Whether you’re a preschool teacher, daycare provider, or administrator, the connection you build with parents can make or break a child’s success in your care. Today we'll discuss why strong communication with parents is so critical in early childhood education and how we can communicate well, even when we’re juggling 1000 other things!

Celebrate the one year anniversary of the launch of the Play Before Pencils Podcast with me! We'll take a look back over the year and what it's taught us about the importance of play in early childhood classrooms.

Show Notes:

www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

In today's episode, we take a look at transitions--why they are hard for young children and how we can approach them with more strategy to minimize the impact they have on the students in your early childhood classroom.

Show Notes:

www.playbeforepencils.com

As the school year nears an end, early childhood teachers are often asked the question "Is my child ready for kindergarten?" If we've done our jobs well, we can confidently say "YES!" without ever having engaged in 3 common preschool practices that actually work against a child being ready to move on in school.

Show Notes:

www.playbeforepencils.com

Whole Body Listening….is it helpful or harmful in today’s early childhood classrooms? Join host Jenn Zollinger as she explores the answer to that question in this episode of the Play Before Pencils Podcast.

Show Notes:

www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

Emergent writing is a process that requires far more support than a worksheet could ever provide. Join me as I discuss a few of the foundational skills necessary for young children to become successful writers and how to create a classroom environment that supports those skills WITHOUT the use of worksheets!

Click HERE to save 20% on my course Ditch the Worksheets: Emergent Writing in Play-based Classrooms, or visit the show notes below.

Show Notes:

www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

Behavior charts are designed to help children visualize their behavior in real time and they are popular because they are simple to implement and seem to keep classrooms running smoothly. But beneath the surface, there is a darker side to these systems and they can wind up undermining a child's intrinsic motivation to do good and leave them feeling emotionally unstable in the classroom. Join me as I discuss better ways to elicit the positive behavior you want from the students in your classroom.

Show Notes:

www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

In today's episode I talk about the importance of giving children freedom to create. We’ll explore why creativity matters, how freedom fuels it, and simple ways you can encourage the imagination of the children in your classroom every day.

Visit the show notes for links to some of the resources I use in my art cart.

Show Notes:

www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast