Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica McCauley.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I began my career as an early childhood teacher at Post Oak School. I worked with children ages 14 months-3 years in a Montessori classroom. I also worked
closely with their families to help them implement Montessori principles at home. I left Post Oak School after six years to become a Certified Child Life Specialist at Texas Children’s Hospital. I provided support to patients and families in order to help them cope with being in the hospital. This included things such as distracting patients during an IV placement or other medical procedure, counseling families after they received a new diagnosis, and normalizing the hospital experience
through age-appropriate play. I returned to teaching after my Texas Children’s experience and joined the faculty at The Fay School where I taught 1st grade for three years.
After almost ten years of teaching, it was right for our family for me to stay at home with our children. I have spent the last five years working as a mommy to our now 5-year-old, 3-year-old, and 6-months-old. I also continued to work with individual students as an academic support specialist reinforcing concepts, developing executive functioning skills, and providing enrichment activities as needed.
Most recently, I combined my career experiences, my passion of working with families, and the realities of being a parent myself and founded Small Hands Big Steps, a parenting coaching and consulting business designed to help families navigate the early childhood years. Working hand in hand with families was always one of my favorite parts of teaching, and now, I am fortunate to be able to get into the trenches with families and provide tools and techniques to help people become even better parents.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a business is always an adventure! The biggest challenge has been balancing the demands of a business with the demands of motherhood. As a mother of three young children, my time is quite divided these days. I work hard to meet the needs of my family while also remaining accessible to my clients.
Please tell us about Small Hands Big Steps.
Small Hands Big Steps provides support to parents as they navigate the early childhood years. I guide families as they work through the developmental challenges of discipline, sleep, mealtimes, toileting, and sibling additions. I also work hand in hand with families to design and organize play spaces with the goal of providing age-appropriate and developmentally stimulating activities.
I am most proud of the moments when parents work hard to implement the techniques that they learn during our sessions and are met with success! It is so exciting to see parents become empowered by having a few more tools in their toolbox. It absolutely changes the lives of their children, and I am thrilled by that every time.
Small Hands Big Steps is unique because I am able to combine years of teaching and child development experience, evidence-based research, and educational theory with real life. I’m a mom too. I know what it’s like to be a parent, and I know how hard it is. Every child is different, and every family is unique. I pride myself on meeting children and families where they are and providing the resources they need to get them to where they want to be.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Playing on our backyard swing set with my brother and eating popsicles.
Contact Info:
- Website: smallhandsbigsteps.com
- Phone: 281-467-0746
- Email: smallhandsbigsteps@gmail.com
- Instagram: @smallhandsbigsteps
- Facebook: Small Hands Big Steps
Image Credit:
Ryan Flores Photography
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