Welcome to Our Story

Hey there, I’m Kim.

I’ve spent more than half my life working with children in one way or another. As a teacher and a mother, I’ve had the privilege of watching children learn, grow, and discover their capabilities.

My favorite moments are the ones when everything clicks, and a child lights up with confidence and pride. That joy is unmatched, and that glow is exactly what I wanted to showcase in my book. I hope you know that moment too—the one that tells you, YES, everything is clicking!

But I’ve also seen the other side.

The frustration.
The pressure.
The quiet (and sometimes not-so-quiet) belief that they’re somehow behind or different.

I’ve always believed learning should feel different: more encouraging, connected, and fun for everyone involved. That belief is reflected daily in my teaching style. Serious moments have their time and place, but so do memorable moments of song, movement, and out-of-the-box ideas that make learning stick.

About ten years ago, I began telling stories to my students to help them with reading. I would morph them, make them up on the spot, suck the students in, and use them to help make vowels memorable. Over time, those stories grew and evolved, and somehow, they all lingered in my mind.

In December of 2025, they began to become what is now Wordwood, and my little “vowel fairy” finally got a name.

It couldn’t be just any name, though. It had to be as unique and special as what she represented. Voyelle was named with a certainty in my heart that someday, this name would be known.

Voyelle the Vowel Fairy will be known, and she will help students. I hope you’ll help her spread her wings and fly.

It is so exciting to be on this writing journey. It’s exciting to realize that I took something I’d dreamed of doing for more than a decade and finally made it happen.

My life has also had moments that made me wonder if this day would ever come. In 2022, I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. I went through all sorts of treatment that year, and my students helped see me through it. I made sure I came to work as often as I could because being with them helped take my mind off everything else.

In 2024 and 2025, we had some scares of metastases. In 2025, I found myself lying in a hospital bed thinking, What are you waiting for?

I was sad because I hadn’t moved toward something I had wanted to do for so long. And I remember thinking: You have to move. You have to do this, or you will die with regrets.

And so I did.

And now, in 2026, on the other side of that chapter, I’m here—finally bringing this story to life.

Wordwood is more than a book to me. It’s a reflection of everything I believe about learning, growth, and giving children the space to become who they are.

I’m so grateful to be building this world and sharing Voyelle’s story with you.

✨ Glow as you grow. ✨