pre-school

How to Use Play Support to Transform Challenging Behavior

How to Use Play Support to Transform Challenging Behavior

It is possible to transform challenging behavior using play! Are you capitalizing on preschoolers' propensity for play?

In preschool the play's the thing. It's what motivates kids. It's what they would almost always do rather than anything else.

It's also where learning and development happens.

What if classroom transitions were fun?

What if classroom transitions were fun?

Transitions in the classroom are hard.

Let's get real. It's true.

They just are. Some of us handle them better than others. Me? It's not exactly my greatest strength.

Yes, I am talking about adult transitions. Moving. Ending a relationship. Getting yourself out of the house in the morning. Even happy transitions like the birth of a new baby (ok that one is sort of in a league of its own) or getting the car packed for a day at the beach can be STRESSFUL.

What To Do When Family Collaboration Is As Challenging As The Child's Behavior

What To Do When Family Collaboration Is As Challenging As The Child's Behavior

Often, our job as early childhood educators goes beyond the children and is to support the families. I was doing a training last week with teachers and when I asked them about the behavioral challenges they faced they certainly had some stories to share.

But when I asked them about the challenges they faced in collaborating with families the energy of the room went up about 10 decibels (can you measure energy in decibels?). There was a collective, "oh yes - let me tell you...!" The frustration was palpable.