📖 About

Hello and welcome to Read & Write Like It Matters! My name is Mrs. J. Over the last decade, I've worked as a middle school language arts teacher, reading specialist, and classical curriculum writer. These days, I'm enjoying the adventure of raising my own three children.

My passion is finding authentic ways to inspire young people and their educators to embrace their creativity. My goal is to create lessons that draw in real-world experiences and the unique passions and talents of your students so that every lesson can be engaging and personal.

As a classroom teacher, one of my favorite ways to encourage creativity was to host a simple sharing event I called "Coffee Shop." I would pick a date and let my students select a creative work to share or perform, similar to an open-mic event at a coffee shop. On the day of Coffee Shop, my students would bring in refreshments to share, and we would sit back and celebrate each student's work.

I still delight in memories of my students sharing their poetry, artwork, speeches, and songs. I loved listening to their stories and learning about what inspired them. Most of all, I loved seeing how these shared creative experiences built authentic community in the classroom.

Over the years, I've shifted from calling "Coffee Shop" to "Creative Café," and I’ve expanded it from being primarily a sharing event to a workshop-style gathering. I'll be posting more about it soon!

I invite you to grab a hot mug of coffee and join me for inspiration and resources designed to cultivate the creativity of your students, whether you are teaching at home or in the classroom. Let's get reading and writing! 📓