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EP 119: Learning with Kelsey
0 Playsin 6 hours
This week on Mom Group Chat, we’re joined by Kelsey Cook — the founder of Learning with Kelsey, a subscription box filled with developmentally appropriate activities for toddlers and early learners.
Kelsey created Learning with Kelsey after realizing how overwhelming it can feel for parents (especially moms) to constantly wonder if they’re doing “enough” to support their child’s growth. Her boxes are designed to make learning simple, fun, and stress-free — no Pinterest boards or hours of prep required.
We talk about what inspired her to start the brand, what she wishes parents would remember most about early childhood development, and the truth about how moms often carry the invisible weight of making sure our kids are learning and progressing.
PS: Whitney had some major tech difficulties at the start of this recording, so you’ll notice she’s missing for the first 20 minutes — but don’t worry, she jumps back in mid-episode!
Learning with Kelsey Link for $10 off: https://rstr.co/learning-with-kelsey/13284
http://instagram.com/learningwithkelsey
http://tiktok.com/learningwithkelsey
Keep up with the Moms and join the conversation on our socials:
📸 Instagram: @momgroupchat
🎵 TikTok: @momgroupchat
Questions/comments/need to vent? Email us at momgroupchatpodacst@gmail.com
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Transcript
Introduction to Kelsey Cook and Learning with Kelsey
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey moms, welcome back to mom group chat. Today we're chatting with Kelsey Cook. You probably know her from learning with Kelsey on Instagram, where she somehow makes early childhood development feel doable, relatable, and honestly kind of fun.
00:00:15
Speaker
We got into everything from why she started learning with Kelsey to what she hopes parents remember when it comes to their child's development. And we had a really honest conversation about how moms tend to carry most of the mental load when it comes to making sure our kids are learning and hitting milestones. so Also, a quick heads up before we start, Whitney had some major tech issues at the top of this episode.
00:00:37
Speaker
So you'll notice she's MIA for the first 20 minutes, but don't worry, she makes her grand return and jumps right back into the combo.
Candice's Experience Following Kelsey
00:00:45
Speaker
So let's get into our episode with Kelsey Cook from Learning with Kelsey.
00:00:57
Speaker
There's no right way to do it.
00:01:02
Speaker
Oh, we're going to get into it. What up moms? My name is Candice and I'm here with an amazing special guest. I'm here with Kelsey Cook from Learning with Kelsey.
00:01:12
Speaker
I am so excited to have you here today, Kelsey. i feel like I have been stalking your Instagram and stalking your business for probably years at this point since I have a three-year-old Um, and I'm just so excited to learn more about you and why you started learning with Kelsey and all that. So welcome.
00:01:34
Speaker
Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. Yeah. Okay. So give us the, the rundown. Tell us about you, yourself, your family, your kids.
00:01:45
Speaker
Um, just tell us a little bit about you.
Kelsey's Family and Background
00:01:47
Speaker
Okay. So i live in Arizona and Um, I have four kids. They are, my oldest turns 10 this month, which is like insane to me. um 10 just feels so big. And then I have it does seven, four, and then my baby will turn two in November.
00:02:05
Speaker
So. Oh my goodness. Yeah. It's fun. My husband and I work together. he works for Learning and Kelsey now, works with Learning and Kelsey now. So that's so fun. We get to hang out all the time, which is the best, but, um, I don't know what else.
00:02:20
Speaker
Amazing. OK, tell us about Learning with Kelsey. Like, give us the elevator pitch for that. OK, so Learning with Kelsey, their subscription boxes that you get every single month.
00:02:32
Speaker
and And they have 20 activities for you to do with your kids. So they're simple activities, but they're kind of what your child needs to learn at their age because we range them. I have a toddler box, a preschool box, and a kinder prep box.
00:02:45
Speaker
So they kind of move through them. And they're monthly themed. I love a theme. So that's one of my favorite parts. um But it's just fun things that you get to do with your kids. Yeah.
00:02:56
Speaker
Yeah.
The Pressure of Developmental Milestones on Moms
00:02:57
Speaker
And I think the reason i i' obsessed with these, honestly, is because I feel like there is so much pressure on moms. And I say mom specifically because I could say parents, but the truth is I feel like it falls on the moms a lot of the time.
00:03:14
Speaker
and And there's just so much pressure to like be teaching your kids things all the time and like making sure they're prepped for preschool and kindergarten.
00:03:24
Speaker
And i am not a teacher. So i am like, i' um I'll never forget. I was at a play date recently and someone asked my husband, they're like, Oh, is Alice writing her name yet? And I was like,
00:03:41
Speaker
should she be? and i was like, I have no idea. I don't know. and Alice is in a two or I guess a threes program right now. So she goes to school every day, but just from eight 30 to 1230.
00:03:54
Speaker
And I do see that she is like learning things and starting to write and all of that. But I feel like there's pressure at home to be like, you know, what are the milestones that they need to be hitting? And your boxes just kind of take all of the guesswork out of it. yeah,
00:04:12
Speaker
Like, thank you for doing that because it takes the pressure off of us as moms. And if you if there's anything I want off my plate, it's like the pressure of hitting those milestones. Oh, my gosh, for sure. And I feel like.
00:04:26
Speaker
When I became a mom, like I, so I used to teach, I taught third grade and then I taught kindergarten.
Origins of Learning with Kelsey
00:04:32
Speaker
And I felt like when I became a mom, I didn't realize how much pressure you feel.
