Spark Joy with Amy

Sol…I can’t message you directly, but I’d love to connect! Send me a DM! 💖

🔔 BRRRRRRRING!

Kids’ fav sound at school?

The RECESS BELL! 🔔

Why?

It’s PLAY time! 🤩

Remember when Recess was the highlight 🌟of your day?

It can be again!

Join my FREE facebook group:

The Reading Playground 🛝 📚

Slide into this Sensational Space for:
🛝Strategies to engage your reluctant reader
🛝Innovative ideas to introduce reading concepts through play
🛝Meet other Moms & Connect (Recess alone is no fun, afterall!)
🛝Share your highs & lows 🙂🙃
🛝Ask specific questions & get personalized play plans
🛝Free trainings (based on your requests!)
🛝Insider savings when products are released (love me some savings on high quality products!)

Let’s PLAY!

My hand in yours 🫶🏼🫱🏼‍🫲🏽
It’s Game Time! 🙌🏼

Celebrating Spark Joy with Amy’s 1st year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. Still figuring out how the book works for biz…but I truly hope to be of support to families with struggling readers who are ready to get in the game & teach through PLAY!

Come on over to The Reading Playground & let’s get our game on!
🤗🎉

Just sayin’ 🔥🔥🔥

Your kids are l👀king up to you! 💁🏻‍♀️

You have a HUGE part in shaping their experience of learning about the world around them.

So…what’s it gonna be?

A CHORE/BORE 🙄😳🥵

Or PLAYFUL & wanting MORE & MORE‼️🤸‍♂️🎉📣🙌🏼🤩❤️🫶🏼

FOLLOW ME to learn strategies for implementing play into your literacy lessons (adaptable to ANY topic, really!).

Comment GAMES to get your free tutorial & Gamebook today!

My hand in yours 🫶🏼🤝
Your hand in your child’s 🫶🏼🤝

I’m feeling this SO deeply!

I’m hear to bear witness to the kids who’s spark diminished because they looked around and felt their WORTHINESS DROP OUT OF SIGHT because they weren’t ______(smart/fast/creative/loud/quiet/fill in the blank) enough!

This has to STOP!!🛑

You & I have a RESPONSIBILITY to allow every child to know their inherent worth does NOT come from how much they do/learn/know but simply because they ARE.

You ARE.

She IS.

He IS.

I AM.

💖Worthy
💖Unique
💖Brilliant
💖Wonderful
💖Enough

As we ARE.

Right here. Today.

Please, my loves, get to work on KNOWING this deeply within yourself and spreading this energy & message FAR & WIDE.

So that MORE CHILDREN WILL KNOW.

That’s what I desire to see grow.

I love you. ❤️



Are you WITH ME? 💖 Comment why & how you can do something today!

WOOHOOOOOOO!! 🎉🎉

ONE week ago, we were celebrating this sweet community of 300! 🎉

Then…the universe found fit for me to find .butterflyofficial, a RAY OF SUNSHINE ☀️—who you should ABSOLUTELY SEEK OUT (I’m telling that to all my besties, that’s YOU!)— who is devoted to helping people grow their CommuniTEAS 🫖 ☕️, one coffee at a time.

This week has been SUCH A JOY!! Meeting new friendly faces who are devoted to JOY, LOVE, & SHOWING UP!!

Woohoooooooo!!! 🤩🎉💖

You are my VIBE TRIBE & I am so BLESSED to get to commune with you here in our cozy corner of the world. 🥰

More importantly, though—MORE IMPORTANTLY 🙌🏼— I am passionate about the POWER OF PLAY to not only create ACCESS TO LEARNING but to CULTIVATE CREATIVE, CURIOUS, CONFIDENT children who LOVE ❤️ learning, are PROUD of themselves 🤩, feel FULLY CONNECTED to the people in their lives, and KNOW THEIR WORTH! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼💖💖

Every.Single. Child. Is. Whole. Worthy. Loved. Loving. Love.
❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

When we attune to their unique abilities and cater to their optimal style of learning, we offer the greatest GIFT: for them to know their true selves & stand proud!

My friend, that way to best reach them is through PLAY!

