The Journey of Learning: Reflective Practices of an Early Childhood Professional One of the most impactful strategies I have learned as an early childhood educator is how to reflect on my practices. This is not something I did much of in my early years as an educator. After all, I was simply trying to survive […]
Managing Stress: Finding Balance at Work and in Life Managing stress is not an easy task for many early childhood educators. We invest our heart, minds and bodies in what we do as professionals and often take things home with us. Not only the material 'to-do' list, but also the emotional 'to do' list. How […]
The Magic of Loose Parts: Promoting Play with Loose Parts Loose Parts! The possibilities are endless when we arrange loose parts (open-ended) materials for children to explore. Remember the possibilities of a cardboard box?! Was it a den? A spaceship? Or a 3D canvas to paint and draw on? The possibilities are endless! Join me […]
The Me, The You, The We: Facilitating Social Emotional Learning Feelings! Feelings! And more Feelings! The everyday struggle of identifying and understanding big emotions is a tough gig for young children. It’s all so hard! But with the right positive support and environment, children can thrive and build the skills required to manage these big […]
Playful Planning: Exploring the Planning Process with the Emergent Curriculum Approach Playful learning experiences promote a sense of curiosity, exploration, and confidence, which are what we all strive to achieve when we plan for our early childhood environment and our children's experiences. One of the most popular and best approaches to achieve this is the emergent curriculum […]
Beautiful Oopsies: Exploring the Creativity of Open-Ended Art Experiences Creativity is intelligence having fun! Albert Einstein had it right with his quote on creativity. Children are natural artists, as all their masterpieces are a visual representation of how they see the world around them. Let us foster this self-expression through open-ended creative art experiences! For children, […]
Protectors of Play: Valuing the Pedagogy of Play Play. Playful Learning. Learning Through Play. Pedagogy of Play. These are just some of the terms we use to advocate for the importance of Play, not only in the early learning years but throughout our learning journey. For now, let's start with Play in the early years […]
Exploring Hygge! Creating Spaces that Foster Happiness, a Sense Belonging, and Togetherness Hygge. A Danish term that encompasses a way of living that promotes happiness, joy, coziness, and a sense of belonging. Does this sound familiar? It’s similar to what we want children to feel and experience when they walk into our early childhood spaces. […]
Approaches to Play: Exploring Play Schemas "Why do they keep throwing things?!" "I don't know how to capture children's interests...they're just playing." "They (the child) just keeps doing the same thing over and over!" "What do you mean that spinning around in circles is Play?!" These are common questions many early childhood educators ask themselves […]
From Crying to Smiling: Understanding Children's Behaviours Ever wonder WHY some children react in ways we just don't understand? The screaming, biting and hitting came from nowhere! When a seemingly small situation throws them right into a major meltdown. Feeling like you're at a standstill of what to do next? Well, then this webinar is […]