00:04:37
Speaker
Like those first five years, nobody else is doing anything. You know, like once they get to school, you're kind of like, okay, well, you know, I'm checking in, but like, I know their teacher knows where they're at. I know. Yeah. In the beginning, you're like, it's on me. Like if they're not, yeah you feel like if they're not ready, even though there's not, as a kindergarten teacher, like I'll tell you, there's nothing that you need to be super stressed about them picking up or learning, like they're going to get it if you're just simply guiding them like very loosely, they'll pick it up.
00:05:06
Speaker
But you want to set them up for success, you know? So the most that you can do, you feel like, okay, what do I need to do? Even like as a teacher, I'm like, I should know what to do But a two-year-old so much different than a five-year-old. You know, I'm like, I can do kindergarten activities all day long. But two, I had to really like, okay, what do I do?
00:05:25
Speaker
Yeah. So what was there a moment where you were like, oh my God, I need to be like helping other parents do this. Like, tell me about like the moment that you had the idea and you decided to like pursue it. Yeah. So I, so I, like I said, I taught third grade, I taught kindergarten.
00:05:44
Speaker
And then when I had my first baby, I stayed home and, um, I really miss teaching. I love teaching. It's just like such a big part of me. And so I decided to open a preschool out of my house.
00:05:54
Speaker
So I don't know you guys do those where you live, but um there's a lot of home preschools around here. And so I did a preschool because I thought, okay, I'll still get to be teacher Kelsey for two hours, three days a week or whatever, and then still have my baby.
00:06:11
Speaker
So I did that and I actually taught my oldest two boys And then um COVID happened and I had to close preschool. And so I started making packets for my preschoolers because I was like, they're missing my favorite parts of the year, you know, like all the end the year stuff.
00:06:28
Speaker
So I made packets for their moms and I would put all the supplies that they would need to do the activities and I left them on my porch. So moms come pick them up. And then I had... other moms in the neighborhood like say, oh wait, can I get one of those? You know, because we're all at home with our little kids that we don't know what to do with them. So I was like, okay, i guess I could sell these for like $20, you know, and I could put them out there and I was having fun. Like I was doing them around my kitchen counter. And so I thought, okay, I'll make an Instagram just to like show them what we're doing.
00:06:59
Speaker
And then people were like, well, could you mail them to me in a different state? And I was like, okay, I could mail a packet. So you know I'm making packets, I'm mailing them. And then I realized kind of like this was more than just a COVID thing. I thought like, okay, yeah parents really do want to be able to teach our kids. They want to be able to do activities, but it's so hard. So I thought, okay, I think I can make this into a box and I'll just send the box out and we'll see how it goes.
00:07:28
Speaker
and So that's how Learner with Kelsey started. I just, wow it was really just like, okay, a huge need that I was filling. And then I realized, okay, I could i could take it like a step further and really make it what I want it to be.
00:07:43
Speaker
And so, yeah, it's crazy. That's amazing. So I'm sure when you started it, you probably never dreamed it would like, wow, that's so cool. Those are like my favorite types of moments that we, you know, we've interviewed ah a lot of people on this show and it's so fun to hear these moments of like people being like, I just started something because i kind of felt like it was necessary or it would help another mom. And then it's just spreads like wildfire. Like it's, that's so cool.
00:08:13
Speaker
Yeah, I would have. I'm like, I always am like, I'm not a business. I'm not a business woman. Like I'm a teacher, you know, like I would have never in a million years thought we'd be here, but it's it's so fun. And I get to, we have 24 people that now work for us and a lot of them are moms, which is also really fun for me that we get to have help these moms contribute to their families. It's just been really cool.
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah. So tell me about the difference between like the boxes and ages and like what they each focus on. Okay. so So one thing that I really realized, you know, when I was making these is once you have a kid, you realize there's such a huge difference between a two and a four-year-old. You know, when they say things are for two to four-year-olds, I'm like, no, they're not.
00:08:56
Speaker
They can't do the same things. So I wanted to really like focus in on the developmental things that each kid's doing. So the toddler box is two to three-year-olds. They're working on like fine motor skills, colors, shapes.
00:09:11
Speaker
um They're working on gross motor things. And then the preschool box, they're starting tracing. They're introducing um more numbers and counting.
00:09:22
Speaker
And then when they move up to kinder prep, they're really working on sounds um like early edition, beginning reading, So the idea is that you can move through each box and feel like, okay, now they're ready for kindergarten.
00:09:35
Speaker
Amazing. Do you, like, as far as moving through the boxes, is it like age or is it like if your child is doing X, y and Z, it's time to move to the next box? Like, how does that work?
00:09:48
Speaker
Yeah. So I usually say if they're starting to get like easy, you know, and they're kind of breezing through the activities quick, they're ready to go. And then another big key indicator is if they're ready to trace.
00:10:01
Speaker
So once they're ready to trace something, they're ready to move from toddler to preschool. um Because I think a lot of people, you go a little too early on tracing, you want to build those fine motor skills before you just throw a pencil in their hand and say, trace some motors.
00:10:14
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So true. Okay. I have ah question. Do your kids ever test your boxes first? Oh yeah. Always. That's, they're always doing activities. So they're like, they're okay, we're over it. No, but my older boys did so many because we were home and COVID and like yeah every activity that I put in the box, I'd either done in preschool with my preschoolers or I done with my boys. And then now as we move through, like I'll go like, okay, maybe I want to change this and then I'll pull it out to do with my toddler and be like, nope, nope, nope. That's a bad idea.
00:10:50
Speaker
You know, sometimes I think it's a good idea. And then in practice, it's like, okay, too much paint, too much re rain. I can't handle it. Oh, my gosh. I
Creative Parenting and Managing Messy Activities
00:10:59
Speaker
struggle with that so bad. So we – like I said, my daughter is in a threes program and we had like parent-teacher conferences ah two weeks ago.
