I'm so glad you're here!
Happy hi, I'm Flora! Breastfeeding enthusiast, advocate of rear-facing car seats, lover of dance parties with my kids, homemaker, tree hugger, musician, dedicated friend, and all around creative energy. I'm also a wife to my partner of 8 years, the mother to our two wonderful boys, and the owner and operator of You & I here in Bowling Green, KY!
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When I became a mum in 2016, I looked for local regularly scheduled activities for families and support for new parents, but came up empty handed. After watching Southern KY grow over the past few years, I decided to take a leap and make the change I wanted to see to offer child and family-centered programs in our community. My intention for this dream of mine is to encourage the parents and caregivers of infants and young children to connect and support one another through these early years, while forming lasting friendships for themselves and their children.
I first started my journey in 2021 with a company called Tinkergarten. Pre-pandemic, this company had offered child-led, play-based learning for parents and their children through nature classes held by Tinkergarten leaders in public parks and green spaces throughout the country.
Flash forward to Spring of 2021 where my oldest child had been taking virtual Tinkergarten classes over Zoom, thanks to Covid. A few months in, his leader mentioned Tinkergarten was looking to hire new leaders and I jumped at the opportunity. We wanted to be outside, I had just had a baby, and we needed to make local friends!
I ended up leading these family nature classes at Lost River Cave for about a year (and loving and learning from every moment of it) before Tinkergarten made a company-wide shift, catching me between two options: stop leading nature classes, or do it all on my own. I planned on stopping, but then I got a sweet message from a friend saying "We want out children learning outside, and we want you teaching them." The community had spoken!
Now it's January 2023 and I know nothing about running a business (Tinkergarten had done all the hard parts for me). So with what felt like reckless abandon, I dived headfirst into the legalities of insurance and LLCs, nervous but so so excited. I then decided to make it even more enthralling by adding services and programs for families of infants and younger children as well. Kentucky didn't have a certified babywearing educator and I had always loved babywearing, so I figured why not take the training from the Center for Babywearing Studies! Then I remembered how much I wished we had infant massage classes in town when my children were younger, so I took the training through the International Association of Infant Massage and added that to my services. Once I was settled in those, I branched out more with Flora's Forest Friends for Babies, a nature sensory program specific to littles ages 3 to 24 months. Because you're never too young to enjoy the outdoors!
I've been playing guitar, singing, and preforming for nearly 20 years. I started lessons when I was 10 and haven't stopped playing since. Alongside me, you see my guitar, Birdie! She's a special guitar for me and for the littles who have participated in You & I's programs because they had the chance to put their hand print on the back! I love having a reminder of how many families have supported me during this time of growth.
When The Nest, a new social lounge for families in Downtown BG, contacted me about leading their weekly music time, it was an immediate yes! Then the next day when Bowling Green Rock Band Academy approached me about teaching a preschool music class, I was over the moon! I had already been incorporating music into my nature programs and community events and a music class was next on my list to offer, so I was thrilled to team up with two great local businesses to make it happen! Once I found my footing with these programs, I decided to branch out to start my own music program: Little Songs Family Music Classes.
It took a while to choose my business's name, but I came up with the perfect one: You & I. All the programs and services I offer start with two people: A parent or caregiver, and a child (but of course some parents have multiple children!). When a parent/caregiver enrolls their child in one You & I's programs or books a service, they spend their time learning, bonding, connecting, and having fun enjoying each other and their time together. They then go home to their family or friends, and recount what they did during class that day, or teach a new technique they learned. When families bring this joy and knowledge home and share it, they're building stronger connections and growing support within their family. When we have strong family connections, they can then spread to our communities. But before we can grow stronger communities, it has to start with You & I.
With infant massage, babywearing consultations, babywearing and toddlerwearing dance classes, nature programs, and family music classes, there's something for everyone to connect over here at You & I. I truly hope you find the village you're looking for within this phenomenal, growing community we've started to build.
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Warmly,
Flora
