Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Wilson.
Nikki, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m Nikki, the creator of Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew, a brand-new, fun and exciting handwriting program that teaches kids to write letters…the RIGHT way!!! This is my story of creation, transformation, and realization.
After seven fun-filled undergraduate years at Western Michigan University in my hometown of Kalamazoo, then three graduate years in New York, I finally graduated as an Occupational Therapist from NYU with a master’s degree I could work and make a difference with. I thank God all the time, that despite my extraordinary student loan debt, that I at LEAST love what I do.
I’ve been providing school-based Occupational Therapy services since I graduated in 2001, and every year throughout these years, the majority of the kids I worked with have had handwriting difficulties, and most of the time, they weren’t forming their letters correctly, which made their handwriting difficult to read.
Now I love working with kids….I love teaching them to do things the way I do, and I especially love seeing the progress they make learning skills the way that I teach them to do it. Sometimes, however, some of these kids, no matter what I did, no matter what I said, no matter how many times or how many different ways I showed them how to do it, and no matter how many times we practiced, they just didn’t get it!!! Their handwriting STILL SUCKED!!!! It wasn’t their faults though.
What I was doing obviously wasn’t working for these kids……so one day I decided to make rhymes for each letter, with hopes that they would eventually remember how to write letters the right way, using the rhymes I created. Amazingly and awesomely, it worked…..Rhythm & Writing WORKED!!!!!!! Tristan who had just recently started to make eye contact when someone called his name, quickly learned how to write T: Long line down and across the top; r: down back up and a hook; i: short line down and a dot at the top; s: up around across around and up; t: long line down and across the middle; a: make a c close it up bring it down; n: down back up and a hump. He sang along with me as he wrote them until he started singing and writing his name on his own. It was AMAZING!!!! Rhythm & Writing WORKED!!! He finally learned how to write his name independently, and other kids did too!!!
As a matter of fact and without exaggeration, EVERY SINGLE CHILD who has used this program with repetition and consistency, those with special needs and those without, have made handwriting improvement quickly, and have had fun doing it!. Despite the proven effectiveness of Rhythm & Writing however, I did not officially launch the program until the Summer of 2017, after more than ten years since the first rhyme was written.
My first poor-man’s copyright with just the formation rhymes happened in 2008. In 2009, my co-author Ces Moore, her brother Jason (my first illustrator), and myself, locked ourselves up in a hotel for a weekend to write the stories behind the rhymes and develop The Get Write Crew, with a long term vision of educational video productions. There is Big Country bear who plays the guitar, Jazzy Faith bunny who plays keyboards and sings, Hip-Hop frog the Lyricist, and Mo’Rock monkey who’s an amputee and magically plays the drums with one leg.
After the character-creations, book designs changed from clip-art to pictures drawn by illustrators, then the stories expanded to include songs, then the songs expanded to include videos. In 2017, after the development of a website I was proud of, I finally felt comfortable enough to launch the program, and in February of this year, the official book release was hosted!!!
From these experiences and transitions, and figuring things out as I go, I can totally relate to those artists who seem to pop up on the scene but actually have been on the scene behind the scenes for years and years….and I’m just getting started! The program is basically unknown beyond individual introductions, and I’m still working with an undefined just make it happen budget, but one thing’s for sure…..It’s time to BLOW UP, and I’m SOOOO EXCITED!!!
Rhythm & Writing WORKS!!!!!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Beyond being the unknown underdog when compared to other well-known and established handwriting programs, I would say that this has been a smooth, but long road. God has always made a way. When I needed to come up with the funds to take care of a next step, He made a way; when I needed someone to do something, He orchestrated the introduction; when I needed to figure out what to do next, He provided the direction. Based on my experiences throughout this unfinished journey, I know without a doubt that He will continue to guide and lead me until Rhythm & Writing becomes the internationally renowned handwriting program I know it can be. The first step though is for people to know we even exist….so I thank you for this opportunity!!!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Rhythm & Writing: The Handwriting Program story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, and I provide school and clinic-based services through Dreamworks Children’s Therapy Network, where we enable children to be as independent as possible within their natural environments. Beyond the progress all my kids make, I’m most proud of the relationships we develop with our families. We are a family-run, family-oriented company, and we often see our kids grow through adolescence and beyond, and even stay in contact after we stop working together. It’s obvious that we love our kids and their families, and they love us back!!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck, I believe in the Power of God and His divine favor. He and I have a personal relationship, and I know that the wishes and desires He put in my heart that are in line with his vision for me, He will make a way for them to come to pass. I just have to listen and wait….as patiently as I can.
Pricing:
- Rhythm & Writing Workbook: $19.99
- Rhythm & Writing Lyric Video Subscription (One year) $49.99
- Rhythm & Writing Practice Sheets (50 sheets) $9.99
Contact Info:
- Address: Dreamworks Children’s Therapy Network
620E Powder Springs Street
Smyrna, GA 30080 - Website: www.rhythmandwriting.com
- Phone: 678-424-8267
- Email: info@rhythmandwriting.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/explore/tags/rhythmandwriting/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhythmandwriting/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WritingRhythm
- Other: www.youtube.com/channel/UCNzZpKs0dOJDLXpYHRIGnsA
Image Credit:
Jeremiah Griffin, Damian Hardison
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