00:11:09
Speaker
And one of the like feedback things they told me was um that they wanted me to explore different like centers with her that she only wants to stay in like home living, which – is like, you know, playing baby dolls and like playing kitchen. That's like her thing.
00:11:27
Speaker
But they said like, do you do like arts and crafts at home? And I thought to myself, yeah, we do. But like I am, I sit there like hovering in anxiety with the art project stuff because I'm so nervous about like paint getting on the carpet. Yes. Yes. Whatever. And they were like, okay, well, you got to let it go and like have her do more stuff. So I've been like, that's been a focus of mine the past couple of weeks. I've just been like, okay, let's move to then like an area of the house that doesn't have carpet and like let's explore a little more.
00:12:03
Speaker
But um I struggle with the- No, it's hard. It's hard. of it And and i that's how I feel too. I'm like a not, I'm a clean mom, you know? So I'm like, how do we- But I feel like that every activity you can do, you can also do it as a clean mom. So like I love sensory bins, I hate them being on my floor. So I will usually do like a bigger sensory bin, but like on a towel in my room, you know? So it's like, okay, if it falls out, we're dumping it back in with the towel, you know? Like it's just so hard.
00:12:36
Speaker
Yeah. I know it really is. And also because I know that you're in Arizona, so I'm in Florida. So, you know, the summers are so hot. Like we can't be outside the summer. It's miserable. Like I sit out there and I literally fry like an egg. and So I am so excited to be moving into October where like we could be outside. And then I, I literally said to my husband, i was like, okay, we can take the arts and crafts.
00:13:01
Speaker
house outside. Do whatever you want outside. Yeah. Like I'm going to just, I, I saw a reel the other day and it was like someone hung, um, like canvases on their back fence and like, Whitney's here.
00:13:15
Speaker
made it.
00:13:18
Speaker
How embarrassing. Oh my God. I didn't even say at the beginning because I wasn't sure if you were going to make it or not. Okay. For all of our listeners, Whitney was having serious technical difficulties and Kelsey was here. And I was like, we just got to, the show goes on. We improvised.
00:13:34
Speaker
yeah what I solved it myself. What was the problem? I'm IT. I am IT. reached out to them and they're like, you're going to have to come bring the computer in. And we don't really go in the office until Thursdays. And so i was like, I guess I'll see you Thursday. like I'm not going to go in for my camera. yeah And then I just like my, I don't know, I figured it out somehow. I like shut down some window program and restarted it.
00:14:02
Speaker
Yay! Yay! Welcome. Thank you for joining us.
00:14:09
Speaker
We will hop back in. Okay. Wait, back to your kids testing the boxes. I wanted to know, are they like your harshest critics? Do they like tell you how it is?
00:14:20
Speaker
oh yeah. Yeah. They'll tell me if they they're like, this isn't fun. I'm like, okay, geez. Yeah. um I'll do a different one. oh my gosh.
00:14:31
Speaker
and And because they're monthly, do you ever feel like you run out of ideas or you're just, I guess with teaching, like you always have to come up with new stuff, right? Yeah. I feel like I spent so many years, you know, as a teacher, just like changing things slightly or adding So it's nice that i did that because I feel like that has helped me so much. And then also um there's a lot of similarities month to month, not same activities, but same ideas like by design, you know, like yeah ah toddlers, they're going to repeat, like they're always going to have a sticker activity in their box. And that's because once they do it with you, then the next month they're feeling like, okay, confidence, they can do it themselves. So we're trying to build that confidence and
00:15:16
Speaker
And make it so eventually they can like independently do a sticker activity, you know, without you doing every single step. But it just makes them a little bit more confident because they've seen it before.
00:15:28
Speaker
So true on the stickers. I feel like my daughter, she just turned two and she is obsessed with any kind of sticker. They love learning to peel it off. Oh yeah. It is like a milestone. And it's great by motor skills.
00:15:41
Speaker
Yeah. yeah um It was so funny. My sister-in-law lived with us this summer and she's like her takeaway from going back to Tuscaloosa, back to school was, man, I had stickers everywhere on my stuff.
00:15:54
Speaker
all the time like she's like i just found them in my clothes like on my book bag and i was like welcome to kids yep you guys i wish i could show you my ceiling in my living room right now because i yeah yeah exactly like how does that happen so while i i asked my husband for 20 minutes this weekend i was like can i have 20 minutes like where i can like just focus do some work things and focus i come out from my 20 minute break And there are stickers all over the ceiling.
00:16:26
Speaker
And I was like, how the hell does that even happen? And he was like, oh, well, you know, I fly them around the room and they were holding the stickers and one of them put one up there and they thought it was funny. And so now, but now there's stickers all over my ceiling. And I'm like, can I, can you fly them back up there to get them off? Like, what am I supposed to do now?
00:16:45
Speaker
That's so funny. No, that happened in the back of my minivan. And then every time I walk by my car, I'm like, I can see them on the window. And it's just like, which I'm trying to be like the, the fun mom that doesn't take them off. And I'm like, i got to get those off.
00:16:57
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. The car would send me. ah Sure. They're over the car they're in our car seat. Oh yeah. Everywhere. Yeah. Yeah. everywhere yeah yeah I would love to hear like what's the feedback that you hear the most from parents or like the praise you get the most um from parents?
