Episodios
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In episode 74, I introduced you to Michele Dineen-White, the creator of Play Smart Literacy in Chicago. Play Smart Literacy is a truly mobile outreach program, meaning that rather than hoping parents can overcome the burden of traveling to a specific location to receive services, Play Smart Literacy goes out into the community, particularly in vulnerable areas, to contact families and meet them right where they are – both literally and figuratively. They teach workshops at laundromats, gas stations, and standing in line at the market.
The passion for this program - and what it does for children and families - is contagious! In fact, many members of the team were once on the other side of the program – they were parents learning for the first time that talking and playing with their babies could make a meaningful difference in their development. They saw the benefits of the program with their own eyes and in their own homes and decided they wanted to share that message with other parents.
In this episode, I talk with members of the Play Smart Literacy team, about why they're so passionate about their work, what that work looks like, and how they've seen it change lives.
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Michele Dinneen-White was working in an early education outreach program when she realized something. The program wasn’t actually reaching out to the families who needed it most. Those families were still required to find the time and the means to get their child to the center in order to receive services. And for many, that barrier was just too much to overcome. So Michele decided to create something new. The program is called Play Smart Literacy and it serves families in the Chicago area. It’s a fully mobile outreach program, one that actually reaches OUT and INTO the most vulnerable communities. And what is their mission? To build language and relationships through play.
Michele and her parent play leaders go to where the families are – parks, shelters, mobile markets, Head Start and early care programs, laundromats, gas stations – and they build real relationships with the families they meet, while at the same time building the families’ understanding of the connections between play, talk, and child development …AND building their confidence as parents as well. Their message is clear: EVERY parent has the ability to have a strong positive influence on their child’s future.
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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
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Once upon a time.....
...Happily ever after.
These are common fairy tale phrases. But they're more than just staid story stems. These common phrases -- and the stories in between -- hold not only a recipe for imagination and fantasy but also for resilience.
Stephanie Goloway (EdD) is a powerful advocate for the importance of imagination, play, and storytelling. As a now-emeritus professor, she’s taught young children as well as college students and has focused her research on how fairy tales align with and support child development. She’s written a book called, Happily Ever Resilient, where she shares how the ordinary magic of resilience is woven into the extraordinary magic of fairy tales, supporting all children as they face the challenges of life.
Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode72
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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
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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/podcast/episode70
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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, architectural blocks etc.) they get hands-on experience that simply can’t be replaced by virtual imitations.
Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode66
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While some schools may claim they’re moving away from play and toward more direct academic instruction as a way to prepare children for their future careers, business leaders repeatedly share that soft skills are becoming increasingly relevant in the workplaces of today and of the future. In this episode, we’ll talk about how pushing out play also pushes out prime opportunities for building essential soft skills. Soft skills that not only enhance careers, but improve life.
FInd show notes at: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode65
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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
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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
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I’m excited to be kicking off something special today. For years, I’ve been speaking at workshops and conferences about the power of play in the early learning environment, which sparked the series of parent letters I’ve written, called Why We Play. This month, I’ll be sharing a special podcast series with the same name: Why We Play. Every Tuesday and Thursday in February, you’ll find a new episode sharing the science and stories behind why we play, evidence that play is not just cute, it’s incredibly powerful.
This Why We Play podcast series is long overdue – I’m so excited to jump into a topic I’m SO passionate about and to share some fascinating, compelling research that I absolutely love nerding out on. I hope you’ll join me for the whole month of February.
Whether you’re a champion for play or a playful learning skeptic, this series is just for you.
Find Show Notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode62
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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 difference disappeared. That’s not too surprising – a “fade out” effect is often observed in early childhood research.
Where this study really started making waves was with the follow-up data. After the participating children completed their third-grade year, Farran and her team found that the PreK group actually scored *below* the other children on the math and science sections of their standardized tests - and by statistically significant margins. By the sixth-grade year, more alarm bells sounded. The PreK participants were scoring below the nonparticipants on not only math and science (and by a greater factor than was seen in third grade) but now, also on English language arts as well. Perhaps more concerning, they were also getting in more trouble at school and receiving more expulsions.
While some may have been tempted to bury unexpected results, Dr. Farran and her team decided to get curious and ask what could be learned. The rest of us get to make the same choice – ignore the research, or get curious and find something to learn.
Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode61
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Challenging behaviors are nothing new in early childhood education. And yet, there’s something different going on. For a variety of reasons, challenging behaviors seem to be increasing both in intensity and frequency.
Dayna Abraham is no stranger to challenging behaviors. As a board certified teacher and a mom to 3 neuro-divergent children, Dayna has sat on both sides of the table when it comes to these challenges. She’s developed a compassionate approach based on science and experience to help bring peace and calm to homes and classrooms.
Dayna is the author of Calm the Chaos: A Failproof Roadmap for Parenting Even the Most Challenging Kids, which can be preordered now ahead of it’s release on August 15th. And I’m so excited to have her share what she’s discovered.
Find Shownotes at notjustcute.com/podcast/episode60
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I’m talking to someone I’ve wanted to share with you for a long time. One of my best friends from grad school, Kelli Barker. She’s now the director of the Adelle and Dale Young child development lab school at Utah State University.
She’s sharing what a lab school is as well as what she’s learned about helping college students and preservice teachers understand human development and apply that to their personal and professional lives.
I think you’re going to love Kelli’s insight on preparing young professionals and on applying human development principles to life.
Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode59
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Malia Hollowell is the author of The Science of Reading in Action and the creator of the site Playdough to Plato. She’s a National Board Certified educator who’s helping to put the science of reading into action with playful, hands on experiences. Her book, website, and Instagram are full of fantastic examples and resources. Her primary focus is grades K-2, but depending on where your littles are skill-wise, you may find loads of great activities that are appropriate for preK as well.
Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode58
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Have you been asked how your preschool room aligns with the Science of Reading? Or maybe you’ve seen videos of two year olds reading and the sales page headlines saying that simply applying the *science* can give all toddlers the advantage they deserve? Well, in this episode, we’re adding on to the basic background and history of the science of reading found in the previous episode, and digging deeper into what all this science means in the preschool classroom.
Show notes: www.notjustcute.com/podcast/episode57
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I’ve talked and written a lot about early literacy over the years, but I’ve avoided one very popular term: The Science of Reading.
I decided to keep my head down and my work research-based and just stay out of the fray of nailing down the specific jargon. But with more and more states and districts requiring “Science of Reading compliant curriculum," it’s important for early childhood educators to know what that means, what it doesn’t mean, and how it impacts our practice.
If The Science of Reading is not a familiar term to you, no worries, we’re going to walk through it and some of the terms associated with it….and if you ARE familiar with the term, I hope you’ll bring whatever background knowledge you have and be ready to find some new perspectives here.
Shownotes: www.notjustcute.com/podcast/episode56
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