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

Hi Julie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I knew from a young age that I wanted to work with young children in any capacity. As I continued my journey in education learning about teaching styles and methods, I knew I wanted to do something different. I then worked at various private schools and pre-schools in the Dallas area as well as Austin and knew exactly what I wanted and envisioned. I wanted a place where children were learning in nature through play. Children would be able to spend hours outside learning without the confinement of classroom walls. Children would be getting messy, exploring, and creating amazing experiences.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I love what I bring to the Lake Highlands community with our nature-based preschool. I knew this was where I wanted my own child to thrive. I knew exactly what environment I was envisioning. I wanted a space where children knew that they mattered. That their thoughts, creations, and actions were important. Their learning is always evolving and I love seeing the progressions over days, weeks, and months. When I started, we opened before COVID back in 2019 in North Dallas. Unfortunately we were open about 6 months before we shut down due to COVID. I am so thankful that I was able to reopen in Lake Highlands after I gave birth to my son, first with parent and me classes, and finally reopening the school as a whole. We have been able to grow from around 30-40 students to now well over 150 children in our program.
This journey that I am continuing on is always teaching me new things as a leader, teacher, parent, and friend.

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?
I love being outside so for me going to places like White Rock Lake and Arbor Hills are great. I would either bike, walk, or hike around. I also like visiting Klyde Warren Park, but especially with my 3.5 year old. For coffee-loves my favorite is White Rock Coffee. Everyone is very friendly and they have some great flavors especially around the holiday seasons. For food, my favorites are farm to table concepts including True Food Kitchen and Celebration. As for a good ole-hamburger, Gazeebos is the place to go!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to give a shoutout to both my parents who allowed me to use their house for art classes when I was 12 years old. Who knew having twenty 2-5 year olds running around Sunday mornings would benefit me later on? They definitely had a lot of confidence in me, but also helped to instill that confidence in myself.

Website: www.kiddiekraftspreschool.com

Instagram: @kiddiekrafts123

Facebook: Kiddie Krafts Preschool

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