00:17:18
Speaker
The thing I hear the most is parents being like, okay, I love that this gives me time to spend with them. And it's just dedicated, easy time. And that's something
Quality Time vs. Milestones
00:17:28
Speaker
that I am so happy about because that's like my meaning behind it, my why. Like more than learning activities, more than like making sure they know their fine motor skills, I love that it's giving moms time to work with their kids because it's not a box that you just like throw at them and they go do by themselves. It's one that you sit with them and it's 10 to 15 minutes, but it like –
00:17:50
Speaker
you're focused on them. You're getting to work with them. And that sometimes is so hard as a mom. You know, you feel like, I don't know if you feel like this, but like as stay at home, work from home, whatever I am, mom, I feel like you think you're with them all day. You know, like I'm with you all day, but you're also doing your own things.
00:18:06
Speaker
So getting that like dedicated, easy time that I just pulled out, I don't have to think about it and I'm doing it with them is just like really powerful. Yeah. And it goes back to like the mental load of it all. That's how I feel. It's like sometimes, sometimes whenever I do have those like moments with my kids where I'm like, okay, we're sitting down and we're going to do something.
00:18:25
Speaker
I'm like so tapped from all the other things in my brain that I sit down and Alice is like, what are we going to play? And I'm like, I have no idea. I'm i'm all out of ideas. Yeah.
00:18:38
Speaker
So the fact that this like takes the guesswork and like takes the brain power out of it is so nice. Yeah. And I have I've had quite a few moms that will say like, OK, I just had a newborn, you know, and I my toddler. I feel like I didn't have time with them. And I'm so grateful that this is giving me like I don't have to think about it I don't have to do anything. And I'm getting that special time with them.
00:19:01
Speaker
Honestly, that's a great gift for yeah you're like someone who has a newborn. Yeah. Wow. That's brilliant. I'm going to keep that in my back pocket. Okay. I want to learn a little bit more about like your day-to-day. Obviously, you're a business owner and you said your husband works for learning with Kelsey now also. like How is that? How is working with your spouse?
00:19:24
Speaker
It's so great. He so he quit his job. in December um yeah for Christmas. Recently-ish. Yeah. Yeah. So he gave me, I've been like saying, I think you can maybe quit your job. But like, I was also stressed because it's like, I'm like, I told her before, like I was just a teacher, you know, like I'm like, I don't want to be in charge of all everything for our family. Like that's stressful.
00:19:47
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. But it was getting it was getting to a point where I'm like so overwhelmed because also like my number one priority is being a mom. And so I was like doing – I spent majority of building learning with Kelsey at nap time, bedtime, early morning. So like I was just going all the time. And so i was like, can you please quit? Please quit? And he's like, no, no, no. Maybe – he kept telling me like maybe maybe in the spring, maybe in the – and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm going to kill him.
00:20:11
Speaker
And I was very mean to him in December. I was like, you've got to quit. Yeah. like this whole time I'm the worst wife ever. He was like planning, he'd already quit and he was like finishing out his last two weeks and he wanted to give it to me for Christmas. And I'm like,
00:20:25
Speaker
So for Christmas, I opened up a present and it was like a, it was a um business card with his name on it for learning with Kelsey. And he's like, Hey, my last day was last week. look ah Although I too would kill him. Like now you tell me after I i was like, Oh my gosh.
00:20:41
Speaker
but i was like, you don't have to go back. He's like, no, I'm not going back. I was like, Oh my gosh. Really? That's such a cute... He's creative. don't think my husband would never be that creative. No, he's not usually. So i was like, wow, I'm very impressed. And also sorry it was so rude.
00:20:58
Speaker
That's so funny. We've talked to so many women on here that husbands are leaving their jobs. to work with their spouse. That is so funny. It's been so good. And so he's, so since then he's worked with it, it's been incredible. Like, I feel like I can, there's so many things that you don't realize that you're, you know, not doing or like that I'm just trusting is getting done because I can't mentally think about it.
00:21:22
Speaker
So yeah. Joining, have you grown more Yeah, he likes to say like we had our best month ever. Last month because he was here. Of course. Yeah, yeah. He's like, we just keep getting bigger. I'm like, okay.
00:21:36
Speaker
You're like, cool it. This was my thing, okay? I'm like, we were already growing, okay, Noah? Yeah, yeah, That's too funny. Oh my gosh. What is like a normal day look like for you?
00:21:46
Speaker
So normally, so my, my two oldest boys are in school. So we usually take them to school. Um, my husband will go, he'd always, I do the gym early in the morning with my sister.
00:21:57
Speaker
um I didn't ever want to be a gym. I didn't ever think I was a gym girl. And then I started going, I'm like, unfortunately it does make me happy to go every morning. Yeah. I know. like, why is it why is it so nice?
00:22:08
Speaker
So I do get up early. That's my thing. I get up early and I go. um And then we switch and I take the kids to school and he goes to the gym. And then um when we get home, I'm usually, he's usually working and I'm usually doing kid things um with my two youngest until like 1130. And twice a week, I have a nanny from 1130 to four.
00:22:28
Speaker
So she'll come and then I can work with him. And then my daughter goes to preschool three days a week from 1145 to 245 and my toddler naps. So I'm like, during that time, I get it. And then once it's like three o'clock and it's pickup time, i go back mom mode and he's finishing working, you know, but it's so nice that we can like kind of bounce it off. Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:50
Speaker
Like sometimes like right now, you know, I'm doing a podcast. And so I said, go get me a drink and take the car through the car wash with the kids. Like get out of the house. Yeah, you're like, get out of the house. You have four kids?
00:23:03
Speaker
Four, yeah we so yeah. Boys or you have a girl also? So I have two – I had two boys and then I had a girl and then I had a boy. – so ah She's the queen. She passes everyone around, obviously. yeah yeah As she should. As she should.
