Background Information for Shanna “Sweetie” Berry

Sweetie Berry has advanced graduate degrees  in Education, and  has spent thirteen years in public education classrooms, university classrooms, and as a faciliator.  She has served as children’s leader, youth director, step and blended family coordinator and advisor in several of the churches  she and Les have attended. Sweetie currently owns Prescriptive Learning Solutions and serves as a Creative Strategist and Learning Specialist in Gifted and Learning Differences Education for private clients, districts, and state education agencies.  She has taught in classrooms from inner cities to rural Arkansas to Anchorage, Alaska.  She understands the needs of children and is a sought after trainer of teachers and leadership teams for her adept ability to help create new perspectives when working with creating unity within program goals.

A stepmom and biological mom, Sweetie and Les together have raised four  children in their own blended family. They have been married almost eight years and the children currently range in age from thirteen to twenty-four.   Their unique personal perspectives of step and blended family life has been shared with families via their blog “A Joyful Place Called Home” and through workshops for churches called ” A Joyful Place Called Church” for over seven years. The Berry’s  focus is on helping families and leaders recognize who today’s families are and how to facilitate scheduling and supervision in inclusive ways for all families. Sweetie leads workshops called “Growing Into Lovely” encouraging all women to love and nurture the children in their lives whether they exist through birth, marriage, or through friendship.

Sweetie can be found:

• A contributer on Step and Blended Family Life at Blissfully Domestic (an ezine known as the Smart Girls’ Guide to Life) (www.blissfullydomestic.com)
• A contributing author guest for “Mom’s Marbles” (www.momsmarbles.com)
• Growing into Lovely….Sweetie’s personal Blog (www.sweetieberry.com)
• Owner of Prescriptive Learning Solutions…a Learning Resource for Gifted Children (www.prescriptivelearningsolutions.com)
• Educational Coordinator for Hopes, Goals, & Dreams Internet Television Production
• Creator and Writer of B2G..Becoming God’s Girls …A  Curriculum for Tweenagers…A successful program to help girls identify who they are in God’s eyes.  The program originally intended for six weeks, now has launched into a year long activity at the girl’s request and is being published.
• Ron Deal’s Tales from the  Promised Land ( a yearly update on Les & Sweetie’s Family for six years)