Play looks different for everyone, but TRUST ME, it WORKS!

I’m stoked to have us join hands together here to spread this message far & wide, inspire each other with ideas, and thus,

✨SPARK JOY ✨

For ALL!

🎉💖❤️I LOVE US ❤️💖🎉

Mighty 400! Let’s keep growing so more kids are knowing!

My hand in yours. 🫶🏼🤝

Hoppy 🐰 Easter!
Love,
Amy
🐣

What if you LOOKED FORWARD to EVERY DAY & ENJOYED the heck out of your homeschooling?!!! 🤩🤸🏻‍♀️🙌🏼🥳

Doesn’t that sound AMAZING?

I’m here to tell you…you CAN!

I’m a firm believer that PLAY IS THE WAY!

Not only will your children learn,
but they’ll LOVE learning, AND
you’ll love learning & joining them in the fun
being active in the games they play.

Laughter 😂
Silliness 🤪
Discovery 🔍
Creativity 🦄
Connection 💞

These are all byproducts of a PLAY-BASED education.

How do I know?

This is the life I live teaching kids daily in my current tutoring practice and that I’ve been utilizing in my work with children for 25 years.

Life is a JOY!! 🤩

Tell me your JOYS and CHALLENGES…let’s see if we can tip the scales together to make your homeschool one that you LOOK FORWARD TO without a doubt.

And, honestly, if that’s not your current situation, don’t feel badly! It’s common to struggle, question, encounter resistance, be confused, want to throw in the towel.

But that’s not YOU.

That’s just an obstacle.

You’ve overcome before.

And you can now, too.

I believe in you.

I believe in your commitment, devotion, love, and high hopes for your child.

I believe in your child’s ability to learn, grow, develop new patterns, and joyfully engage in homeschooling.

You just need the RIGHT tools and the RIGHT MENTOR.

Come. Sit down and have a chat with me. Shall we? I’d love to see you through to the other side.

Comment YES & let’s set it up today!

My hand in yours. 🤝🏼🫶🏼

Your hand in your child’s. 🤝🏼🫶🏼

All my love 💞

🐣I can totally see myself using this with…!

When kids love learning…🤩🙌🏼

Received this text from the mom of one of my students’ the other day.

In the face of bad news and a somewhat boring day with school cancelled, he cheered up because he got to tutor with me on zoom. 🤩🎉

To me, this is SUCCESS: 🥇 a student loving learning. ❤️

If there is ONE thing I will cheer for every day of my life, it’s making learning accessible and enjoyable for kids.

Give me a HECKYEAH 🎉 if you gave a head nod to that 👆🏼.

I’m getting ready to launch allll my tips & tricks so MORE kids level up their literacy learning with joyful engagement through play.

If you’re wanting to know how to further engage your child in learning something you’re working on together, will you please feel free to ASK?!

What would you like more activities centered around?
Letter/Sound correspondence?
Blending?
Beginning reading?
Fluency?
Vocabulary?
Spelling?
Comprehension?
Writing?

Ask away!

Game ON.
Let’s do this! 🎉
It’s Game time!

I love this gift from my student. I’m calling it my own piece of fine art: The Vicente VanGogh.

Doesn’t it remind you of a Van Gogh piece?

“I made this for you because you gave me a gift,” he shared, smile beaming proudly.

Oh, how much he sparked my joy!

A homemade gift absolutely warms my heart: the time, the attention, the details, the thought, and pouring all of that in to bequeath to someone else. Such a gift!

Hello, Joy! 💕

May joy be yours in each and every day.

I have a magnet that says “Every day may not be good, but there’s good in every day.”

Seek & hold steady to the moments of awe, wonder, and joy this day, this month, this year.

Grab hold, let’s spark joy ✨ together!

Sending you so much love and gratitude this holiday! May you find JOY through PLAY this special Holiday! Xo All my love,
Amy

🔆Sunday Funday! Get in the holiday spirit with these simple games.

As an empty nester now, ooooh, how I treasure looking back on the holiday traditions with my son & friends. Hot cocoa bar, crafts, parades, trimming the tree, playing instruments to holiday carols, and circling around the table with family, playing games. Pure joy!

