It’s getting really hot.And licensing requires you to spend time outside every day. Let’s make the most of it by setting up some fun activities outside on the playground! To get you started, here’s some fun outdoor activities to think about… Rock painting – with either tempera paint or water Paint with water – sidewalks, walls, fences, each […]
Summer learning loss is a well-documented phenomenon, with students losing between one and two months’ worth of academic knowledge each summer. And low-income students suffer a steeper rate of loss than their peers – half of the achievement gap seen in reading can be attributed to summer loss. About two-thirds of the ninth-grade achievement gap between […]
It’s nearly here, are you ready? Whether you love summer like me or dread the heat, it’s time to do some planning and get ready to have those schoolers with you all day! Early childhood programs often take a break from their regular curriculum in summer to focus on different things. Here are some ideas […]
Little ones love to help especially when it involves food. When we built our house (from a floor plan we bought from Southern Living magazine!), we made a slight modification to the kitchen. I made the end portion of our kitchen island about 8″ lower than standard counter height. Why? Because I wanted our kids […]
In your work, you see children who have experienced hard things. Childhood trauma is something that we, as early childhood professionals, need to be aware of, sensitive to and informed about. The pandemic has had serious implications for some children who have experienced family loss, isolation and social setbacks. In this podcast episode, I talk to early […]
What does your parenting approach look like? Do you do things differently from the way you were raised? Or are you emulating your own parents? One area I see parents doing things very differently is with eating. My daughter and her partner are taking a really different approach to meals with their 3 kids – […]
I’ve discovered an amazing website that I want to share with you! The National Institute for Play (NIT) has resources that help you understand the importance of play in children’s brain development, mental health, and learning. There’s also plenty in there about how YOUR play in everyday life supports your mental health. I hope you’ll check it out. […]
We all need play in our lives. Yes, even you! It’s amazing to watch babies and children play. It comes so naturally to them, whereas it seems like we as adults completely forgot how to do it. Even though the way children play seems relatively simple, it’s actually developmental play. It’s how babies and young […]
Just like everything else when it comes to children, humor is developmental and amazingly enough, it starts really early in life. Babies laugh before they talk, which makes laughter one of the earliest hints on how they are experiencing the world. What’s funny to children changes with time, as their cognitive or intellectual development increases and that […]
How do you know when your child is ready to use the potty? 🤔 How do you teach them to do it? 😝 Should you give them rewards like m&m’s when they are successful? 🥳 What’s the best way to respond when they have an accident? 🤭 So many questions surround the simple task of learning […]