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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…

Hey Reader! Have you ever paused to think about how young children actually learn to write? We know there is a whole pre-writing development process where children develop gross and fine motor skills that will help them to sit up straight, use both hands (one to hold the paper and one to hold the pencil), develop eye-hand coordination and visual perception…I’m not covering that today! (Although you can find tons of info on that in Stacy Benge’s book The Whole Child Alphabet) Today, I’m…

Hey Reader! You hear a loud wail from Silvia. You turn around and see Taylor chomping on her arm! What now?! If you’ve been in a toddler or twos classroom for very long, you’ve probably encountered biting! Children bite for many different reasons so today I’m just going to give you a couple of underlying causes (not all of them, just some of them) and a couple of tips for helping these little chompers learn healthier social skills! Why do toddlers bite? They are so curious about their world…

Hey Reader! As early childhood educators, we often encounter challenging behaviors that leave us wondering, “Why in the world did they just do that?” It’s essential to remember that young children don’t act out without a reason. Behavior is a form of communication, and behind every action, there’s a motivation—usually tied to an unmet need or emotional struggle. Children may act out when they’re overwhelmed, hungry, tired, or unable to express themselves. A two-year-old who hits might not…

Hey Reader! Transitions can be challenging for young children (and their teachers!), as their brains are still developing the skills needed to shift attention from one task to another. During transitions, especially when moving away from a favorite activity to something different, children’s brains are flooded with stimuli that require them to stop, process the change, and refocus. Think about all that has to happen in their brain when it’s time to go change activities! This shift can…

Hey Reader! Have you heard the term “primitive reflexes” before? I didn’t know that’s what they were called but…primitive reflexes are automatic, involuntary movements that babies are born with. These reflexes help with feeding, bonding, and movement coordination in infants. Need a few examples? I did too! Rooting reflex helps babies turn their heads toward a touch on the cheek, searching for food. Suck reflex actually develops in-utero by 36 weeks. It helps the baby get ready to suck. Since…

Hey Reader! Some of the most valuable skills we can teach our preschools to help them be successful in kindergarten is just “life skills” – things like putting on their own shoes, opening their lunch box, taking care of their belongings, and cleaning up after themselves. Encouraging these “self-help skills” not only builds their confidence but also sets the foundation for independence, responsibility, resilience, problem-solving, and conflict resolution! Could you do it faster? Probably. But…