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Hey Reader! Sensory play is more than just fun and messy (although, it usually IS messy!)—it’s an essential part of early brain development. When young children explore the world through their senses, they strengthen neural connections and develop critical skills in areas like problem-solving, language, and motor development. Even if you don’t like messy play too much, you can put supplies into smaller “personal” sensory tubs or figure out ways to minimize overflow and spills! Let’s look at a…

Hey Reader! Did you stop at a Stop Sign today? Maybe you looked for your favorite coffee shop or Sonic by looking for the sign? As adults, we benefit from visual cues throughout the day every day! Imagine if you had to listen for someone to say “Stop” before you stopped at an intersection! That would be chaos! LOL! And what if your favorite coffee shop had NO signs anywhere and you just had to use the address to find it? Would that be a little harder and maybe cause a little bit of…

Hey Reader! We talk about it regularly at ECCN. Independent play and exploration in your classroom are key to fostering young children’s creativity, problem-solving, and self-regulation skills. When children feel empowered to choose their activities and engage deeply in play (hint: that takes time!), they develop confidence and a love for learning. Here are some practical tips for setting up your space to promote independent play: 1. Organize Materials for Easy Access Children are more likely…

Staying focused on our calling as educators helps to keep us spiritually energized to do our jobs well.

Emotional health is important for classroom teachers as well!

Participating in active play is actually good for your health!

Starting off the new year after a holiday break with these three things…

Hey Reader! The Christmas season is a perfect time to focus on developing the Fruit of the Spirit in young children. You’ll naturally find countless opportunities for children to practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These virtues/character qualities are more easily “modeled” in most cases than they are taught. You’re probably already doing a lot of the following activities, but I just want to encourage you to “notice” how children…

Hey Reader! This is the time of year that many of us schedule class parties and celebrations! While it sometimes gets a little chaotic at class parties, I want to encourage you to consider inviting the parents IN to participate in your celebration. I know I just made some of you groan because bringing in parents sometimes adds to the chaos, doesn’t it? Give me a few moments to show you the benefits of bringing them in. By inviting parents to participate, we create a warm, welcoming…

Hey Reader! Think about how much a baby develops in their first year of life outside the womb – specifically, their physical development. When they’re born, most of their movement is reflexes, but very quickly you can tell the movement becomes purposeful and intentional. Even all that stretching to get out of a swaddle builds strength and stamina for crawling and walking! As caregivers and teachers, you play an essential role in nurturing and supporting these early physical skills through…