Redirection, a Magical Misunderstood Strategy

Redirection, a Magical Misunderstood Strategy

Do you use "redirection" as a way to respond to children who are using toys in unsafe ways, not following directions, are about to bite a peer, or who are engaging in other unwanted behavior?

I recently discovered that there are a good number of early childhood professionals that say that they or the teachers they supervise use "redirection"...but when asked to describe what they say or do to "redirect" it turns out that redirection is NOT actually the strategy they are using!!!!

YIKES.

What's Your Go-To for Online ECE Learning?

What's Your Go-To for Online ECE Learning?

What are your go-to resources when it comes to online early childhood professional development? 

Please let me know down below in the comments.

I LOVE online learning. These days I learn everything from how to do a handstand (ok, still working on that one but true confessions I did buy an online course on it - ha!) ...to business advice... to all things early childhood - all online! I love learning through webinars, online courses, downloadable digital products and resources, and also podcasts (I love podcasts! Do they count as "online"? Let's say yes for the purpose of this discussion.)

I love pressing play on my phone or laptop while I'm snuggled under a blanket on my coach, on a long drive, cooking, doing dishes or doing other household chores (picture me unpacking or packing again).

In this post I'm sharing my top 7 go-to places for online early childhood learning.

Then, at the end I have a question for you!

Never Enough Help With Classroom Transitions!

Never Enough Help With Classroom Transitions!

How are your classroom transitions going? I'm talking about the transition from playtime to clean up time.....outdoor time to back inside...lunch to nap?

Do you have children who refuse to follow directions? Find that certain children get over-stimulated during daily classroom transitions and end up hurting a friend? Getting into power struggles with children about cleaning up blocks?

Here's the deal...

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.