking about and sharing however, take everything with a pinch of salt," she explains. "You don't know everything that's taking place in the background. It's not clear if they have a staff of. You don't know how much money they have to put into marketing. There's no knowledge of that. They're only choosing to share some of the details, and you don't know the full situation."
"That analogy can actually hinder you and stop you from moving forward. Listen to it. However, ask yourself how can I apply this to my situation? And don't feel a need to copy it exactly the same simply because it did on their behalf."
It's a rerun of the suggestions of Veronica about creating content and choosing a process that works for your lifestyle.
If the world of digital marketing advised her to release something new every week, Veronica tried it -however, she decided that it was not suitable for her company. She was unable to make money since she spent all her time producing articles.
Now, Veronica has honed her strategy. She produces fewer pieces of material per month, yet does not compromise on the quality. All of her work is focused on driving more sales, gaining more followers and getting her content to the attention of incredible early childhood educators.
"It took me a lengthy period of time to get rid of every suggestion that people make about what I should do. My voice was lost due to the process," she recalls.
"You must figure out what you can do to make this experience work for you. Everyone has personal issues to deal with. Every person's story is distinct. It's possible to get there. It's all about believing in yourself. It's true. There's a chance you'll doubt it. You're going to hate it. You're about to shut it down, but you just have to believe."
In the present, Veronica is making a significant influence on early childhood education through mixing her expertise in the field with her own personal stories.
She's built her business in her own way and is focused on quality rather than quantity, repurposing content, nurturing her email list, and carving out space to connect to her passion.
Veronica has helped many teachers better serve their students as well, and we're sure she's only just beginning. We're eager to find out where her zeal and drive will lead her to next.