Author: Monica Healer

Hey Reader! As a new school year begins, it’s the perfect time to focus on one of the most important parts of your classroom—not your lesson plans or classroom décor, but your relationships with families. For many children, you’ll spend as many waking hours with them as their parents do. That’s why it’s so important to build a true partnership from the very beginning. Take time to learn about each family. Ask about siblings, grandparents, pets, favorite activities, family traditions, or…

Hey Reader! The first few weeks of school are some of the most stressful (I mean, who can blame those littles for crying a little in such a “strange” place!) and also some of the most critical in setting the trajectory of your year. We often want to jump quickly into curriculum and “teaching”. Afterall, we’ve got 26 letters to teach and about 500 great ideas for crafts, math games and read-alouds ready to go! Stop for a moment and take a breath. We’re giving you permission (actually, we’re…

Hey Reader! Have you ever had one of those days when you’ve been patient…kind…smiling…and showing incredible self-control—and then one little thing happens, and you just want to slam a cabinet door or stomp your feet? We’ve all been there. After hours of solving problems, answering questions, and caring for others, sometimes we just need a quiet moment to reset. What if that’s exactly how some of the children in our classrooms feel? The difference is that young children don’t yet have…

Hey Reader! Have you ever found yourself in the middle of an argument with a two year old and you realize you’re not even sure how you got here? Afterall, she’s TWO! And you’re….well, older than two! Most of us have been there – in the middle of a power struggle with a toddler. So what now? There are two really important things to remember before we jump to strategies… Adults must first recognize that it takes two people to be in a struggle, and since a toddler has an immature brain, the…

Hey Reader! This is the last week of our summer book series! Did you love it as much as I did? My kids are 22, 25, and 28 and i STILL have a full bookshelf of preschool picture books. I love them! We can teach children so many skills using fun read alouds. I wonder if you’ve ever struggled with getting children to nap? Often, children are almost naturally wired to resist words like “take a nap” or “go to bed”! Have you noticed that too? Brain science tells us that these resistant neural…

Hey Reader! Week 5 of our book series! This is a fun one! I had the great pleasure of chatting with author, Tara Hackney about her book “Jesus Loves The Little Children”. You might be thinking, “Wait a minute…that’s a song.” And you’re right! Tara has updated the lyrics to the classic song and then published a BEAUTIFUL board book! You should listen to the new lyrics here. She is passionate about sharing the message that all children being made in the image of God. This seems like common…

Hey Reader! It’s week 4 of our summer book series! Are you loving it?! A well-loved read aloud is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Children love the repetitive language, dramatic storytelling, and playful adventure through swishy grass, deep rivers, thick mud, and dark forests. It’s a great book for integrating movement all over the place! But beneath all the fun is a beautiful reminder about courage and resilience. Throughout the story, the family encounters obstacle after obstacle. Each time,…

Hey Reader! Week 3 of our summer series on books! For many families groceries show up at the front door or are picked up curb-side from the store. Not only do children rarely see the process of planting, growing, and harvesting food – they rarely even see any other food options than what is in their own pantry! A fun conversation with author Sarah Philpott shed some light on why gardening and farming experiences matter so much in early childhood classrooms. (just click on the graphic below to…

Hey Reader! It’s week 2 of our summer book series! Few books capture the beautifully busy minds of young children quite like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Have you ever thought about that? One simple cookie quickly turns into milk, straws, mirrors, haircuts, sweeping, drawing, naps, and eventually… another cookie. Children laugh because the story feels familiar—and honestly, every early childhood teacher smiles because it feels familiar to them too! LOL! Young children are naturally curious,…

Hey Reader! We’re starting a summer newsletter series with a focus on early childhood books. We’re starting today with a Super Simple Science Series by Brock Eastman. I also got to interview him on the podcast. It was WILD! You might want to check it out on our YouTube Channel because we even did some live science experiments!! Bridging the Gap Between Science and Faith Science and faith are often viewed as being at odds with each other. However, for young children, these fields can be…