Our Story

We’re Patrick and Julie—educators, parents, and co-creators of Active Alphabet, a movement-based literacy system born from years of teaching, leading, and learning alongside children.

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About Us:
Our path to Active Alphabet was shaped by a shared belief in playful, experiential learning—and years of experience working with young children. Patrick studied early childhood education at Michigan State and earned his Master’s in the field, later fulfilling his dream of leading a preschool his own children could attend. Known for wearing an apron and knee pads, he’s always ready to connect with kids at eye level and bring learning to life through play.

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Julie began her career as a Spanish teacher and later became a reading specialist, instructional coach, and principal in Chicago Public Schools. Along the way, she pursued graduate studies in teaching, literacy, and earned a doctorate in Urban Education Leadership. Frustrated by the disconnect between research and classroom practice, she became a passionate advocate for research-based, developmentally appropriate instruction that brings joy back to learning.

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We met in 2011 through Teach For America, bonding over education, big dreams, and pizza—and have been imagining new possibilities for children ever since.

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The Spark:
As school leaders and literacy specialists, we kept running into the same problem: most early literacy programs were either too rigid to meet the needs of diverse learners or too shallow to build real skills. Instruction was often disconnected from how children naturally learn—heavy on worksheets, light on joy.

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At home, we were watching our daughters explore the world through movement, play, and curiosity. It was clear: learning to read could and should feel this way too.

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The Response:
So, we built what we couldn’t find—a literacy system where kids don’t just learn letters, they embody them. Where phonics isn’t a drill—it’s a dance, a stomp, a giggle. Instruction is research-aligned and systematic, but also developmentally appropriate, joyful, and accessible to all learners.

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And it’s a true family creation. Our daughters’ footprints are everywhere—from testing the characters and movements to Caroline’s voice in our video. Since 2016, Active Alphabet has helped shape them into curious, capable, and joyful readers.

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Active Alphabet is our answer to a broken status quo—and our invitation to reimagine what early literacy can be.