About

Mama Smiles is a blog about finding joy in everyday parenting through creativity, learning, and play. This site features products and activities that encourage parent-child bonding, create fun learning opportunities, inspire positive sibling relationships, and build happy, healthy, connected families. I started this site as a creative outlet four years ago. It has grown into a wonderful place to share the things that make parenting wonderful, and I gain valuable insights and inspiration from my readers.

I am the Boston suburb-dwelling mother of four young, playful, curious, craft-loving children, aged 7, 5, 3, and nine months. My passions include parenting, hands-on learning, and tools that encourage learning and creativity throughout life.

I have an undergraduate degree from Stanford University, where I studied organ and vocal performance. I also hold a master’s degree in education, also from Stanford University, with a foreign language teacher’s credential. I taught high school French before returning to graduate school for a PhD in medicine (from the University of Edinburgh), where I looked at programs that use music as therapy for children and to rebuild communities in post-war regions. I now use all three degrees on a daily basis (albeit in somewhat unusual ways) as the stay-at-home mother of four young children!

As a survivor of pediatric cancer (30 years in May 2012!), I cherish each and every day of life.

Any patterns, templates, and recipes included on this site are my own original creations. Feel free to copy them for personal, non-commercial use, but please give credit to this site.

Do you have ideas for this blog, or are you interested in collaborating on a project? You can read my disclosure and review policy here, and reach me by email at mamasmilesblog at gmail dot com.

Here are a few posts that can help you get to know me a little better: