The early childhood environment is busy with many demands on our time that pressure our work. Mindfulness practices can help educators reduce stress and enhance performance.
Read MoreThere are seven key factors people in the helping professions (including early childhood educators) require in their work-life to avoid burnout. We examine the seven key factors, how each one influences our work in the classroom and community, and what organizational practices support the well-being of early childhood professionals.
Read MoreEarly childhood educators have many responsibilities and demands on our time in the classroom. How do educators choose what to focus on with many activities competing for our attention?
Read MoreWhen educators experience too much stress at work, the quality of interactions with children decreases, and professional motivation diminishes. There are six healthy practices educators can engage in to help lower the stress in their lives.
Read MoreAll people in the helping professions experience the cycle of caring. What unique experiences do educators share versus other helping professions? How do our experiences in the cycle of caring affect our well-being?
Read MoreBeing a helping professional is about giving to others. We need to be aware of how much we contribute to others and do our best to balance out the other side by giving to ourselves.
Read MoreWe all have a balance of fixed and growth mindset that guides our collaborations with children. The mindset we bring into the classroom influences outcomes in our learning community. Determining our mindset and deciding how it affects our practice helps us enrich our work with children.
Read MoreWhat are the three elements that support a co-learning relationship? To begin the new year, I was reflecting how the practice of co-learning supports my work in the classroom. This is what I discovered.
Read MoreOn a recent bike adventure, I had time to consider how our work with children is a collection of moments where we arrive at a fork in the road. The path we choose determines our growth and the possibilities for our learning community.
Read MoreIn early education we often talk about the children’s learning journey. What is the journey of learning for educators? How do we incorporate the educational concepts and philosophies we find appealing into our program and still remain authentic to the school and culture we live in?
Read MoreOur skill in work is defined by our degree of understanding, how we take a certain knowledge base and craft ideas or solutions that match the situation we are in. The key is collecting continuing knowledge in our field and then applying that knowledge as necessary to move forward.
Read MoreSerendipity helps us find special moments in life when we are not looking for them. What are the four elements that help create serendipity in our work with children?
Read MoreThere are many strengths and concerns about how we offer these digital provocations and the impact on young children. So, I have been spending time thinking about a theoretical framework for the digital environment.
Read MoreEducators in school-age programs spend much of their time trying to create new activities for children to be engaged in the classroom. The process of creating and implementing activities often becomes a distraction from working with the children. How can school-age educators encourage children’s activity while creating opportunities for wonder, discovery, and self directed satisfying work?
Read MoreWorking with children is a complex practice with choices that need to be made every day. What is an effective process for making choices?
Read MoreThe use of rewards is a personal choice. This topic is not about right or wrong. It is about how we view children and their capabilities to self motivate and develop a sense of discovery and wonder about life and the world around them.
Read MoreLearning together is the work that we do as educators, to hold space for children as they construct knowledge in their own way, at their own pace. Learning together is shaped by the image of the child you hold.
Read MoreThere are many types of adult/child relationships that occur over the course of a day in the classroom. In reflecting on interactions between adults and children, I see several types of interaction patterns emerge. These patterns are not inclusive of all interactions; they are just how I am starting to think about my practice.
Read MoreChildren are always learning. Our role as an educator is to create environments, guide social skill acquisition and learn alongside children as they seek to answer the questions they have about life. But we must ask ourselves about when we share knowledge and when support children’s discovery to their own questions.
Read MoreMulti-tasking or the act of doing many things at once is a myth. What actually happens in the brain is that we develop the ability to go back and forth at a rapid rate between two or more tasks (toggling). But, is multi-tasking actually faster than completing one activity at a time?
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