I was born in Sydney and grew up at Birrong, where one day on the way to school, I met my future husband.
My first career was in nursing, which I really loved but slid sideways into pathology and trained as a gynaecological cytotechnician. I loved that too.
With the birth of my daughter, I concentrated on motherhood and when she started school, voluntary work was my way of keeping busy and connected.
In 1982 we relocated to Canberra. I became engaged in the usual canteen, library, classroom and drama club duties at my daughter's primary school. This continued until she was in high school.
The opportunity to become involved more formally in education was offered to me in 1985. I became the facilitator of adult education classes at the local high school plus afterschool sporting and recreational activities for the Year 7-10 students.
Having a background in nursing, it seemed a natural progression to gravitate towards children with special needs. This stretched to more than a decade working with neuro-diverse young people as well as children with physical challenges.
Later I trained as an Early Childhood Educator and worked in a public preschool for a little over ten years leading up to retirement. This reignited my love of children's literature and I began to write stories which I often shared with my students and grandchildren.
Apart from a ten month stint living in Darwin, Canberra was home until our tree change in 2012. Here in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, we live an off-grid rural lifestyle with a dozen or so cows and a few chickens.
With abundant wildlife in the area to stimulate my passion for whimsy and rhyme, I have no problems finding inspiration and subject matter.
Cheryl Polonski
Author
Cheryl Polonski - Author
I was born in Sydney and grew up at Birrong, where one day on the way to school, I met my future husband.
My first career was in nursing, which I really loved but slid sideways into pathology and trained as a gynaecological cytotechnician. I loved that too.
With the birth of my daughter, I concentrated on motherhood and when she started school, voluntary work was my way of keeping busy and connected.
In 1982 we relocated to Canberra. I became engaged in the usual canteen, library, classroom and drama club duties at my daughter's primary school. This continued until she was in high school.
The opportunity to become involved more formally in education was offered to me in 1985. I became the facilitator of adult education classes at the local high school plus afterschool sporting and recreational activities for the Year 7-10 students.
Having a background in nursing, it seemed a natural progression to gravitate towards children with special needs. This stretched to more than a decade working with neuro-diverse young people as well as children with physical challenges.
Later I trained as an Early Childhood Educator and worked in a public preschool for a little over ten years leading up to retirement. This reignited my love of children's literature and I began to write stories which I often shared with my students and grandchildren.
Apart from a ten month stint living in Darwin, Canberra was home until our tree change in 2012. Here in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, we live an off-grid rural lifestyle with a dozen or so cows and a few chickens.
With abundant wildlife in the area to stimulate my passion for whimsy and rhyme, I have no problems finding inspiration and subject matter.
Associations
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is the preeminent membership organization for children's book creators.
Australian Society of Authors
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) is the professional organisation, community and voice of Australia's writers and illustrators.
Creative Kids Tales
Helping stories come to life since 2011, Creative Kids Tales is an industry recognised community, designed to assist Australian emerging and established children's authors.
CKT Writers' Hub
Exclusively for CKT members, the Writers' Hub shares information on courses and networking opportunities, shares industry chatter and offers workshops.
The Duck Pond
Duck Pond is all about exploring the art (and business) of creating BEAUTIFUL books for children.
Scribbles
A closed group with members undertaking a self-paced creative writing course.