00:23:18
Speaker
Yeah. We didn't find out what we were having with our last baby um until he was born. And it was like so fun. But I was like, the second he was born, was like, yes, she was born to be a queen. So we had to have a boy next.
00:23:30
Speaker
ah Yeah. Oh my See, like a lot of my friends now that they're having their third or doing the surprise gender. And I'm like, that would be so fun. But also like, I'm a planner.
00:23:41
Speaker
No, I am. I'm the most type a you could get. And I was like, I'll never do that. And then my husband was like, just do it the last one. And I was like, okay. And once I decided, was like, well, I don't care. It was weird because I thought I could never do it. But I also didn't feel like I had ah an opinion. You know, like I wasn't like, oh I super want a girl or super want a boy. yeah um I feel like if I had that, I could have never done it.
00:24:03
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. So – i we are going to have a third. i have two girls and I would, I want to have a surprise. And I think my husband's on board, but it's also that like, he wants a boy so bad that I'm so, I'm nervous about the surprise because I feel, I don't know. I just get girly vibes from my body. i don't know. I just feel like we're going to have a third girl and I'm so nervous that he would be You like don't want to be disappointed in the room. but yeah But then I also feel like it's a baby, you know, so it's like hard to be disappointed because you're just like, it's here.
00:24:40
Speaker
It's maybe almost better to find out that way. Yeah, because then you're like, you don't have a chance. He's going to mope around for a week. You have to like it. Yeah. Yeah. You have to like it. it's funny. yeah Okay.
00:24:53
Speaker
I want to talk a little bit about, and we spoke about this at the beginning of like how as, I mean, as parents, but like I said, I'm getting as moms, I feel like this pressure falls on moms. We have this idea that we have to like do it all. And especially when it comes to like educating our child, like our children.
00:25:13
Speaker
So what would you say to the mom who feels like she's not doing enough? I feel like my go-to response to any mom that says that to me is you're doing way more already. You know, like if you if you're worried that you're not doing enough, you're doing enough is what I feel like.
00:25:28
Speaker
And I think that the pressure, it's hard with like Instagram and TikTok. You get on and you're like these moms setting up all these things or saying my kid does this. But in reality, if you're spending time with your child doing anything with them. If you're playing with them, if you're taking a walk with them, if you're reading with them, you're already putting them in a good position.
00:25:51
Speaker
And i have a lot of moms, like even when I taught preschool, they would say, okay, well, what letters do they need to know before they go to kindergarten? And it's like the thing is letter learning is a developmental skill. So some kids are going to learn all their letters when they're three and some aren't going to learn them until they're five, but they're all going to be reading by the end of kindergarten.
00:26:11
Speaker
So i I always told people like I would – we would test our kindergartners when they came in and I would have kids that knew how to read and I would have kids that knew three letters and by the end of the year, they were all reading books.
00:26:22
Speaker
And so um like, you know, ah except for kids, you know, that have a learning – but that's a whole other thing. But majority of your kids – They're going to get there. They just need to be exposed to it. So I think the number one thing to moms is just expose them, whether that's reading a story every day, when you're out taking a walk, point out different things, play I Spy, you know, do a coloring activity. Like you said, let them...
00:26:46
Speaker
let them free for all in their art if you can, you know, like play with them. Outside. There's so many things. Yeah. That's so reassuring because, I mean, we're two years off from kindergarten, but I'm already thinking like, man, should we be working on like days of – the year, like every month. like And I was just like, am I behind? But I'm also like, he does it. He goes to daycare. So I know he's doing stuff at daycare. So I'm like, do just wing it?
00:27:15
Speaker
You're doing great. Well, it's kind of like, I remember when we've talked you know at length on this podcast about potty training and like the it's similar in the way that like I remember someone told me when I was worried about if we were like waiting too long to do it or like the timeline of potty training some I think we had a teacher in the DMs of mom group chat be like listen I teach first grade and like we don't like everyone walks into first grade and they're potty trained and like no one cares about who did it first or who did it last like it doesn't matter and i kind of feel like it's the same way with like
00:27:52
Speaker
you know Yes, of course, there are going to be kids that can like write their name at three years old or whatever, but like like you said, they're all going to leave kindergarten and like be able to do all of those things. and so It's so nice to hear someone like you who's a teacher and like is a professional at this like take the pressure off.
00:28:11
Speaker
Yeah. yeah and I feel like that's why, to me, the most important part of my box is that you're getting to spend time with your kids because That, I think, is the most important thing that you can do in the first five years is yeah you have such a unique opportunity to get to create this relationship that you're going to carry with them throughout their life. You know, you're building the foundation of their relationship. And I've had, like, I've met with, like, ad teams when I was – that would be like, okay, don't you want to sell this, like – this is what they need do so they're not left behind in kindergarten. And I'm always like, nope, see you next one. Because I don't ever want, I don't ever want this to be something that's like, you have to do this so that they're not behind or yeah you need to do this to prepare them. i I don't subscribe to that. I don't believe in that. And so I want it to be like, this is a cool way for you to get to connect with your kids.
00:28:59
Speaker
And guess what? They're going to learn things along the way. That's like a bonus. But in general, you're getting to connect with them, to learn with them and have fun with them. This like totally leads into my next question. It's so funny. It's like such a natural transition. But I was going to ask like, what are the everyday like normal moments that like are actually powerful teaching opportunities that like probably as parents we think, oh my God, we're not doing enough. But like actually these tiny everyday moments like are powerful and are teaching our kids things.
