Frances A. Maher

The first job Elisabeth Stitt ever imagined doing at nine was being a British nanny. After many hours of reading English children’s stories, it seemed to her to be the perfect combination of getting all the joy of taking care of children without the drudgery of being the one doing all the cooking and cleaning. Well, she didn’t realize that dream exactly, but she did become a mother’s helper, a baby sitter, a camp counselor and finally, a teacher.

In 25 years of teaching Elisabeth has taught children kindergarten through twelfth grade in some capacity or another, but most of her time was spent teaching English to 7th graders. Teaching middle school is not for the faint of heart, but Elisabeth is crazy about twelve year olds. She feels it is an honor and a privilege to get to walk alongside children just as they are stepping into adulthood, and there is no better vehicle for aiding that journey than reading great literature and having students write about themselves.

Outside the classroom Elisabeth developed the middle school character education curriculum and later brought a YMCA social emotional development program called Project Cornerstone to the lower grades. In her teaching, Elisabeth operated by two rules: One, the child is more important than the curriculum; and two, she’d rather her students be kind and do good in the world than that they be smart. As a result of those priorities, Elisabeth’s students were among the best writers in the state.

On the home front, life was a little rockier. Having been friends with her husband since the 9th grade, Elisabeth never expected to find herself divorced at thirty-three. Still, creating a new life for her toddler, gave her something to focus on as she reimagined what her future was going to be. Once divorced, Elisabeth never expected to fall in love again—but she did, head over heels, and has spent the last 15 years navigating the ins and outs of blending families, co-parenting from two households, and custody schedules, as well as the usual craziness that goes along with raising three children.

Elisabeth started Joyful Parenting Coaching because she was seeing a shift in parents over the years. Parents are getting busier—and as they have become so, they are becoming more isolated and more anxious with less and less time to reach out to support each other. Elisabeth’s mission is to fill that gap, and she does so through one-on-one coaching, workshops, webinars and a weekly newsletter you can sign up for at www.elisabethstitt.com.

Link to most recent blog is: http://www.elisabethstitt.com/past-newsletters-and-other-musings/ And to sign up to get the weekly newsletter/blog: http://www.elisabethstitt.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Bio