I have a series of games with a holiday to share so that you, too, can capture the magic 🔆 of the season, starting with these 3.

🔤Scrabble:
Put strips of holiday words in a bowl, draw one out and see whose word is worth the most points!

🌲 Trim the Tree:
Know the classic “Hangman” game? Well, in this lighter rendition 😉 you draw a winter scene, such as a Christmas tree or Candy Cane or present with bows. Think of a word you want to have people guess & draw the # of lines indicating how many letters are in the word. If they guess correctly, place the letter in the correct spot. If incorrect…erase a line of the picture (or color over it with a pen). Their goal is to guess before the picture gets erased (or colored in).

Bingo! 🔴🟢🔴🟢
I’ve made a special Christmas edition for you. Just comment BINGO & I’ll send your free download today.

May you have many a warm, cozy, joyful evening in store
drawing near to your loved ones this holiday season. 💖

Also, I’d love to get to know you better & vice versa. Learn more about me on my website. www.sparkjoywithamy.com Link in bio ✨

Cheers!

This guy! He’s sparking my ✨ joy with all of his imaginative play! Today, we played “Musical Squares”. Like musical chairs, I play music & he follows the path with his finger until the music stops. Where he lands, he reads the word, defines it (when applicable), and uses it in a sentence. What HE added, was that the words were all friends, and they were getting locked up (when we crossed them off), so the last one would get the key 🔑 (which he proceeds to draw) to unlock all of its friends. Don’t you just LOVE it?! So, at the end, he went around, reading each word, and erasing them to set them free to run off!

Notice, there’s only a few words written repeatedly on the game board. This is a great way to practice word recognition.

Bonus: He reread the text after we played the game with such confidence & improved fluency. So proud of himself! Building confidence & pride is a huge building block to support emerging readers on their path to success. Such a joy!

Oooooh, how I LOVE the first day back to school!

James’ picture captures the excited energy of the day. New teacher, new friends, new possibilities….bring it!

Wishing all students, teachers, and relieved parents 😉 a wonderful day & year to come!

One of my mom’s ideas for her birthday was to have a project for everyone to participate in painting. She hoped to add it over her headboard in their bedroom. My dear friend, Heather Shea (so artistic!), agreed to sketch wildflowers on watercolor paper for me. It was so fun to watch the project unfold throughout the party. 🎨 🖌️ 🌸🌼🪻💐🖼️ Just received the picture of it now proudly framed & hung on their wall!

🥳Join me in wishing my mama a happy 86th birthday, will you?

Of course, we HAD to celebrate with a paint party for her & her friends. 🥳 🎨 🖌️

We had 16 for brunch & painting.

Only….

Could I get these reluctant artists to paint?

What a challenge!

You see, many saw paints and wanted to run & hide under the table.

Why? As I overheard conversations, it was clear that somebody early on in their lives told them they weren’t cut out for creativity. So, they locked it up & threw away the key.

But, I can be persistent 😉, so over to the tables they went. Ages 9-86, they came.

My only suggestion: Allow yourself to PLAY!!!

Over the next 90 minutes, with a little introductory guidance, they did just that.

And I’m sure you’ve guessed it…but do you know what their responses were afterwards?

“That was so fun! I’m going to do this with my grandkids!”

“I could do this for hours!”

“THANK YOU!!! I wish I’d had a teacher like you growing up. I would’ve done more art!”

They. Were. ELATED!

Joy. 🤩
Sparked. ✨ 💥

Check out this clip & see for yourself. Those smiles are genuine!

Reach out to book a paint party with your friends for a transformative day of fun, relaxation, and joy! 🤸

www.sparkjoywithamy.com

Send a message to learn more

🥳Join me in wishing my mama a happy 86th birthday, will you?

Of course, we HAD to celebrate with a paint party for her & her friends. 🥳 🎨 🖌️

We had 16 for brunch & painting.

Only….

Could I get these reluctant artists to paint?

What a challenge!

You see, many saw paints and wanted to run & hide under the table.

Why? As I overheard conversations, it was clear that somebody early on in their lives told them they weren’t cut out for creativity. So, they locked it up & threw away the key.

But, I can be persistent 😉, so over to the tables they went. Ages 9-86, they came.

My only suggestion: Allow yourself to PLAY!!!

Over the next 90 minutes, with a little introductory guidance, they did just that.

And I’m sure you’ve guessed it…but do you know what their responses were afterwards?

“That was so fun! I’m going to do this with my grandkids!”

“I could do this for hours!”

“THANK YOU!!! I wish I’d had a teacher like you growing up. I would’ve done more art!”

They. Were. ELATED!

Joy. 🤩
Sparked. ✨ 💥

Check out this clip & see for yourself.

Those smiles are genuine! Reach out to book a paint party with your friends for a transformative day of fun, relaxation, and joy! 🤸

www.sparkjoywithamy.com

Send a message to learn more

Play!! Do you know how much time and explanation it took from me for my student to start converting fractions with different denominators using pattern blocks?
Zero.
Zilch.
Zip.
Kids naturally see patterns, are curious, and make connections through play.

Because my student immediately saw that 2 green triangles fit on 1 blue rhombus, we easily segued into the concept of common denominators when adding fractions.
Fun!
Play allows ease in the learning process.

I collaborated with Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground to bring this Colorful Tropical Fish 🐠 Paint Party to campers ages 3-10 today. They definitely Sparked my Joy!
If you have a business you’d like to enhance with a fun collaboration together, reach out. Everyone leaves happy! ☀️✨🎨🖌️💛

Send a message to learn more

🧜‍♀️ Merry Mermaids

So fun painting with these sweet artists today! No better way to start a day!
Sign your artist up today: www.sparkjoywithamy.com

🧜‍♀️ Ariel & King Triton 🧜‍♂️ fans: come paint!

Join us next Sunday, July 30, from 2:00-3:15 pm for this special paint party in my cozy backyard for children 5-12 years old.

www.sparkjoywithamy.com/spark-joy-paint-parties makes it easy to sign up & join the fun!

Summer specials abound! Reply below for your discount code!

Painting is not just for kids!
🥳 🎨🖌️🌊

What’s a Paint Party?

They’re a place to:
•Gather
•Connect
•Laugh
•Sing
•Express creativity
•Find Peace in Presence
•✨Spark Joy! ✨

Last night was another magical experience where my dear friend, Terra, cultivated an evening of connection & creativity in this private, personalized Mother/Daughter Paint Party. Getting your teens to do something with you? Golden!
Thank you for allowing me to facilitate this special gathering for you!

To learn more about upcoming paint parties or to book your own customized event, visit www.sparkjoywithamy.com/spark-joy-paint-parties

Follow-up text from her mom:

When going to bed last night E said, “I’m sad about tomorrow coming because there is no way it will be as good as today.” You spoke right to her heart. Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

Same, E, same.

Want to hear the most ABSURD activity I’ve ever encouraged in my 25-year career?!

I have a student who is excellent at decoding, but is a deer-in-the-headlights when it comes to reading passages.

So, yesterday, during our session, he tells me he can burp on command. I laugh & say I can, too, and then it’s ON! 😂🤣 I’ve unleashed the beast & he is happily burping away. I told him my friend in Jr High could burp the alphabet, and thus, he proceeded to start burping the alphabet. Ok.ok…enough of that (at “g”), I say…how about you burp this paragraph?!

So, he DOES!

Ooh, we get to see that multi-syllabic words require multiple burps! 😂 (I’m still cracking up retelling this!🤣)

So, he finished the passage, quite proudly, and does he know a lick of what he read?

No, he does not!

Time to reread!

I do not know the science behind this, but he broke through all barriers and read more fluently than ever!!

😂🤣

Spark Joy Tutoring | Santa Barbara Private Tutor | Homework Help | Math and Reading Spark joy in your child’s academic journey with a Credentialed Santa Barbara private tutor. I offer in-person and online tutoring plus homework help in math and reading for grades K-6. Serving Santa Barbara, Goleta, Montecito, Carpinteria, Buellton, Solvang.