Hi Reader,

The school year is about to end. I am not ready. But there are too many events happening to spend time getting ready.*

*That’s sort of a lie. I had a couple hours this week where I could’ve done whatever “get ready for summer” means. But instead I made cool graphics to update you about my summer reading list, wrote a blog about my summer reading list, and now I’m writing this email. Let’s consider this my treat between field day and the end of preschool celebration.

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​Craft

My 2nd grader’s teacher is having a baby! So I knit this hat - the Beloved Bonnet by Tin Can Knits. It’s one of my absolute favorite things to make as a baby gift.

Yesterday my 5yo spent the 20 minutes between school drop offs making her version of paper snowflakes and saving every last scrap of paper from them to hand out to her classmates (at least, I think that was her plan). My kids love art and crafting and they tend to start a project wherever they are when they think of it. I’m excited that art and craft will likely be a big part of our summer plans. I’m also really hoping I can figure out a solution for keeping the projects contained and regularly cleaning up. If you saw my recent instagram reel, you know I struggle with this, so teaching my kids to do it is… challenging.

Dance

In 2018 I packed up my dancer self and put her on a shelf. In 2020 I packed up my dance educator self and put her on the shelf too. I”m dusting off those selves and seeing what they look like now and it is a raw, vulnerable, joyous, and inspiring process.

The most recent “dusting off” included meeting up with another dance educator for a 2 hour coffee date and getting reinvigorated about creative dance and what I wish there was more (and less) of in the dance world. More on that soon.

Read

I’m 1 week into my self imposed summer reading challenge and I’ve finished 1 book, placed my holds, and (sort of) gone off script. Can there be real rules if you’re the one making up the rules? You can read all about it here, but if what you really want to know is how far down the waitlist I am for some of these new releases, that info is over on Instagram. (No shade. The dopamine boosts I get from checking my library holds are top notch)

Repeat​
Sometimes I send these emails and I just hope they’re reaching you and bringing value into your life. But over the last few weeks, some of you have emailed back with your thoughts, book recs, and agreement about the challenges of returning to dance classes as an adult. It fills my heart to know you’re reading what I write and that it’s having an impact. So, thank you for that. I deeply appreciate it.

That's all for now. I hope the end of the school year is treating you gently.

Talk soon,

Jen ​
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