About Us

Hey there! I’m Malia – your lesson planner, curriculum designer, and classroom cheerleader.

I started teaching back in 2003 and fell instantly smitten with students’ magical lightbulb moments.

I went on to earn my National Board Teaching Certification and my Master’s from Stanford University.

And then life took an unexpected turn…

I was on a year-long maternity leave for our second son and I was missing the classroom.

Maybe it was my newborn sleep deprivation or those extra cups of caffeine I was drinking just to make it through our busy days, but I decided to dive feet first into a brand new hobby…

I started sharing the games I was playing with our preschooler on my blog called Playdough to Plato.

And that blog quickly grew! Pretty soon I was getting emails and DMs from teachers around the world who wanted to help students make MORE progress with LESS planning time.

So I started designing teaching tools and trainings to help you do just that!

If I could add just one more hour to my day, I could probably solve a modern mystery… or at least cook a homemade meal every night.

But since we all have the same 24 hours in a day, let’s figure out how to make the most of it. Sound good?

I created this site to help you save planning time, stay inspired and give EVERY student bigger teaching results.

Because I believe that our students deserve not just a good education but an EXCEPTIONAL one.

I hope you’ll join our inspiring community of incredibly dedicated teachers so we can stay connected! Join our free VIP email list here: