Meet Erica Thomason | Founder & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erica Thomason and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
As an educator and wellness coach, I have always been intrigued with the concept of optimal performance. I wondered how I could most effectively use myself to inspire others to perform at their greatest potential and achieve their best? As I gained experience, I realized that it did not matter how much energy, enthusiasm or effort I put behind presenting information. What really mattered was how much confidence and internal self-belief my student had within themselves. It really mattered how well the individual was able to relate information, emotion and meaning to themselves and the world. When I realized that I could directly enhance these traits not just through intellectual gains but by increasing social emotional intelligence, I knew I had found the missing piece, I created The Dynamic Child in 2017 in response to what I was seeing in the community that many students lacked the ability to relate to themselves and use language to express their internal experiences. They lacked confidence and internal belief of their inherent capability and strength. I began to infuse my lessons with language rich in social emotional education, adjusted my lessons to incorporate strategies that positioned the student to use their strengths to enhance their challenges and provided strategies to manage academic stress and anxiety.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At The Dynamic Child, we see education differently than traditional educational approaches. Our goal is to build a child’s belief in themselves so when they meet real world challenges they feel strong, capable, confident. When children have emotional and intellectual strategies they can utilize they feel secure. By building social emotional intelligence in tandem with academic instruction, our students gain the skills for positive self-talk strategies, a sense of themselves as competent learners and tools that bolster an internal sense that they can do it. This type of training produces a student that can think critically, problem solve, communicate their ideas effectively and collaborate with others.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The city of Dallas offers all the wonderful amenities of any world class city which would keep my friend and I busy all week! We would exercise in the mornings by taking either an hour long yoga class at Uptown Yoga, pilates at Shine Pilates or possibly for a hike at Cedar Ridge Preserve, Katy Trail or on the Santa Fe Trail. During the days we would shop at various world class shopping venues such as Highland Park Village, North Park and the Galleria. In the afternoons we could take in some culture and art at The Campbell Museum or at The Nasher. Now that I am a mom we would definitely spend some time doing ‘kid stuff” like The Dallas Zoo, Klyde Warren Park or an indoor playscape such as Play Street Museum or Kid’s Empire. We also frequent The Perot Museum, The Arboretum and The Dallas Aquarium to ensure even our two year old gets some culture and art stimulation. What Dallas is most known for, in my opinion and what we would spend the most time doing, is EATING at restaurants. Dallas always has a hot new place where everyone wants to eat. The carousel changes continuously but I would try to set some reservations for delicious Dallas eating at places like Bullion, The Monarch, or Paradiso.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So many people, there are too many to list here. One of my biggest influences is my dad: he taught me that children always know what they need, you just have to listen carefully to understand the root of their feelings. When you can address their true feeling, you will have resolved their issue. My next biggest source of mentorship goes to my time as a wellness coach at PlayWisely. I learned how to engage a child’s instinct to learn and how to ensure that play and joy of learning is always an element in the academic setting. Finally, when I took my dear friend and mentor Shelsea Sanchez’s online course The Peachy Way in 2020, I learned how to create a loving and encouraging business culture that took my business to the next level.

Website: www.thedynamicchild.com

Instagram: thedynamicchild

Facebook: thedynamicchild

Image Credits
Danielle Doby