About Us
The Magic Seeds Project was born from many discussions of how to support families with their children’s literacy development. The Magic Seeds Project has become a labor of love, a desire to share three behaviors that can greatly impact children for the better for the rest of their lives.
Mary Jean Strong
Mary Jean Strong is a Literacy Coach at the elementary level. She graduated from Drew University with a B.A. in Psychology and an elementary teaching certificate and went on to earn a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. For her dissertation, Mary Jean created a preschool parent workshop about the importance of talking to little ones while reading. She is a lifelong learner who is passionate about reading, learning, and the brain-science behind them both.
While growing up Mary Jean stayed up way past her bedtime reading books of all genres – whatever she could buy, borrow, or find. A fun afternoon was hiding in her room and reading or riding her bike to the town library to find new books to read. Mary Jean has always kept a large collection of books around her which exploded when she became a teacher and then a mom to Jake and Luke. Picture books invaded every place in the Strong household – family room, play room, bedrooms, basement, car, and even bathrooms. Sharing the joy of reading with her children and students is her life’s work