All about me
Hi, my name is Shauna, the creative mind behind Learn and Grow Designs. I am so glad that you stopped by!
I love sharing and connecting with others, and I hope that something you read or see today brings an extra bit of joy to your life.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. I’ve had the opportunity to teach 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade, elementary school art, private art lessons, and even owned my own preschool. Currently, I am a 2nd grade teacher, starting my 18th year as an educator! I strive to make my teaching creative, exciting, and hands-on. I also believe that building a child’s self-esteem is just as important as preparing them academically.
As both a teacher and a parent, I understand the importance of having quality teaching materials that make learning exciting and engaging for children. In my Learn and Grow Designs Shops on Etsy and Teachers Pay Teachers, you will find quality educational and artistic materials to help the children in your life learn and grow.
I am married to my love, and we enjoy traveling, especially to the Caribbean. I have two amazing daughters—one in college and one in high school—who are the lights of my life. My daughters have grown into incredible individuals and I am so proud of them. I also have adorable rescue dogs that bring our family so much love and joy! My favorite thing in the world is being a mom and spending time with my family.
Some of my favorite things to do are: spending time with my family (which includes my dogs), reading, gardening, painting, using power tools to create things, finding vintage treasures, and collecting dolls. My oldest doll is over 100 years old!
I strive to become more like my Savior each day and enjoy learning about Him. One of the things that I have always tried to teach my children and students is to “choose kindness”. I think we could definitely use a little more kindness in our world.
Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you find something that will help you teach and nurture the children in your lives.
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Meet My Family
I am incredibly proud of my family; they are my everything.
My husband and I have been married for almost 4 yrs. now. He came into my life when I didn’t think I would ever want to take a chance on marriage again but after a few years of getting to know one another I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life without him in it or not having him be a big part of my daughter’s lives. Life can be very challenging and at times it can literally bring you to your knees, but it can also have moments of pure happiness, joy, and love as well. I know both and so you are not alone if you too have experienced the ups and downs of life.
My husband, born in the Azores, a beautiful island off Portugal, grew up in a military family, living all around the world. He was raised by a Japanese mother and American father. For part of his childhood he was able to live in Japan where he immersed himself in Japanese culture, being surrounded by his mom’s family. Amazingly enough he spent quite a few years in the Pacific Northwest and so did my daughters and I . It was at different times but when we started dating it was fun to find that fact out. Especially because we were living on the East Coast when we met each other. My husband has a deep knowledge of cars, history, and geography, and he loves going on cruises – an interest he introduced me to, and now I’m a huge fan as well. Recently, he surprised us by rescuing a stunning all-black German Shepherd, driving a total of 16 hours to bring him home. Generous to his core, he finds true happiness in acts of kindness, always ready to help anyone in need. His dedication to service extends beyond our family; as an Army Veteran, he has selflessly served our country, embodying the spirit of a true patriot.
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My oldest daughter will start her second year of college in the fall. She is currently a Pre-med major and loves all things science, especially learning about the human body and animals. I remember when she was in Kindergarten and First Grade, while other girls in her class checked out books on princesses, puppies, and fairies from the school library, she was checking out books about spiders, snakes, and the Titanic. It’s not that she didn’t enjoy princesses and puppies—she did—but she had an intense excitement and desire to learn about people, history, different types of animals, and how things worked. She still does; in fact, I often refer to her as my walking encyclopedia. Ask her about anything or anyone, and she can quickly share a fact with you. Her stepdad shares her excitement for learning and fact knowledge.
Besides her academic pursuits, she loves drawing and painting, and has already earned numerous awards for her artwork. Her style is very inventive and unique to herself, which I believe makes it so exciting and incredible to look at. Theater has been a passion since elementary school, where she has the ability to transform on stage into any character she plays.
Fashion is another interest; both daughters impress me with their knowledge of designers, clothing, makeup, hair tutorials, and skincare. It feels like just yesterday I was picking out their outfits and styling their hair, but now they’re the ones giving me fashion tips. Now most of the time when I suggest a clothing item I think would look cute on them, I get a response like, ‘Yeah, I don’t think so, Mom! Ha!
Speaking of clothing, my oldest daughter started taking sewing lessons when she was 8 yrs. old and for several years now she has been able to sew and/or completely upcycle her own clothes!
