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Gryphon House Authors Turned BLOGGERS!

January 31st, 2012 | 3 min. read

By Ashleigh Craven

Gryphon House has assembled a dream team of authors and experts in the field of early childhood education to introduce a new series to the Gryphon House blog: the Gryphon House Author Bloggers Panel.

Parents and educators alike will find helpful advice from trusted experts in the areas of math, science, literacy, music, art, English-language learners, special needs and sign language education. Childcare providers will find answers to questions about administering the proper technology tools and supporting the English-language learners in their classroom or learning center. Home-school and family-childcare providers will be inspired by the creative learning centers they can create in their own homes.

Each member of the Gryphon House Author Bloggers Panel has a passion for sharing advice and ideas for the education and development of young children.

  • Marie Faust Evitt (Science)
    • Marie Faust Evitt is the head teacher of a preschool class for four- and five-year-olds. Her articles and essays on education, parenting, and child psychology have been published in Newsweek, Parents, Child, Parenting, Scholastic’s Parent & Child, Scholastic.com, and Family Fun.
  • MaryAnn F. Kohl (Art)
    • MaryAnn Kohl is the bestselling author of more than 20 books about art for children. She hosts workshops and speaks with groups of children all over the United States, writes for the BN.com “Parents Expert Circle,” and writes for her own blog.
  • Kathy H. Lee (Child Care/Home School)
    • Kathy Lee is a former early childhood administrator and teacher. She helps facilitate the training of early childhood teachers, administrators, and parents around the world. She has eight children (biological and adopted) and homeschools them all!
  • Joy Lubawy (Math)
    • Joy Lubawy is the author of the Gryphon House book Preschool Math. She has more than 30 years of experience in the early education field, including teaching children with special needs, directing preschools, and educating teachers. Joy lives in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Carol Garboden Murray (Sign Language)
    • Carol Garboden Murray is the author of Simple Signing for Young Children. She has been working with children and families for many years in infant, toddler and preschool education and early intervention. She is currently the director of child care services at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, NY.
  • Karen Nemeth (Bilingual Education)
    • Karen Nemeth earned her BA in Psychology from William Paterson University and her MEd in Learning, Cognition and Development from Rutgers University. She has been a teacher and a teacher educator for more than 25 years, focusing her expertise on first- and second-language development in young children. She is a nationally known speaker and consultant as well as the founder of Language Castle, LLC.
  • Jackie Silberg (Music)
    • Jackie Silberg is an early childhood advocate and popular keynote speaker. Jackie founded and directed the Jewish Community Center School of Music in Kansas City, MO. She worked for Channel 41 television, planning and performing her original music for a children’s program called 41 Treehouse Lane. She wrote and produced a television show for Time Warner called Just Kids. Jackie has worked as a consultant with the Discovery Channel and has given workshops, keynote addresses, seminars, and family concerts around the world.
  • Fran Simon (Technology & Education)
    • Fran Simon is currently the chief engagement officer of Engagement Strategies, LLC, her own national marketing, educational technology and social media consulting company. Fran worked for 15 years as a multisite child care administrator where she was responsible for technology integration. She also developed website and online systems for early childhood programs and national organizations, such as Teaching Strategies and The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Fran is also the founder and producer of Early Childhood Investigations Webinars.
  • Dr. Robert A. Williams (Math and Science)
    • Robert A. Williams ­is a professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University. He is currently acting as lead consultant for the NSF-funded Building Base Line Objectives for Children’s Knowledge and Skills in Science (BLOCKS) program at the University of Texas. Dr. Williams has taught elementary, high school, and junior high school classes in addition to being a college professor. His past work has also included federal- and state-funded projects in water education. He has traveled extensively and has conducted workshops and worked with children throughout the United States, Asia, Europe, and Australia.
  • Dr. Clarissa Willis (Children with Special Needs)
    • Clarissa Willis, PhD, has worked for the past 20 years on behalf of children with autism spectrum disorder and their families. Her articles on child development and early childhood special education have been published both nationally and internationally. Formerly an associate professor of special education and the associate director of the Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Learning and Development at East Tennessee State University, she is currently and associate professor at the University of Southern Indiana. ~~~

For more information about any of our guest bloggers, feel free to visit the Meet Our Author Bloggers page or check out the Gryphon House website!

Author(s)Kathy Lee, Joy Lubawy, Carol Garboden Murray, Jackie Silberg, Karen N. Nemeth, Fran Simon, Clarissa Willis, PhD, Robert A. Williams, Marie Faust Evitt, MaryAnn F. Kohl

Ashleigh Craven

Ashleigh Craven has a decade and a half of diverse category experience from agency communications to athletic apparel to automotive to education, developing and executing communication strategies in both traditional and social media. She has supported national product launches and corporate events for the likes of Soffe, Buick, Chevrolet, Wake Forest University , Kaplan, and others. She has an BA from the University of Michigan in English and Communication Studies and an MA from Wake Forest University, where she focused her studies on argumentation and presidential rhetoric and speechwriting. She served as director of marketing for Gryphon House from 2017- 2020.