00:29:30
Speaker
Yeah. i I feel like people don't realize that getting them to do two-step directions is like – Oh, okay. Or you are prepping them. Like when someone would ask me, what do my kids need to know before kindergarten? I would say they need to learn how to open food on their own, you know, for lunchtime.
00:29:45
Speaker
They need to follow two-step directions and know their name. You know, like those are like – So when you're saying to them like, hey, can you go get your shoes and put them on? You're already like prepping them to be ready. See, look at you.
00:29:59
Speaker
And then yeah yeah things like, hey, what letter is
Everyday Teaching Moments with Children
00:30:03
Speaker
that? You know, like when you're driving in the car, like, do you see the M right there for McDonald's? Do hear that sound? You know, like you can point out sounds, colors like so easily, but I think sometimes you don't realize that like you're you're literally teaching them reading. You know, like if you're saying, hey, what's at the beginning? Have you heard the word cat? Like I would just say cat.
00:30:24
Speaker
What sound is at the beginning? We'd go. Oh my gosh, that's the same as the first letter in your name. Like just connecting things for them And talking, I'm a big, big fan of narrating your day, you know? So like when you're with your kids, talking through with them what you're doing as you're as you're making dinner, you know, it's sometimes annoying to have them join you in that. But also it's like super easy to have them sit there and say, okay, even like my seven-year-old, I'm going to do – they're doing fractions and so we'll do like a half cup, you know? Yeah, literally.
00:30:57
Speaker
but look What? Wow. So it's like – wow so it's like easy to bring them into your world, you know? funny, our pediatrician also said to talk to them throughout the day because a lot of kids, now that like there's TV and iPads, have a hard time with storytelling. And so them just being able to recap their day is a way of storytelling for them.
00:31:19
Speaker
And if they can do that, then they'll be like a better writer, a better listener, and all this stuff. So I always thought that was interesting. We try to do that at the end of every day. like Before we go to bed, we always say, like how was your day? And we'll recap. Yeah.
00:31:32
Speaker
But it's, i don't know, such a easy thing It seems so simple, yeah you know, but you're like there, you're even like working on comprehension skills, you know, like they're even even like something that people are always like, okay, they always want to read the same bedtime book. But it's like, that's great because they're they're kind of memorizing it. They can guess what comes next. They're working on these little skills, you know, reading one bedtime book a night, you're already putting them ah ahead. Yeah. Yeah.
00:32:02
Speaker
That's one thing that always amazes me. Alice does that. So she has her books that she like loves. And now I've noticed she'll pick them up and she'll like read them herself. And clearly she's not reading the words, but she literally knows the pages and exactly what's happening. And she'll like read them to her baby dolls or her stuffies or to Evie, my little one.
00:32:23
Speaker
And I'm always like, wow, that's so crazy that like, yeah, she's learned, you know, the way like this exact story. And she like so sometimes says these pages like word for word. And I'm like, incredible. They're getting have so big.
00:32:37
Speaker
I know. what I know. My baby, I was telling her my baby's turning two in November and I'm like, We have like the same age kids. That's so cute. I know. Are you, well, this is probably a personal question. I can cut it out. Are you done with four? thats that Yeah, I'm done.
00:32:52
Speaker
I think my husband is more done than me. I think they are. Oh, like that's unanimous. I do. I love a newborn. It's like a toxic trait of mine. Like I need to not love a newborn so much, but I mean but i do feel like I thought like I would be the person that never felt like they were done because I just love a baby so much. But after I had my fourth baby, i was just like, okay, they're all here. You know, like I just kind of felt like, yeah. and And I'll see like, I used to be like when I saw someone because I also love being pregnant. Like I know it's what's wrong with me. But like,
00:33:25
Speaker
I would see a pregnant person like, oh, and now I see and I'm like, oh, don't have to do that. You know, like I feel like my. my I was going to say that's Whitney. I'm i'm still I'm still in the i so I have newborn and baby fever real bad these days.
00:33:41
Speaker
But I always say that to Whitney. Like I one of our friends was like giving birth recently. And I was like I told Whitney, I was like, I literally have like FOMO right now. Yes.
00:33:52
Speaker
I don't know why. time I just was like, I love giving birth. Yeah. Like I was seeing her in the hospital and I was like, wait, like I want to be there. Like giving birth. realize now that that's not the hard part. It's the after. Yeah, it's true. It's yeah the hard part. Honestly, the hospital is kind of break. No, I love the hospital.
00:34:10
Speaker
I'm let me stay for three days. Like this is. Literally. my My last baby was so three weeks and one day early. So it was like technically preemie. So they had to keep him an extra day, but he was six pounds, 11 ounces. So he was big, but I was like, don't want to go home.
00:34:27
Speaker
Like I was like, someone is literally bringing me food every day. My kids are not in here. Yeah. In your opinion, what was the hardest transition out of all four?
00:34:38
Speaker
ah Three. Yeah. Okay. Damn it. I hate to tell you what I wanted to hear. Well, you get outnumbered, I guess. I feel like three was hardest for me too because my oldest was five when I had my – or he was five, but he hadn't started kindergarten. So I had my third in March and he started kindergarten in August.
00:34:59
Speaker
So I had like four months of them just like – there was just like little people everywhere. You know, like it was just – It was just so many. And and they my boys were like obsessed with her where I would have to like lock her in the room for naps because I would turn her around and they'd be like at her thing. And I was like, yeah.
00:35:18
Speaker
Waking her up. Oh, that's sweet. Yeah. So I know it is. It's like, yeah. adding Adding a fourth was like, oh my gosh, it's so easy. ah That's what I've heard. It's like zero to one is a like a world rock, one to two, whatever. But then the third is hard. Fourth, it's like pilot in.
