Sharon Duke Estroff M.A.T.

"Sharon has filled Can I Have a Cell Phone for Hanukkah? with lots of practical advice for parents including how to deal with Santa envy, how to survive the homework struggle, how to plan a birthday party without breaking your budget, and how to help shy kids make friends.  There are also excellent chapters on modern playdate protocol and parenting the Net Generation."

-Jewish Literary Review

"Can I Have a Cell Phone for Hanukkah is a valuable must-buy for all Jewish parents, and not just for Hanukkah. Not only does Estroff give practical childrearing advice but her joyful approach to Judaism is a healthy antidote to religious skeptics."
-Hadassah Magazine

"Sharon Duke Estroff has the uncanny ability to give solid, useful and practical information on how to raise children while making you laugh out loud at the same time. Her book is a must for every parent - Jewish or non-Jewish."

-Stephen J. Nowicki PhD

 Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success

"From playdates, homework, and extracurricular activities to bar/bat mitzvah, tzedakah, and Jewish holidays, with insight and humor Estroff offers suggestions for coping with the day to day challenges of modern parenting. An easy read, packed with good, practical advice."

- Chicago Jewish Star

Click Here to See All Reviews

Sharon is founder and creator of the Challenge Island™ program, She is an award-winning elementary school teacher with two decades of experience in Atlanta public and private schools. She started Challenge Island in her second grade classroom and began running it as an enrichment business using the current model in 2003. It has been growing by leaps and bounds ever since.

Sharon is a nationally recognized parenting and education expert and a freelance writer for numerous national publications including Scholastic Parent and Child, Parents, Woman’s Day and Good Housekeeping magazines. She is the author of the popular parenting book, Can I Have a Cell Phone for Hanukkah? (Random House) and co-author of the upcoming Challenge Island book series that turns the Challenge Island curriculum into an exciting and educational story. She is sought-after speaker who has presented to scores of communities nationwide about the trials and tribulations of raising kids in the digital age.
Sharon received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Emory University where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude.

She continues to run her local Challenge Island business in Atlanta, Georgia where she lives with her husband and four children.