Lynnae W. Allred:
A mother of five, Lynnae says her real claim to competence for creating a website about play is the fact that she grew up as the “older but not wiser” sister to her co-founder, Marilee. And because she is barely a year older, this meant her entire childhood was filled with being a partner in crime to whatever insanity Marilee could cook up. The night they snuck out and painted a neighborhood heartthrob’s black Willie Jeep with white shoe polish stands out in memory.
“I was the serious one, but Marilee crafted me into an optimist because being around Marilee just made life sunny,” writes Lynnae. “We were raised in an era when seasonal work for children included tasks like building snowmen, making flower leis out of Catalpa Tree blossoms, playing Kick the Can in the backyard, and eating homemade doughnuts and caramel apples. Of course, we spent many hours shelling peas from the backyard garden or mowing lawns for the neighbors, but childhood for us was safe and predictable because we were beloved not only to our parents but also to two sets of grandparents who loved us more than they loved their sanity.”
It has been Lynnae’s life’s work to give an equally magical childhood to her five children. Her first book, Piggyback Rides And Slippery Slides, examined the importance of play in childhood. Research for this publication turned her into a play enthusiast, and it has become her mission to show others that a child’s brain learns best at play. She still champions play as the very best learning method for children (and for adults, too).
Lynnae’s hobbies include writing, photography, gardening, and creating relationships with all sorts of interesting people from behind the lens of her video camera. One of her goals in life is to make a decent loaf of sourdough bread, but it’s the combination of grandmothering and playing, and collecting family stories that has become her “calling.”
She is happiest when any of her eight grandchildren are nearby and she knows she has ingredients to make outer space slime in the cupboard.
Marilee W. Woodfield:
A mother of four, Marilee has been drawing, illustrating, frosting, and singing since childhood, and while she’s getting up there in age now (well, enough to have three grandchildren of her own), she’ll still take offense when the clerk at Target calls her “Ma’am.” She lives in Texas, so you think she would have gotten used to this by now.
For her 50th birthday, she decided to get her motorcycle license. She didn’t even make it out of the DMV test range before fracturing her leg, but her “Not All Who Wander are Lost” Harley Davidson mug still sits on the window sill above her kitchen sink, mocking her.
In her “spare” time, she creates intricate handmade cakes. (She has spare time because she has that sleep gene that allows you to get by on 4 hours of shuteye per night). See her Frosted Insanity website for a sneak peek. Marilee holds an MS in Family Studies and is the author of 21 preschool education books. Whether volunteering as a religion teacher for high school-aged students, in the classroom where she is the kindergarten music specialist, or as an adjunct professor teaching university courses on marriage and family relations, Marilee has the heart of an educator, and you and your children (or grandchildren) can come to class with her right here on Playdatebox.com.
