Momma Earth, LLC

05/15/2025

I used to feel bad and guilty that I was an "OT Momma" that didn't enjoy making sensory bins... And hadn't really made them for my (then) toddler in his 2+ years of life...

But then I paused and realized that I'd been providing him a rich sensory experience by playing outdoors with dynamic natural elements.

Today's "sensory bin" initiated by my words "let's make flower soup."

Add:
Developing hands
Flowers from our yard
Water from the hose
A small vessel for ingredients

Benefits & results:
🌳 Easy developmentally enriching play based learning
🥰 Shared enjoyment and space for learning together (passing tools, sharing ingredients)
Bilateral coordination 🤸🏻‍♀️
Fine motor skill refinement ✌🏻
Crossing midline 📚
Engagement of multiple senses at once! 🧠

P.s. it's GORGEOUS out there.

05/07/2025

Getting to attend the conference alongside this amazing friend, , the author of Beyond Inclusion How to Raise Anti-Ableist Kids last month was just the medicine I'd needed. 📚

I've never felt so accommodated for without needing to request accomodations. Inclusivity matters and when we make things accessible across the board we really can all benefit.

I'll be here anytime hyping up this book and the beliefs behind it. 👏🏻📚🧠🙌🏻

Image descriptions:
Two white females stand smiling in front of a sign that reads "thank you for attending! 30th Annual Minnesota Autism Conference Presented by Best Care." One with short dark curly hair, a mustard yellow shirt and a light cardigan stands with her head tilted towards her friend standing beside her with shoulder length blonde curly hair and a bright yellow shirt & colorful striped cardigan.

2nd image is a screenshot of Beyond Inclusion's colorful book cover with a book overiew from a simple search.

05/07/2025

I've been reminded lately that I'm not in this alone. 🌎

✨ Sparks are lighting up and I feel the energy shifting as more parents move outdoors with intention. 🌳

I had the opportunity to hear Ginny's story last night and it reminded me why I started Momma Earth, stepping outside with my OT-Mom hat on.

🧠Taking our children outdoors to learn through play and rich sensory motor experiences is so vital to their development.

But it's also great for our adult brains and mental health. Becoming a mom and mothering is hard in today's society. Doing it all outside with a ton of snacks and some friends really makes a difference!

02/07/2025

Over here politically advocating for YOU, and you, and you. And you too. For the basics, really. Read the caption/post.

Let me make something clear:

Everything I do, everything I write, everything I stand for here is inherently political.

Play is inherently political. If I say “we need to let children play freely” then I’m also saying “parents need to be making enough money at their jobs to be able to come home and hang out with their kids for unstructured hours in the evening so the kids aren’t being shuffled from care service to care service.” I’m also saying, “teachers need to be paid enough and trusted enough to be capable of breathing without over-standardizing everything the children do.” I’m also saying “we need to listen to scientific evidence telling us how important play is” and that means I’m also saying “we need funds for the sciences” and that means I’m also saying “evidence is knowable and a thing worth leaning on”; and I’m *also* saying “we need to pay attention to the people who are being left out of the studies and see how we can bring in their lived experience” and that means that I’m saying “Black and brown people and women and q***r people and, ironically, disabled people and also inconvenient people of all kinds sometimes get left out of the literature and we need to find ways to bridge that gap” and that means that I’m yet again saying “fund the sciences”.

If I’m saying “let children play freely” then I’m saying “let neurodivergent children play the ‘wrong’ way, too,” because I’m saying “there’s not a wrong way to play”; and that implies that I’m saying “we need safe spaces for neurodivergent children to be allowed to be neurodivergent children” and that means “we also need to allow neurodivergent people to be neurodivergent people” and that means an entire cascade of things about our current society and political system, the absolute bare minimum of which is that people deserve human rights and that those should be protected.

Sensory processing is inherently political. When I say “here is how to listen to your body and perhaps hear what it is telling you and nobody can tell you that you are wrong,” I am also saying, “you have to respect somebody else’s report of what their body told them they needed.” I am also saying “somebody else may need a different thing out of a public space than you.” I am also saying “our collective taxes fund the things we all need.” When I say “some people are sensory-seeking” then I’m also saying “children need spaces to get loud, move their bodies, and touch and explore things in public” and that means “everywhere can’t be an absolutely completely sanitized space where noise, movement, or touch are policed”.

Respecting children is inherently political. When I say “children deserve respect as full human beings” then I am also saying “trans children deserve respect as full human beings and it is wrong to police the lived experience of human beings,” and I am also saying “Palestinian children deserve respect as full human beings and it is wrong to murder human beings,” and I am also saying “Autistic children deserve respect as full human beings and it is wrong to police the bodily existence of human beings,” and so, so much more.

