Get To Know the Owner

 

Greetings!! 

I’m Aqueelah Maxwell, the heart and soul behind Cocoa and Creative. I’m a wife, a mom of three, and an educator with 15 years of experience working with elementary students—including six years dedicated to teaching gifted kids. As a creative myself, I’ve always loved giving my students opportunities to think outside the box, but my time with gifted students truly deepened my passion for fostering creative thinking in young minds.

 While working with talented students and helping high-potential kids prepare for the gifted test, I realized something: many students have a narrow view of what it means to be “creative.” So many kids didn’t see themselves as creative because they associated creativity only with art or music. That insight led me to dig deeper, using math, STEM, problem-solving, and hands-on projects to show kids that creativity is everywhere.

Cocoa and Creative was born from that mission—to empower kids to embrace their unique creativity and see it in everything they do. From sports to science, music to public speaking, creativity isn’t just one thing; it’s all around us. Cocoa and Creative is for every bold, expressive Black and Brown child who deserves to see their creativity celebrated. Here’s to raising confident, creative kids who feel proud to be themselves!