It’s time to turn that overwhelm into

Simplicity & Joy

“Play is the highest form of research.” 

~ Albert Einstein ~

For Parents and Communities

Play Parties & Pop-Up Events

Interactive play events for children and families, focusing on purposeful play to encourage joyful development.

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Personalized Mentoring

One-on-one mentoring for parents, focusing on implementing joyful, purposeful play in daily routines.

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Weekly Zoom Play Groups

Virtual support sessions to share ideas, answer questions, and provide parenting advice in a community-focused environment.

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Parent Workshops

Workshops and talks on nurturing joy and child development, including practical activities, tips, and tricks for parents and caregivers.

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For Educators and Communities

Book Reading & Signings

Engaging readings from How to Teach Joy, along with book signings at bookstores, coffee shops, and community events.

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Personalized Mentoring

One-on-one mentoring for teachers and early childhood professionals, focusing on implementing joyful, purposeful play in daily routines.

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Early Educator Workshops

Workshops and talks on nurturing joy and child development, including practical activities, tips, and tricks for teachers..

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Collaborative Events & Partnerships

Partnering with organizations, musicians, and other influencers to expand the reach and impact of your joyful approach to child development.

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Keynotes & Workshops

After three decades of developing, refining, and proving her How to Teach Joy philosophy as a mother, child development expert, founder of several early education centers, and an educator training the next generation, Teacher Joy embodies all of the enthusiasm and ingenuity she inspires in her audiences.

Whether it is a keynote or a workshop, educators, parents, and even change- and policy-makers will find themselves deeply engaged and walk out smiling and ready to put all of their inspiration into action.

For Educators

Bye, Bye, Burnout 

In a largely under-appreciated and under-resourced profession, it’s no wonder early childhood educators are burning out at alarming rates. Instead of succumbing to this trend, turn some of that nurturing nature and knowledge inward and create a plan that tends to your own well-being. It is possible to resource yourself, so you can keep showing up and lovingly leading the littles.

Don’t Get Mad, Get Prepared  

They may not be that tall, but they definitely know how to reach those “buttons” and push, push, push until they get a response. If anxiety or frustration is bubbling, or threatening to interrupt learning, it’s time to craft your three-step plan for managing your emotions and the power struggles that provoke them. 

Rally for Relationship  

We need more than a village to educate and empower our children, we need a thriving ecosystem. Amplify the power of relationship with these simple strategies to activate and nurture resilience in the children you teach, the parents and caregivers who love them, and the larger community you need to advocate for the littles and early education.  

Set Up Your Success

Ideal outcomes come to those who plan for them. Dive into the nitty-gritty of every detail that affects your early learners and create a strategic plan, using all of these tips and tricks for designing safe yet inspiring environments, effective yet whimsical routines, and creative yet grounded curriculum. 

Expand Your FUNdamentals

If learning is not deeply enjoyable for the littles and you, it’s time to add some simplicity and JOY. Discover how to maximize JOY-fueled learning by shaking up routines that stifle curiosity and cause teacher burnout, reorganizing your environment to enhance creativity and play, and sprinkling mindfulness and whimsy into key activities.

Outdoor Learning Adventures

The more sunshine and fresh air they get, the more your littles will grow. Design outdoor environments and curricula that not only explore the natural sciences, but stretch and develop every emerging intelligence in the children you teach. 

For Parents

Learning, Loving, and Leading Your Little  

Because every child, parent, and parent-child relationship is unique, a one-size-fits-all approach can create unnecessary frustration and friction. Personalize your plan, based on the true needs, wants, strengths, and challenges of everyone involved, so it is easier to nurture purposeful, playful, and poignant whole-soul growth from newborn to child and eventually youth and adult.

Beyond Challenging Behaviors

Some children come in chill, and others come in hot with challenging needs and behaviors. Every child needs safety, structure, and support, but these spicy little ones need us to go the extra distance. When we are very intentional and consistent about nurturing their ingredients with this tried-and-true recipe for well-being and joy, we can turn challenges into learning opportunities.

Playing with Purpose

The more curiosity and creativity you infuse into your learning engagements and environments, the faster your child will learn and the more fun you will have together. From methods to materials, activities and answering questions, and skill-building to problem-solving, you can co-create a magical adventure where learning happens effortlessly and joy abounds.