00:35:34
Speaker
Yeah. i was like okay And they're getting bigger. You know, like I have a I had an eight year old when I had my for my baby. So i was like, OK. Yeah. Yeah. And they're so helpful.
00:35:45
Speaker
That's kind of like my siblings were super helpful with me. They're older. So they just like would put me on their hip when I was little. So nice. Yeah. Okay.
00:35:56
Speaker
I want to know what is one myth about teaching toddlers that drives you crazy? um When I see people trying to get a toddler to write a name or a letter, I'm like, no, no, no, no. no That's my biggest.
00:36:09
Speaker
Like a two-year-old should not be writing yet. They're not ready, you know? So yeah do i like I was telling you earlier, like fine motor skills are
Developing Fine Motor Skills in Toddlers
00:36:18
Speaker
so important. So build those first before you give them a crayon or a pencil to write a name. Color for sure.
00:36:24
Speaker
Let them hold that however they want. But people are so stressed about like, oh, my two-year-old's not holding the crayon the right way. I'm like, they're not supposed to. You know, like they, yeah they don't have the muscles in their hand yet to do that.
00:36:36
Speaker
That is really funny. Cause I feel like that would annoy me if I saw someone doing that, like a 19 year old wrote their name. I'd be like, cool. Yeah. I'm always like, well, they're not supposed to. Okay.
00:36:47
Speaker
Boo on you. Yeah. Okay. Another fun question as a mom of four, what's something you swore you'd never do as a parent, but totally do now?
00:36:58
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Okay. I got to, there's probably like a thousand things that I saw. Yeah. that Like I could think of 100 things. yeah Yeah. Yeah. Well, I was always like, oh, I'll never, i won't, they'll go to their own room. They'll move, I'll move them to their own room. Like I'm not going to have a baby sleeping in my room for a long time.
00:37:14
Speaker
And then I literally just moved my, um, almost two year old out of my room. He's been in my room until he was 18 months old. Good for you. i couldn't do wow I could never. He was in a slumber pod. So it felt like he had his own room.
00:37:27
Speaker
Yeah. But I was like, I was like so sad about it. Like what is wrong with me? Oh yeah. Well, do y'all like read in your room at night? Like y'all, are y'all quiet? Are you just like- we're quiet. We usually are out in like the, I'm pretty noisy. My kids are good. My kids will sleep through sound. So I feel like i okay that if I have the sound machine on, I can like watch a show and he doesn't even notice. Oh my God. god I would be so scared. I'm like terrified of them waking up in the night. It's like, if you hear a bump in the night, I pray it's someone breaking in my house and not. No, my kid's waking up.
00:38:03
Speaker
Oh my God. i I just need to say like my love for the slumber pod, like runs so deep. It's the greatest invention. Like, I think that might be my number one. Like, if someone's like, what is your absolute must have?
00:38:17
Speaker
It might be the slumber pod. like I don't have that. I never used one. ah How do you travel? Yeah. We don't. Like, it is a miracle. Like, you know, we were just at Disney last week and we took and they can like literally be in the hotel room for you and they sleep like a dream with a slumber. It's insane. I guess we look for Airbnbs that have separate rooms. So you have your own room. Yeah.
00:38:42
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. yeah But damn, that thing, like if Slumberpod is listening to this, please, like I will be your spokeswoman. I'm obsessed. No, I love Yeah.
00:38:53
Speaker
Okay. If you had one extra hour to yourself every day, how would you spend it? Like no kids, no work. What would you do? I feel like I would, I want to say that I would read something, but would probably watch a show.
00:39:07
Speaker
Yeah. What do you like? Are you a reality TV girl? I'm watching Love is Mind right now. so Oh my God, let's discuss.
00:39:16
Speaker
whi Whitney's been like, i I almost texted Whitney this weekend. I was like, Whitney, I need you to watch this and we have to do an episode on it because I have so much to say. oh my gosh. Is there another one out? There's always another one. there was one when like over the summer, right?
00:39:33
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Holy moly. They crap that shit out. They really, really, really do. This season, this season, especially though, is It's so chaotic. And like, there's no one to root for and so much to discuss.
00:39:47
Speaker
yeah I actually didn't watch last season, but this one, for some reason, I don't know. I just decided to press play and now I'm so hooked. Once you watch one episode, you got you're like, okay, well, now I'm in. You're like, i might need to see what happens. so no yeah But I do love to read. I have a Kindle. I love a Kindle.
00:40:04
Speaker
So I do love reading. But you know when you're a mom, like your brain is sort of spent and you get an extra yeah hour. So I'm like, can I just zone out? Totally. We love Scott as – I'm also a bath girly, so I love to take a bath and put my phone up and watch my show.
00:40:22
Speaker
So nice. ah That's like a dream, truly. um Well, this has been so fun. I'm trying to think if there's anything else that we didn't cover.
00:40:35
Speaker
Do you have any questions? like, just got here. I just joined. What are we doing? Don't leave me. is are you born at like Are you from Arizona originally? Yeah.
00:40:48
Speaker
yeah My husband and I went to high school together, actually. So we were both here. Cute. oh know. We met in seventh grade. So we're...
00:40:58
Speaker
have lots of people from Arizona too. Yeah, we do. another thing. A lot of Arizona listeners. Yeah. Okay. i love that. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Arizona's great. Hot, but beautiful.
00:41:11
Speaker
Just now is where we're like, okay, this is why we like to live here. You know, like we're like. Exactly. But that's where being in Florida, it's the same thing. Like it's in the sixties this morning. And I was like, oh wait, this is. Yeah. You have to remember. It's gorgeous.
00:41:24
Speaker
Yeah. hu Well, I do. I mean, I'm going to ask about your beautiful cabinets just cause. Oh my gosh. That caught my eye right away. i don't know if you've already talked about your. No, we haven't. Your home, but I'm, that's.
00:41:37
Speaker
Yes. Whitney's thing for sure. no So when I, when, when learning with Kelsey, like when I, I want to say like when I had a thousand subscribers, that was my goal. Like three, two years ago, i was like, okay, when we get a thousand subscribers, I'm going to do my office.
00:41:51
Speaker
And then I was like, going to be pink. You're so cute. I did a built-in with pink, and it's my favorite thing. So i'm glad you noticed it. It looks really good.
00:42:02
Speaker
I'm envious. I've been like, I don't know what has gotten into me. We went to the Parade of Homes here, and I'm in Nashville. Okay. So that was like, wow. Oh, that will get you. I mean, I was told Candace had told me I was poor in different languages. was Literally. Yeah.
00:42:17
Speaker
But it's so inspiring. And then there was an open house in my neighborhood and that whole house was redone. I was like, I've got a bug. I want to redo everything. Like, it's just so fun to have a little project at home.
00:42:29
Speaker
Oh, I love a project. The kids are older. I'm like, what room can I do next? Is Parade of Homes like a, like, is that a thing? I've never heard of that.
00:42:40
Speaker
i I actually went to the Parade of Homes in Utah. That's one I went to. They didn't have it. They have them all over. It's basically new neighborhoods and it's almost, I don't want to say it's a spec home because they're all different and built by different builders. It just depends, but it's like they will open up a few homes in a new neighborhood and they are like styled or designed by a designer and you can go tour them.
00:43:06
Speaker
I don't know what the fund goes to because you have to pay like 20 bucks to go. But they have like little pop ups around here all the time. I know that I for work have paid for some materials for homes um like in Minnesota and in Kansas City like they have them all over.
00:43:22
Speaker
i don't know. It just happened to be like down the road for me and I saw that it was here and I was like want to go do that. Yeah. No, we went to, because we spent the summer in Utah, actually, because it was so hot here. So we can't, and now my husband works with me, so we can go anywhere.
00:43:38
Speaker
So we spent the summer in Utah and they had it there and we went to the Crumble cookie owner's home. Oh, yeah. They, that, it was like in insane, but yeah, it's just like,
00:43:50
Speaker
this feels crazy. Like how you ever get here. I'm like, how there, there are like $5 million dollar homes in this neighborhood down the street. I'm like, who lives here? i you're like, people my, I hate my house. No, I don't hate my house. I love myself i love my house. I love my house. We joked, we drove through our neighborhood. We're like, we live in filth. Where are we?
00:44:09
Speaker
Oh my God. This home is beautiful. I mean, we were so joking, but it was really, yeah. Yeah. yes Oh my God. That's funny. I didn't know. I got to check it out. Maybe there's one in around Tampa, around Florida. i'm but i to i't know there has to be I just did a ah quick Google search. And the first one that came up was parade of home, Sarasota, which if you know, Sarasota, it's like beautiful. And I was like that, I have to do that. I have to, we have to go, we have to go there. It's a little day trip.
00:44:38
Speaker
and Like it's great for Vinny's business. I mean, Yeah. My, my husband's in construction. okay. Then it's a write-off, right? No, I'm always like. Yeah. yeah I'm the queen of saying things like write-offs. My husband's like, no, it's not a write-off. I do that too. Cause I own my own business. So I'm the same thing. I'm like, Oh, getting my nails done.
00:44:56
Speaker
Write-off. I'm like, they're in my Instagram. I'm shooting content today. So write-off. ah Oh my gosh. Well, is there anything new coming to learning with Kelsey or anything like other than boxes or that is in the works?
00:45:11
Speaker
And it's okay if there's one. we just did actually for October, I partnered with an influencer. Her name's Ainsley Ovard and she does hair. I know her. Yes. Yeah, I do.
00:45:23
Speaker
We did a hair collab where it was five Halloween activities and then five Halloween hairstyles. So you could do their hair and then an activity. Wait. need that. I need a two girls.
00:45:34
Speaker
yeah need that. And so, you know, you got to be entertained while you – something for them to do while you're doing their hair and then it's like cute Halloween hairstyles. So that was a fun one. That's a good one. Cute. Yeah, that was really fun me. I that.
00:45:46
Speaker
But otherwise, it's is just same things – Um, you know, but same, but different. So it's always, yeah I'm always like, I'm not going to change it. And then I change it. So, yeah
00:45:58
Speaker
well, this has been so fun. Give everyone a rundown of where they can find you, your website, um, and where they can follow you.
Connecting with Learning with Kelsey
00:46:06
Speaker
Okay. So I'm on Instagram and TikTok at learning with Kelsey.
00:46:09
Speaker
And then my website is learningwithkelsey.com. Amazing. And we'll drop all the details in the show notes of this episode as well. um But it's been so amazing to talk to you I am on my way to order that hair Halloween box if it's still available because that has my name written all over Oh, you need it.
00:46:29
Speaker
Literally so amazing. Well, thank you so much, Kelsey. Yeah. Thank you, guys. Thank you so much for being a part of our mom group chat. New episodes drop every Tuesday. And don't forget, the group chat is blowing up on our Instagram page. So make sure you're following along over there.
00:46:46
Speaker
All right, got to go. My toddler just put something in her mouth.