Great Ideas for Making Music Outdoors

Music has the power to lift us- body, mind and spirit. This is especially true for young children. Making and moving to music promotes all areas of development: physical- coordination, muscle tone, fine and gross motor skills develop as children play instruments or dance to music cognitive- creating and listening to music includes problem solving, [...]

Secrets for Preventing Behavior Issues in Preschool

Managing a classroom of 20+ preschoolers is not easy! If a “good day” is a day when no one gets hurt, and a day without tears seems all but impossible, you are not alone! Here are some ideas that will go a long way in preventing many behavior issues: Take a look at how your [...]

5 Ways to Help Children Love Learning

With so much focus on accountability and test scores, much of a child’s time at school is spent focusing on his or her weaknesses. If a kindergartner is having trouble learning letter sounds, teachers make sure extra time is spent practicing letter sounds. Makes sense, right? The trouble is that even very young children begin [...]

Using Multiple Intelligences to Support a Peaceful Classroom

I love doing workshops on Multiple Intelligence Theory for early childhood educators. Teachers of young children instinctively “get it”. More often than not, they’ve noticed that different children have skills and natural abilities in different areas, and learning about MI Theory helps give words to their own understanding of the strengths and abilities of individual [...]

Watching 2 Natural Playgrounds Part IV

It has now been a year since the professionally installed playground became open to the children at this child care center. It has changed very little since it was first installed. An outdoor water fountain was removed. One teacher told me it was a hazard, the way it stuck out in the middle of an [...]