In a recent interview for The Play Based Learning Podcast, host Kristen Peterson asked about my “origin” story. I explained that I’d fallen into the early childhood field by accident when a neighbor asked me to teach dance to a group of preschoolers. I then went on to outline how my mission evolved from being…
When education leader Peter DeWitt invited me to participate in one of his online discussions, he told me that EDWeek readers had been asking for a segment on early childhood education. They had questions about the effect of the pandemic on ECE, but they also wanted to discuss the field in general. What was different…
All over social media – and beyond – people are breathlessly counting down the days until the end of 2020. Like four-year-olds who engage in magical thinking, we’re imagining life will miraculously improve at the stroke of midnight on December 31st. And who could blame us? It’s been a singularly difficult year. I’ve never lived through…
The debate over screen use for children has been around since screen use for children became a thing, with few neutral feelings on the issue. People tend to be either fervently pro-technology: “It’s going to be part of their world, so they need to learn about it as early as possible!” Or they’re fervently anti-technology:…
There’s really nothing I can add to all of the meaningful conversations currently taking place in our country and around the world. Like so many others, I am hurting. When Barack Obama was elected president, I celebrated the idea that racism was, if not a thing of the past, then at least significantly waning in…
You probably wouldn’t guess that I’m quite knowledgeable on the subject of burnout. After all, I’m not a psychologist. I hold no position in the mental health profession. But in the past, I have suffered from fairly severe burnout. Three times, sadly. The first one was in the 1980s. I had never heard the word…
In my last blog post, I wrote that the late Bev Bos used the phrase childhood amnesia to describe the way in which adults fail to remember what it was like to be a kid. Bev believed that if adults could remember, they wouldn’t do to children what we’re currently doing to them. That is…
What are some words that come to mind when you think about transitions in your early childhood setting? Might they include chaotic, noisy, unmanageable, frustrating, or time-wasting? These are some of the responses I receive when I ask that question in my presentations. I then ask: Not academically speaking, what things would be at the…
When you write about controversial topics – as I often do and as I did last week, when I addressed crisscross-applesauce – you have to expect to get some pushback. And I did get some. On my Facebook page, one teacher commented that teaching children to sit in a certain way isn’t bad. He wanted…
Last week I thanked an early childhood professional for her flexibility in rescheduling a call with me. She replied by saying that, when you’re a teacher, you have to be flexible. I completely agree. Years ago, I wrote that flexibility is one of the keys to making experiences with children successful. Specifically, I mean that…