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My youngest daughter will be starting her last year of high school in the fall. She’s an avid reader and writer; most of her paychecks go towards buying books. Our bookshelves are bursting at the seams, but that doesn’t stop her (or her mom, ha!) from adding more. Besides excelling in reading, she’s quite the mathematician, already taking college math courses in her junior year of high school. Yeah, she didn’t get her math brain from me—I’m definitely more of a right-brain person.
She’s incredible at drawing realistic pencil art and has already won awards for her artwork. The way she studies and captures the lines, shapes, and curves of hands amazes me; hands are notoriously difficult to draw, yet hers look like photographs. Last year, she decided to try out for her high school’s lacrosse team and fell in love with the sport. I had a blast attending her games and cheering her on, and she’s eager to play again in her senior year.
Turning to her writing, when I say she’s talented, I truly mean it. She started writing books at a young age; I remember reading her second-grade writing and wishing my fourth-graders could write with as much creativity, enthusiasm, and proper punctuation as she did. She’s been diligently working on a chapter book for the past couple of years, and I’m excited for her to finish it and submit her first manuscript for publishing.”
Both of my daughter’s have hearts of gold and they are kind, loving, hardworking individuals. I love who they are on the inside and I love what beautiful relationships we have with one another. I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through some of the more challenging parts of life, if I didn’t have my sweet daughters by my side. They are two of my biggest blessings.
Meet our Dogs
We are all extremely passionate about treating animals how they should be treated and if you decide to bring an animal into your life you should only do it if you are able to make a lifetime commitment to that animal and if you will always take care of not only their basic needs (food, water, shelter, and exercise), but that you are committed to interacting with your animal and including them as a true member of your family. From growing up with pets, to having my own dogs as an adult, to volunteering at an animal shelter, to teaching my children how to properly take care of an love animals, to adopting dogs from animal shelters and rescue groups, to rescuing animals, to being proactive with animal rights and humane treatment of animals, etc. animals are a huge part of all of our lives!
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Gracie Belle
Senior, rescued 9.5 yrs. ago. She was dumped outside of a shelter along with her two siblings in the middle of the night in New Mexico, she was brought to Utah by a Rescue Rovers, and we adopted her at the Best Friends Adoption Event. She came to us shut down, nervous, abused, neglected, and she is now loved, happy, and treated like a princess. She is still nervous around anyone besides family, even people she has met several times, she is scared of other dogs until she gets to know them, and she is now completely blind. However, she is the biggest sweetheart, she has the happiest little smile, she loves squeaker toys, lives for special dog treats, she is so brave, loves to be everywhere you are, adores going on walks, and navigates the world without sight so well. We love our Gracie Belle!
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Sansa
Adult, my husband got her when we were dating when she was only a few months old. I remember when we never thought she would grow into her ears and how they used to flop over each other. Sansa is a gentle giant who loves to love and has the sweetest nature. She loves having dog friends to run around with, she loves going on walks, running around in the yard as fast as she can, she loves chasing balls (and will even toss them herself, then retrieve them), she gets so excited when she sees you, she has the most beautiful fur coat, she is an amazing smuggler, she doesn’t see anything wrong with sitting on your head if you are laying down on the couch if she thinks it is the perfect spot to sit, and she is really amazing at doing commands like sit, place, stay, shake, come, etc.
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Pota
Senior, Hospice Foster that we brought home Feb. 24′. My daughter and I decided to go to a few shelters that day to look at some dogs we had saved on Petfinder and Pota was in a shelter an hour away. We definitely didn’t think we would be coming home that day with a hospice foster dog, but we can’t imagine for a second not having adorable Pota. We would have adopted Pota the day we brought her home but she has untreatable Cancer that can not be removed because of the location, so she could only be a hospice foster. Pota is 9.5 yrs. old and although she may look it, she is incredibly young at heart and doing great. To us, she is not just a foster, she is 100% ours! We love her and although we have no idea how much time we have left with her, we will cherish every single second we do have
One of our favorite mottos in our house is “Adopt don’t Shop”. There are so many worthy dogs and cats sitting in shelters and rescues across the country just waiting for their forever homes. The 5 dogs I have brought into our home over the years have all been rescue dogs and they have all brought so much joy to our lives. So, save a life and go out and rescue!
Photo Book
A few of my favorite things.
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