Laura Woodside is a literacy consultant, freelance writer, and curriculum designer who developed a passion for inspiring young writers during her years of elementary classroom teaching. “Figuring out how to help kids move beyond the struggles of mechanics to find the joy in playing with words,” she reports as her favorite teaching challenge. She has always been involved with the world of writing, conducting research abroad on early childhood literacy as an undergraduate. Laura is the recipient of many education awards, degrees and honors including a Masters of Science in Education, certification as a Reading Specialist, National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist, and recognition as a Benchmark Literacy Teacher. Laura writes from her home in Brookeville, Maryland where she lives with her husband Rob and is raising three young playful writers of her own!