The Little Scraps of Magic Story
I’m Stephanie Trzaska & I’m here to tell you a story about magic.
Little Scraps of Magic started as an Instagram account back in June of 2019. My son, Bruce was 3 months old, and I wanted to chronicle his growth, development, and our journey to raise him in a Montessori-ish way. I also wanted an outlet to express myself through writing, as well as a place to connect and build community with other moms. And if I’m being honest, I had this shred of hope and belief that something more would grow out of it and that perhaps it would help me gain clarity in where I was to go next in my life, professionally.
At this time, I was coming off of my maternity leave and entering summer vacation. I was a Montessori Guide (that’s Montessori lingo for “teacher”... more on that another day) in a Lower Elementary class, but I knew that with the birth of Bruce, my heart couldn’t fully be in teaching any longer. I loved my students and the parents I worked with very much… and that's where I felt my problem was. For me, teaching was not just a profession. It was a passion and a way of life. I lived to create a positive, tangible impact on the families I worked with. But it took everything I had.
As a Montessori Guide, I poured my heart and soul into each child I worked with. I celebrated their accomplishments and failures as if they were my own. I felt my whole being burst with pride, excitement, and joy when I’d see these same emotions in my students. Conferences, parent nights, and interactions with parents left my heart feeling so full (most of the time!). With all of these emotions wrapped up into my “job”, I knew that I could not sustain both being the teacher I wanted to be as well as the mother I wanted to be. I knew it would run me down and tap me out. And as much as I loved my classroom community and the families I worked with, I loved my son more. I didn’t want to miss a single thing. The thought of spending more time with other people’s children than I would with my own sent me spiraling into an abyss of tears.
So, I made a tough decision and gave up my classroom and started a new role as a part-time floater, working among the three Lower Elementary classrooms at our school. I worked three days a week helping students and colleagues however I could. It was great because I was still able to have a positive impact, contribute to our family’s financial needs, but also step away from my job at the end of each day in a way I never could as a Lead Guide. At the end of the school day, my heart wasn’t full in the same ways it had been when I had my own classroom, but I had more of myself to give to my family than I would have if I’d stayed teaching full time.
Through that year, I continued to post about our Montessori-ish way of life on Instagram and grow a community there. It was obviously very different from my classroom community, but I found such happiness in sharing my journey with other moms. I felt so satisfied by supporting others, providing and gaining insight, and doing it all in a way that complimented and worked with my lifestyle. I found that I was tapping into creative parts of myself that had been lying dormant for years. As a Guide, I championed the creativity of my students and took action to help them see that they could be anything they wanted, yet that rarely left time, energy, or motivation to create anything of my own...to be anything I wanted.
Little Scraps of Magic gave me the space to do that.
As the year went on, I felt such a strong sense that I could somehow build something lasting and full of value with LSOM. Through collaborating on various series with other inspiring moms, making recommendations for routines, schedules, products, and progressions, and taking calls to provide support to mamas, I truly began to feel some magic happening. I had the tools to assist like-minded moms on different parts of their journeys through motherhood. I could provide ideas, feedback, and mindset support to expectant mothers. I could help new mamas create a beautiful Montesssori-inspired environment on a budget. I could share digestible nuggets of philosophy and implementation of the Montessori approach. I could support moms who were struggling to understand and teach their elementary aged children at home. I could provide a framework and context for incorporating all sorts of alternative methods of education into family life.
My mind was constantly budding and blooming with ways to create a career out of the things I loved most with the people I loved most. My community. Moms from all across the globe. My tribe. What felt so exciting about this was not just that I would be able to empower other women, and in turn, their children, but I knew so many other moms in my IG community who could be a part of this magical network I would strive to build. Many of them could benefit from the knowledge and support I could provide, but many of them could also share THEIR skills and talents with one another. Women helping women. Moms supporting moms. That’s magic.
As all of these realizations were coming to me, my school also turned my part-time position into a full-time one. I wasn’t ready to go back to work full-time, and while I deeply appreciated everything that the floater role did for my family, it just didn’t have my heart the way having my own classroom did nor did it have my heart in the way Little Scraps of Magic did. I knew then that I was ready to build my own business.
I am now beyond proud and excited to say that I am the Founder of Little Scraps of Magic-- a nurturing network for moms who wish to be a part of a supportive, engaging, and educational community.
In addition to events and 1:1 mama mentoring, you can count on finding lots of free content right here on the blog! Posts will range from handling challenging behaviors, choosing the right school for your child, differences in alternative methods of education, welcoming your newborn, Montessori life, and even peeks into my personal life.
I’m so glad you’re here! I hope you find some magic!