Copper Learning Academy

02/03/2026

Visiting with WILX Taylor Gattoni was so fun! I appreciate how kind and curious she is — thank you for having me!

A nature-based learning center for K-5 students is opening this year in St. Johns.

02/03/2026

Routines are for giraffes! 🦒

Someone asked me recently how I’m managing stress while opening a school. They wondered if I was taking care of myself, because there are a lot of tasks, deadlines, and future steps to keep organized.

One of the biggest supports for me has been building a morning routine. If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d have one, I would have laughed. Then internally I would have felt shame about not knowing how to do that. (There is my ADHD brain, reporting for duty.)

What made it actually stick wasn’t discipline — it was joy.

I started with just one tiny thing: “mini morning adventures.”

I filled a jar with simple, playful ideas and pull one each day like a little fortune cookie.

They’re meant to take 30 seconds to no more than three minutes.

Today’s slip said: “Find a shadow that looks like an animal.”

My first thought?
…Absolutely not. That feels too hard.

I looked at the shadow by the window.
The shadow from a box.
The shadow from the laundry basket.
The shadow from the actual cat.

Still nothing. And I almost quit.

Then I glanced at the shadow from the cat tower — and suddenly I saw a giraffe. 🦒

In that tiny moment, two things became clear:

1) I only found it because I didn’t give up.
2) This is exactly why I do mini morning adventures — to create little pockets of joy, imagination, and possibility.

Over time, that small ritual grew into a fuller routine that now also holds space for my goals around health, leadership, and the work of building Copper.

That willingness to do something completely different is exactly what I want for students.

I want them to be able to say, “This isn’t working — let’s try another way.”

I want them to build on ideas, be playful, and see possibility.

And yes — I also want them to do their math, spelling, and history along the way.

If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to join our waitlist on our website.

(P.S. please excuse my very funky giraffe drawing… imagination over artistry! 😉)

02/02/2026

Beautiful snow! ❄️ ⛄️

02/01/2026

I had fun interviewing with WILX Taylor Gattoni today for a Mid Michigan Matters segment. Look for it to air on Tuesday!

01/31/2026

Who’s joining me in five minutes?

01/28/2026

Why the name Copper? We don’t even live in Copper Country!

The answer starts with my grandmother.

She was an amazing woman. The kind you could bring your wild ideas to. The kind who let me live with her as a young adult. And also told me to get my act together when needed. The kind who loved me unconditionally.

Back in 2019, I participated in a local storytelling event with the Lansing State Journal. I told a story about her, and about learning to backpack.

It’s a funny story about a young woman who thought she knew some things… and a grandmother who taught her a few more.

Grandma has been gone six years this month, and I still catch myself wanting to pick up the phone to tell her when something exciting happens.

If you have 15 minutes, I’d love for you to listen to that story. I told this story years before I ever knew I would be starting a school. It holds the very heart behind the name.

Copper is about connection.
About roots and courage.
About learning through experience.
About having someone who believes in you while still reminding you to pack your socks.

That feeling of love — the kind that steadies you and pushes you forward — is woven into the culture of what Copper Learning Academy is growing into.

That’s what we’re really building here, a place where children feel deeply known, supported, and brave enough to try. A place shaped by the people who loved us first.

What’s your favorite story about your grandmother?

I’d really love to hear it.

Finding yourself a ‘Second Chance’ while hiking through Isle Royale.

01/28/2026

I’m not very good at celebrating.
Or… at least I didn’t used to be.

As you may have read yesterday, my daughter did something really hard.

So today, we’re celebrating.

Not because it was fun.
Not because it was easy.

We’re celebrating that she asked for help.
That she told me what she was feeling.
That when she needed a hug in the middle of it all, she used her voice.

For a long time, I didn’t really know how to celebrate.
And if I’m being honest, I don’t think I believed I was worthy of it either—which is strange, because I truly believe every person deserves to have their life celebrated.

It’s something I had to learn.

My business coaches always ask, “What are you celebrating?”
And I hated that question.
I never knew what to say. I didn’t even know what it meant.

Then one day, something good happened—what it was doesn’t even matter now—but I remember thinking, I’m going to celebrate with steak for dinne tonight.

I opened my meal planning app to change the plan…
and realized steak was already on the menu.

That’s when it clicked.

Celebration isn’t always about adding something new.
It can be but whats most important is the attitude you bring to what’s already there.

Now I celebrate in small, ordinary ways.
A really good breakfast.
A walk outside.
Time to read a book I was already planning to read.

And today, I’m celebrating my daughter with a movie date. (We will DEFINITELY be getting popcorn! 🍿)

This is the kind of learning and growing we’re building toward at Copper Learning Academy—
where effort is noticed,
emotions are named,
and kids are celebrated for who they are becoming, not just what they accomplish.

What’s your favorite way to celebrate? 🎉

01/27/2026

Today reminded me why emotional learning matters just as much as academics.

My 8 year old daughter had to return to the dentist to finish work that started two weeks ago — and she remembered exactly how hard the first visit had been.

She was scared this morning.
She told me she didn’t want to go.

So we prepared in ways that felt supportive to her.
She wore comfy pajamas.
She picked out two stuffed animals.
She brought her Switch to play while we were waiting.

When we arrived, I gave her a piggyback ride around the parking lot and invited her to yell the things she was feeling out loud:

“I don’t want to do this!”
“I hate this!”
“I’m scared!”
“This is terrible!”

She shouted every word — and then she laughed.

The goal wasn’t to make the fear disappear.
It was to remind her that all emotions are allowed — and that there are many healthy ways to move through them.

It actually went smoother this time than last time… though she still hated it. Which honestly, I don’t blame her — who enjoys getting a filling done? The poor kid was just born with soft enamel. 💔

As we were leaving, I was chatting with the woman at the front desk about how hard parenting can be — how watching your kids go through hard things hurts our hearts.

Right then, Linnea came around the corner holding her two prizes she got to choose.

She looked up at me and said,
“I picked one for you, Mom.”

This is what she handed me. And when we got home, I glued it onto my daily to do card that I fill out every morning.

This is something we will talk about often at Copper.

Children don’t just need to learn *what* to feel.
They need to learn *how* to feel.

At our school, we will intentionally teach students different ways to process big emotions — through movement, time outdoors, creativity, words, quiet space, connection, and play.

Because every child is different.
And what helps one nervous system regulate may not work for another.

When children are given tools — not pressure — they build confidence.
They learn resilience.
They learn that hard moments don’t mean something is wrong with them.

If this approach to learning and emotional development resonates with you, we’d love to invite you into our community.

Join our waitlist on our website to stay connected as Copper Learning Academy continues to grow. 🌿

01/25/2026

Are you signed up for our summer camp?