Happy New Year, dear friends!
I hope you all have enjoyed a wonderful holiday season full of love and laughter. Or at least survived the season without pulling all your hair out 😉 In all honesty, the past few days have been trending toward the latter option in these parts. We’re all definitely ready to get back into the swing of things!
2013 was a year of amazing growth for Twodaloo. We gained over 2,000 email subscribers, 8,000 Facebook friends, and had more eyes on our projects than I ever imagined possible. However, all this flurry of activity left me feeling a bit unfocused as the year drew to a close. I found myself asking- am I really connecting with my subscribers? Am I giving them what they are really interested in reading? Am I using my background in language and child development to help them as effectively as possible?
As a result, I have a new plan for the new year. I want us all to focus down on my main goal- to provide you with simple, smart, purposeful play ideas and activities to help you connect, engage, and stimulate your child’s development at home. By simple, I mean things you can do without tons of planning and fuss. By smart, I mean engaging, stimulating, and rooted in developmental theory, with a special emphasis on language and communication. Sound good?
Before we go full steam ahead into the new year, I would love for you to take a moment to look at my newly updated about page. I’ve gone in with fresh eyes and streamlined the information so you can read just a little bit about me and then familiarize yourself with our most popular posts. There’s even a little sneak peek at one of the new things that will be starting up soon here at Twodaloo…but you have to click over and read about it to find out!
So what are you waiting for? Click HERE to read my new about page, and then stay tuned for more ideas coming your way in 2014. It’s gonna be a great year, I can just feel it!
Excited for you! My goal this year is to live life (including time with 28 month old twins) more consciously!!!
That is an amazing goal, Elizabeth! I definitely struggle with that on occasion when the day-to-day reality of two little ones becomes a lot to handle. I know we can do it…this year is our year!
I’m new here, but extremely thankful for your blog! I’m a mama of one fun and wonderful 22 month old, learning as I go. She’s a tad expressive language delayed (but not one bit receptive-we are all constantly surprised how much she understands! and though we have weekly speech therapy sessions, your site is such a great resource for me to feel like I’m doing more to help and making play purposeful! Thank you…and looking forward to learning more in 2014!
Thank you so much for your comment, Chantal! I have an entire week devoted to nothing but language coming up this month, so your wish will be granted 😉 I’m so happy that you feel like you are learning from our site and please never hesitate to contact me with questions!
Sounds like a great direction, Stephanie! I’m definitely trying to wind down post-Christmas - I think I overdid it with my toddler (“Here’s a sensory bin! And another one! Crafts! Games! Stop playing with the first one and play with the new one!!!”) and my lofty new parenting goal is to let the poor kid breathe. More meaningful play with less STUFF, and more repetition will less NEW. I’m looking forward to your posts, they are always inspiring!
YES! Sometimes we as adults get so caught up in the fun ideas that we forget that less is more and repetition is key for learning. Hopefully I can work to convey that a bit more in upcoming posts. Thank you so much for your comments this past year- I always enjoy reading them!
Thank you for your dedication to writing a blog that inspires PLAY! I am a two-year old teacher and have been teaching for many years, it is so refreshing to see so many others who are dedicated to allowing children to Play with a Purpose. I have several children in my class this year with speech delays and I have gained some thoughtful insight from your blog.
Happy New Year to you and your family!
Mari
What a thoughtful comment, Mari! Thank you so much. I’m just so glad to hear that you are finding some new insights- I promise even more is coming in the new year! Have a wonderful day!
I love the direction you’re going in, Stephanie. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us this year.
Love, your #1 fan. 😉
Right back atcha, Ann 😉
Love. Love. Love! Excited to be reading along and learning from you!
Yay! I’m so excited to have you, Michelle! As soon as I can get my site recategorized we’ll be good to go- it’s SUCH a big job!