Hi, I’m Susie.
I’m the person behind Busy Toddler, although I haven’t been a toddler myself for many years. Busy Toddler is an online space for parents, caregivers, and educators to support their journey in raising (and teaching) young children.
I’m so honored you’re here.
Busy Toddler began after I dropped my iPhone into dirty dish water.
I was an overwhelmed parent of two-under-two and struggling to find my footing. While trying to grasp some semblance of normalcy after having my second child, I decided cooking a new Martha Stewart recipe was exactly the right decision with a new baby, 21 month old, and a still healing c-section scar.
(Spoiler alert: it was not the right call).
As the dinner began to burn, the newborn melted down, and my toddler was emptying out kitchen drawers to “help,” I turned too quickly and knocked my phone into the dish water. I crumpled to the floor, comforted by my first born who reminded me “It ok, mommy.”
It didn’t feel okay.
I tossed my phone into dry rice and three days later, it turned back on but I was left with unusable rice and a still crumpled spirit. I remembered vaguely that I had played with rice in the church basement decades ago, so I grabbed an old under the bed storage container and dumped my rice into it.
I had just (unknowingly) created my first sensory bin.
As the days, and months, marched on, I began to see the power in this sensory bin – along with the other activities I was setting up for my oldest to help us make it to nap time. These activities became a huge tool in my parenting to reset our days, introduce play, and allow me a break to drink my lukewarm coffee.
In June 2015, I took the name “Busy Toddler” on Instagram and wondered if others would be interested in my activities. Turns out, they were. The Instagram account sits just under 2 million followers.
Busy Toddler became a play-based haven on the Internet, and certainly not just for toddlers. As my children grew, I evolved into an advocate for appropriate early childhood education and a strong voice for no-fuss, guilt-free parenting.
My best-selling preschool program, Playing Preschool, revolutionized homeschool preschool and my parenting book Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting was released in September 2020 to much applause.
All this from burning a dinner and nearly ruining my phone.
Parenting is tough these days and being a kid (with immense pressure to grow and develop faster than nature wants) is even tougher. It takes a village to raise our kids, and sometimes that village includes a lady on the Internet.
I’m so glad you’ve found Busy Toddler and hope you’ll keep coming back to visit.
More about Susie and Busy Toddler
I have a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education. I taught kindergarten and first grade for 8 years, and was also a math and reading curriculum specialist for a large school district outside of Seattle.
I may just be some lady on the Internet, but I’m also “some lady on the Internet, M.Ed.”
I have 3 children, ages 6, 7 and 9. True, we don’t have toddlers here anymore, but I love being able to look in the rear view mirror and share what I call “hindsight parenting.” We can learn so much from those who came before us – in their triumphs and mistakes. I’m happy to share mine.
I’m so proud of my curriculum, Playing Preschool, and the lengths it has traveled around this world. The elevator pitch: Playing Preschool is a play-based, no worksheets, 190-day activities program for ages 2.5-5 years old. You can read more about Playing Preschool here.
My parenting book, Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting, is sold at all major book stores and many local ones as well. Nothing will ever be cooler than seeing our book on a store shelf. Here’s a link to view it on Amazon (and audible too!) and Bookshop.org.
