Challenging behaviors seem to be on the rise in preschool classrooms.  Prerna Richards, of Together We Grow, specializes in supporting educators with a behavior coaching program.  In this episode, she shares what she believes is behind this increase, and what can be done to better help our youngest learners. Find Show Notes : https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode73 ..read more

Most people associate the library with silence.  But what if we associated it with play?   In this episode, I’m talking with Tammie Benham, Youth Services Consultant for the Southeast Kansas Library System. Tammie believes that where libraries, children, and families intersect, magic is possible.  And she’s set out to make that magic through a family engagement program focused on using play to teach, encourage, and support families in the communities she serves. Find Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode71 ..read more

We started this series with the overall argument for why play is essential for human development.  The next three episodes dug deep into three main themes: Why we need play for mental health and wellness, for brain development and real learning, and for soft skill development.  Then, we shifted to several shorter episodes, touching on specific types of play and how they contribute to development.  In this final episode, I’m talking about why ALL children need play, even when others may think it’s time to help children “catch up” instead. Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podca ..read more

What does fingerpainting have to do with the Space Race?  In this episode, we're talking about art and creative play and their role in learning, thinking, and innovating. Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode69 ..read more

This episode’s focus is the dress-up area and dramatic play.  We’ll talk about the powerful developmental support that comes from preschoolers dressing up and playing pretend. Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode68 ..read more

This episode’s focus is sensory play.  We’ll take a look at why these bins full of rice, water, goop, and other media aren’t just a big mess waiting to happen, they’re a really important key to supporting healthy child development. Find Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode67 ..read more

This episode’s focus is the block area.  We look at what’s going on in those busy building centers of the early childhood classroom, and why it’s important to keep those big spaces open for construction, even when there’s pressure to move the blocks out to make room for “real school”. Don’t underestimate the simple nature of a collection of rectangles, squares, and triangles made out of hardwood maple.  When children play with construction toys (which include the ever-present unit blocks, of course, but also other open-ended building toys like Legos, magnet tiles, bristle blocks, arc ..read more

This is the third episode in a nine-episode series!  (Find them all here.)  In this episode, we’re digging into why we play for brain development and real learning.  There are many people who say they support play for young children, but question whether or not we need play in school, or who might argue that play is important, as long as we get the work of learning done first.  So today, we’ll talk about why play and learning aren’t as separate as people might think. Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode64 ..read more

In this episode, we’re digging into why we play for mental health. It’s not just something we think is true or that sounds nice, it’s a claim that’s backed up by science and statistics.  There’s something about play that is essential to developing and maintaining our mental health.  We’ll dig into those findings and what they mean for our youngest learners. Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode63 ..read more

Find Show Notes Here Dr. Dale Farran has spent the better part of the last 50 years researching early childhood education.  But some of her most famous research has come about rather recently, as she directs the evaluation of the Tennessee Voluntary PreK Program.  This study is one of the most fascinating pieces of recent research in early childhood education. With a randomly controlled trial, Farran's team found that after an initial PreK year, children who participated scored higher than children who didn’t. After the two groups converged for their kindergarten year, however, that ..read more