Neurodiversity-affirming practice is inherently political. When I say “being autistic is a type of brain wiring and autistic people deserve full acceptance as they are,” I am also saying “being disabled is not a barrier to being accepted as a human being.” I am also saying, “society owes it to disabled people to make space for them to thrive.” I am also saying, “diversity, divergence, and disability are a natural part of the human condition.” I am also saying, “access to healthcare — mental healthcare included — should be a human right.”

Knowing about child development is inherently political. When I say “a two-year-old is not ‘being bad’ for feeling an emotion” then I am also saying theoretical things like “I call into question the entire system of morality that suggests that people are ‘being bad’ for feeling emotions, ever” and also practical things like “stop kicking small children out of daycare or school for struggling.” I’m saying “a child is not an adult and can’t be responsible for adult crimes.” I’m saying “we need community services that are trained in child development and there to support parents.”

Learning to self-regulate is inherently political. When I say “humans are inherently social creatures who co-regulate as a primary tool to learn how to cope with overwhelming emotion” I’m also saying “this includes men.” I’m also saying “people need support from one another that isn’t exclusively romantic support and love.” I’m once again saying “we need comprehensive mental health care.” When I say “kids do well when they can” I’m also saying “adults do well when they can.” I’m saying “everyone wants the same basic things, just some of us have skills to get those in ways that work better than others.” I am also saying “punitive justice systems don’t do anything to restore what’s been lost or help solve the underlying cause, they just satiate a desire for vengeance.”

And no matter what the heck I write on this page, any words I ever write at all, I’m saying, “I don’t believe these thoughts should only be accessible to you if you have US health insurance.” I’m saying, “I want to try to make your life easier in some way by sharing this thing I know with you.” I’m saying, “You don’t only deserve this if you pay for it.”

In this society, you are worth what money someone can make off of you. Off of your contact information, off of your body, of even where your eyes rest. I am saying, "This has nothing to do with money. This is love."

I’m saying, “Take care of yourself.” I’m saying, “Take care of your child.” I’m saying, “I want to take care of you as best as I can.” I’m saying, “We all have to take care of each other.”

That’s a political statement. It’s always been a political statement. This page has always been political and will always be. My writing has always been political and will always be.

We all have to take care of each other.

[Image description: A background with pink, white, and blue striped fabric. Over top it reads: "Play is inherently political." End description.]

12/10/2024

Hello community!

It is with great excitement and gratitude that I announce Novo Chiropractic is hosting Sowing Seeds for a Solid Foundation!

We've got JANUARY & FEBRUARY options for you!

🤰🏻Pregnant? Know someone pregnant? This course will prepare you/them for when baby has arrived!

🧠 Learn how to support your baby's foundation for development.

10/12/2024

How fun was that!? Thank you for connecting with me during the Lakeville Community Baby Shower!

I had a full room of parents listen in on a quick 20-minute breakout session on early developmental milestones and how to support their babies build a strong & stable foundation to grow from through PLAY with a focus on connection! 🤰🏻🦎 🧠 🌱






Image description: a woman with curly short dark hair and a large smile is seated behind a table that holds a high contrast black/white picture in front of a baby doll on its tummy. The table is covered in a dark green tablecloth and has stacks of paper handouts and two signs standing on it.

10/04/2024

Are you or your partner expecting? Do you have a newborn? Or do you know someone in this phase of life?

You're invited to this ECFE BABYPALOOZA Community Baby Shower!

🗓️ October 12th 2024 from 9am-11am!

Connect with me at my table in the main gym or during my breakout session covering how to support tummy time & early developmental milestones! 🧠🦎✅

🗓️🤰🏻🤱🏿👨🏽‍🍼





Alt text: image of text
"ECFE BABYPALOOZA October 12, 2024 9:00-11am
FREE event - Open to All!
Expectant and parents of newborns (under 6 months) from Lakeville area can connect with community organizations and learn about: pediatric dental and medical services, birthing options, mental health, maybe equipment, early childhood education and more!
Space is limited; two adults per registration required by October 9th at https://bit.ly/24-palooza
Attend breakout sessions to personalize your experience. Receive a welcome bag with resources and sign up for door prizes! Crystal Lake Education Center 16250 Ipava Avenue Lakeville MN Questions: ecfe@isd194.org"

09/18/2024

Looking forward to another Born Abel event at Westwood Hills Nature Center Friday September 20th!

These events are FREE for medically complex kiddos (Born Abel babes), HopeKids and friends of Born Abel (homeschoolers) kids.

*Make sure to register to save a spot.

09/13/2024

🎃 Check out this opportunity to explore pumpkins in adaptive, inclusive, and fun new ways with your family!

Saturday October 26th 10am-12pm

🗓️ Pre-registration required!!
🐦Early-bird sale through Sept 30th!