For Changemakers / Policymakers

Evolving Early Education

As the trends toward bleak learner outcomes and teacher burnout put our children and culture in trouble, new models and methods must rise to meet them. Discover a powerful new, community-driven approach to early education, and why it needs the movers, shakers, and policymakers to quickly rally resources.

More on Your Speaker

Joy Robertson

Child Development Specialist Joy Robertson (Teacher Joy) partners with parents, early childhood educators, and community members committed to raising a healthier, happier generation.

When motherhood surprised her, she was young and on her own to figure out and provide what her child needed to thrive. A little research and a few child development classes deepened her parenting joy and sparked a lifelong passion and profession. She attended Monterey Peninsula College and Hartnell College, where she was instructed by Jeannie Garcia and Pat Hendricks and mentored by Bev Bos and became a staff member and mentor teacher for student teachers at their child development center.

In 1998, she co-created her first early education center with Shannan Watkins in Seaside, California. Avondale is still thriving with the brilliant staff Shannan has led while expanding to more than a dozen centers throughout Northern California.

After moving to Wenatchee, Washington in 2000, Joy developed The Learning Curve Child Development Center with the financial support of Verm Smith, and transformed a struggling daycare into a high-quality child development center that grew to three locations and operated for ten years.

In 2016, she founded TEAMS Learning Center to provide a full experience of her How to Teach Joy philosophy, which included adult instruction as well as early learning. It made a major impact on the community and was recognized as the North Central Washington Chamber of Commerce’s Non-profit of the Year for 2023.

Over the course of her career, from every role imaginable in early education, she has helped families cultivate more joy in their relationships and surprise doctors with the astounding progress of neurodivergent children. She has trained hundreds of teachers in her proprietary philosophy and curriculum and rallied communities to support early childhood education. And she has codified her philosophy in a beautifully-illustrated instructional manual titled How to Teach Joy: A Simple Guide to Nurturing a Child’s Development.

In addition to speaking and facilitating, Joy now offers 1-on-1 parent mentoring as well as PLAY, a small support group for parents. An advocate for all children having equal rights and opportunity to high-quality education, she speaks to inspire and empower parents, students, and educators as well as activate civil and community leaders to improve early childhood education for children across the country.

Child Development Specialist Joy Robertson (Teacher Joy) partners with parents, early childhood educators, and community members committed to raising a healthier, happier generation.

When motherhood surprised her, she was young and on her own to figure out and provide what her child needed to thrive. A little research and a few child development classes deepened her parenting joy and sparked a lifelong passion and profession. She attended Monterey Peninsula College and Hartnell College, where she was instructed by Jeannie Garcia and Pat Hendricks and mentored by Bev Bos and became a staff member and mentor teacher for student teachers at their child development center.

In 1998, she co-created her first early education center with Shannan Watkins in Seaside, California. Avondale is still thriving with the brilliant staff Shannan has led while expanding to more than a dozen centers throughout Northern California.

After moving to Wenatchee, Washington in 2000, Joy developed The Learning Curve Child Development Center with the financial support of Verm Smith, and transformed a struggling daycare into a high-quality child development center that grew to three locations and operated for ten years.

In 2016, she founded TEAMS Learning Center to provide a full experience of her How to Teach Joy philosophy, which included adult instruction as well as early learning. It made a major impact on the community and was recognized as the North Central Washington Chamber of Commerce’s Non-profit of the Year for 2023.

Over the course of her career, from every role imaginable in early education, she has helped families cultivate more joy in their relationships and surprise doctors with the astounding progress of neurodivergent children. She has trained hundreds of teachers in her proprietary philosophy and curriculum and rallied communities to support early childhood education. And she has codified her philosophy in a beautifully-illustrated instructional manual titled How to Teach Joy: A Simple Guide to Nurturing a Child’s Development.

In addition to speaking and facilitating, Joy now offers 1-on-1 parent mentoring as well as PLAY, a small support group for parents. An advocate for all children having equal rights and opportunity to high-quality education, she speaks to inspire and empower parents, students, and educators as well as activate civil and community leaders to improve early childhood education for children across the country.

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