We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Taliaferro, M.Ed and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’m a certified elementary school teacher with a master’s degree in early childhood education, and I taught 1st and 2nd grade for six years. I absolutely loved my job!

But when I had my own kids, I knew I wanted to stay home with them, especially when they were little. I had to think outside the box in terms of how I could stay home while also staying connected to the world of education.

Starting Littles Love Learning was the solution to my problem. Through my own small business, I help teachers and parents around the country (and even the world!) prepare their little ones for kindergarten by providing high-quality teaching resources and activity ideas, all while staying home with my own kids. It’s the best of both worlds!

What should our readers know about your business?
When I started Littles Love Learning at the end of 2018, I knew I wanted to create a space online where teachers and parents of little ones could find inspiration and activity ideas to help prepare their kids for kindergarten, especially in the area of literacy development. There are so many outdated and ineffective ideas floating around the internet, so I wanted to make sure Littles Love Learning only created high-quality, research-backed resources that truly made a difference.

In 2019, after sharing my ideas online for six months, I created my own in-person preschool literacy enrichment class to put these ideas into practice. This class met once a week at a local dance studio, and my students thrived in the play-based environment. Then the pandemic began in March 2020, and I was forced to close my in-person class and stay home, just like the rest of the world.

Instead of giving up, I quickly pivoted to teaching online, and I began hosting free storytimes on Zoom twice a week. These storytimes were so much fun! They gave students (and parents!) something to look forward to, added structure to a very unstructured time, and allowed me to stay connected to my students in a different way.

These free storytimes led to a year of teaching virtual preschool for the 2020-2021 school year, which was a wonderful option for parents who weren’t ready or able to send their kids back to school. During that school year, I created my own curriculum materials to use with my class, which are also available on my website for parents and teachers to use with their own little ones.

This year, I’m able to work on Littles Love Learning while also subbing and volunteering at my kids’ school, which is such a gift! I’m excited about the possibility of opening up in-person classes again in the future, and I continue sharing ideas online with teachers and parents around the world.

In the short time since I began Littles Love Learning, I have pivoted multiple times. Through this experience, I’ve learned that the most successful businesses are willing to change, adapt, and try new things when faced with challenges. Nothing stays the same forever, and it’s important to change your business strategy in order to meet the needs of your customers and clients.

I’ve also learned that owning a business takes perseverance and tenacity unlike anything else I’ve done before. It requires believing in success before achieving it, and putting yourself out there with no guarantees. There have been so many ups and downs, but the rewards are worth the risk!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend were visiting, she’d be here with her young kids, so we’d be hitting up all the best spots for kids in Tucson!

We’d start with a morning hike on Tumamoc Hill, which is a great workout but also doable for kids, and the views are gorgeous!

After our hike, we’d head downtown and grab donuts at Donut Bar before visiting The Children’s Museum. It’s easy for kids to spend hours there, exploring each room while using creativity and imagination!

Then we’d take a ride on the Sun Link Streetcar from downtown to visit the University of Arizona, and we’d take in a show at the Flandrau Planetarium. That place is amazing!

After such a busy day, we’d take the Streetcar back to downtown and enjoy an early dinner (and ice cream of course!) at The Hub.

Such a fun day!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Starting Littles Love Learning would not have been possible without the support of my husband, Brian. He believed in me from the beginning, always cheering me on and fully believing I would be successful (even before there was any evidence to support his belief). I could never have taken the leap of faith without him!

I’m also eternally grateful to all my students and their families, and all the educators who have trusted me to guide them on their own teaching journey. I’m inspired by their excitement to help prepare little ones to be successful in kindergarten and beyond, which will have a positive ripple effect on the entire world! What we do in these early years matters.

Website: https://littleslovelearning.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littleslovelearningblog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littleslovelearningblog/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@littleslovelearning

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/littleslovelearningblog/

Image Credits
KaiAnn Stamp

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