A gazillion times! Is that how many times you’ve sung “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” and Wheels on the Bus”? I know it's not easy to keep finding the energy and enthusiasm to sing the same songs over and over again, but I hope you know what an important teaching tool they can be. Those simple traditional children’s songs are giving you a...
Read MoreA colleague of mine told me she’s already feeling the stressful effects of the holiday season in her child care. There seems to be more anxiety, tension, irritability and conflicts -- and a lot more noise -- from both the children and the adults. I wonder if you’re feeling the stress, too, whatever the holidays mean to you. Reducing the...
Read MoreWith all the emphasis on food at Thanksgiving, I thought you’d appreciate seeing one of our favorite moments when Fred talked about nourishment. He began with a focus on food, but then he went on to talk about other different kinds of nourishment -- the kind that we all need. I wonder if you ever thought about your work in...
Read MoreLast month I gave you some helpful hints for “getting to know” the children at the beginning of the school year. But I hear over and over again that it’s even more challenging to get to know their families. (I usually write about “parents,” but there are so many grandparents or other relatives raising young children today that I think...
Read MoreA teacher once told me that September has always been a challenging month for her. It’s a few weeks into the beginning of the school year, and she’s just starting to get to know the children and their families, and they’re starting to get to know her. She told me that while she’s excited to work with her new group of...
Read MoreHere we are in mid-August, and I wonder if you’re asking, as a lot of people are, “Where did the summer go?!” I also wonder if you’re asking, as a lot of people are, “Where did my budget go?!” especially now when you’re planning for the year and looking for a variety of materials to provide the children with engaging...
Read MoreFor many of my friends in early childhood, this is the time of year they love most. It’s summertime. Some programs take a break. Other programs have a slower pace, more like summer camp. Professors’ schedules are often lighter. Whatever it’s like for your work, I hope you can take a bit of a breather to appreciate the summer. When...
Read MoreI was walking down the hall in a child care center when I heard one of the best sounds in the world -- the sound of children laughing. The teacher told me that now and then she likes to add something silly when they’re singing. That morning she changed the “Old MacDonald” E-I-E-I-O to “Oinky, boinky, doinky” -- and the...
Read MoreI don’t know what this spring has been like in your neighborhood, but it’s been raining a lot around here. I even caught myself singing, “Rain, rain go away. Come again another day,” hoping the rain would go away. Then I remembered a teacher who had a very different way to think about rainy days – Carla turned them into...
Read MoreEarth Day is Saturday, April 22, and I’ve been thinking about ways to talk with children about caring for the environment. That can be a real challenge because concepts like scarcity, recycling and conservation can be hard to explain. Young children take our resources for granted, and that’s understandable. They see that we turn on a switch, and the light...
Read More