Today, I’m joined by Beck Goodman who is an early childhood learning expert specializing in early literacy. Her company’s mission is to end the preschool power struggles around learning by equipping grownups with the tools they need to use play-based approaches that foster connection, not conflict. We discuss joy and child interest as the cornerstone to supporting early literacy development.

Highlights:

1. Silliness as a Tool for Engagement: Beck emphasizes the power of silliness—whether it’s making up ridiculous words with magnetic letters or engaging in playful language games. Children are naturally silly—let's embrace that playfulness.
2. Using Children’s Interests to Drive Learning: Both Beck and Laura discuss the importance of leaning into a child’s interest and disinterest. Whether it’s saying yes to a request for ketchup at mealtime or experimenting with different ways to engage a child during literacy activities, honoring what excites them can build trust and create more opportunities for learning.
3. Letting Children Take the Lead: Learn how to avoid power struggles and encourage more collaborative problem-solving. Laura and Beck discuss how giving children a voice in problem-solving situations can help build autonomy and investment in the learning process.

If you’ve ever wondered how to meet children where they are and embrace their interests and silliness, this episode is for you. Beck’s strategies will help you navigate the delicate balance between structured learning and free play, ultimately creating an environment where children feel empowered to explore language and literacy on their terms.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick

Connect with Beck:

• Instagram: @growwithbeck
• Website: growwithbeck.com

Today, I’m joined by Jenn Zollinger from Play Before Pencils to talk about emergent writing and its deep connection to storytelling. As an early childhood educator and advocate for play-based learning, Jenn shares how she transitioned from a teacher-led, academic-focused preschool setting to a more child-led, developmentally responsive approach. We explore the magic that happens when children are given space to explore writing organically—through storytelling, play, and meaningful experiences.

Highlights:

1. What is Emergent Writing? Jenn explains how children naturally progress through stages of emergent writing, from scribbles to phonetic spelling, and why these early marks are crucial to literacy development.
2. The Role of Play in Writing Development: Jenn and I discuss how open-ended materials and opportunities for storytelling supports children in seeing themselves as writers—long before they master letter formation.
3. Oral Storytelling: Jenn shares how incorporating oral storytelling in her classroom led to incredible engagement, creativity, and a stronger connection to written language.

If you’re tired of how limiting traditional literacy instruction is with worksheets and scripted small groups, tune in and find out how to create an environment where writing feels meaningful and accessible to all children. If you’ve ever wondered how to nurture early writing skills without forcing them or want to explore the magic of storytelling in your classroom, this episode is for you!

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick

Connect with Jenni:

• Instagram: @play_before_pencils
• Website: playbeforepencils.com

Jean-Mari Dagarin, from The Early Childhood POV, joins me today to talk about a growing concern in early education: 'schoolification'—the push to bring formal academic practices into early childhood spaces. With over 30 years of experience as an early childhood advocate, administrator, college professor, and developmentally appropriate practice expert, Jean Marie has seen firsthand how these pressures impact young learners. Today, we’re unpacking what schoolification means, why it’s problematic, and, more importantly, how educators can combat it while staying true to developmentally appropriate practices.

Highlights:

1. Defining Schoolification: Jean Marie breaks down the concept of "schoolification" in early childhood, discussing how academic pressures are being pushed down to younger ages and why this is often developmentally inappropriate.
2. Examples of Inappropriate Early Literacy Practices: Jean Marie shares specific examples of early literacy practices that do not align with developmentally appropriate principles, highlighting the need for a child-centered approach. Laura shares some that she did before she knew better
3. Natural Literacy Development in Play-Based Learning: Jean Marie and Laura provide insights into how early literacy skills can unfold naturally through play, offering practical strategies for fostering language and literacy in a way that supports children's developmental stages.

If you want to think deeper about early literacy, what’s often done wrong, and how teachers can nurture children’s natural literacy development through play, this episode is for you! So, grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and let’s jump into this eye-opening conversation with Jean-Mari.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Learn more with the Play-Based Literacy Masterclass

Connect with Jean-Mari:

• Instagram: @the.early.childhood.pov
• Website: earlychildhoodpov.com
• Learn more with DAP 101

In this episode, I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Julia B. Lindsey, Ph.D., a leading expert in foundational literacy and the author of Reading Above the Fray: Research-based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills. With a wealth of experience as both an educator and researcher, Dr. Lindsey has made significant contributions to the field of literacy, including the creation of widely used knowledge-rich decodable texts. Together we simplify and break down all the different aspects of early literacy using research.

Highlights:

1. Explicit Reading Instruction: Hear some concrete reasons why some literacy skills have to be explicitly taught and the research that supports this. Learn simple ways to do this with young children in a play-based setting.
2. Phonemic Awareness: Julia simply explains the difference between phonemic and phonological awareness and their role in developing early literacy skills.
3. How It's All Connected: Laura and Julia discuss how reading and writing is deeply interconnected with language. They also share how joyful literacy learning can be for young children as they start to make sense of the code that they see all around them.

If you’re ready to start building in 5-7 minutes of explicit literacy instruction a day and aren’t sure where to start, this episode is for you. Find out how and why you should be doing this and what the current research says.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Learn more with the Play-Based Literacy Masterclass

Connect with Dr. Julia Lindsey:

• Instagram: @juliablindsey
• Website: www.juliablindsey.com
• Her book: Reading Above the Fray

Laura welcomes Dr. Jasmine Moses, an anti-bias early childhood educator dedicated to promoting anti-bias and anti-racist practices within early childhood education. Jasmine shares insights into how anti-bias education can help raise more aware, kind, and forgiving children. This chat covers the importance of addressing biases, involving the community in this collective effort, and using children's literature as a powerful tool to promote diversity, inclusivity, and critical thinking among young children.

Highlights:

1. Defining Anti-Bias Education: Laura and Jasmine discuss their shared understanding of this complex topic and the four aspects of this work.
2. Incorporating Anti-Bias Education into ECE: Learn how anti-bias work seamlessly fits into early childhood education. Jasmine provides insights into the important work adults must do to engage in learning alongside children.
3. Using Children’s Literature: Laura and Jasmine share resources, favorite books, prompts to use, and questions to ask yourself (and children).

If you’re ready to start being proactive rather than reactive when addressing topics of culture, race, gender, and more, this episode will help. Jasmine shares practical tips on selecting diverse books and offers an extensive list of recommended reads for both children and adults engaging in anti-bias education. Additionally, you’ll learn some places to start and how to start decentering yourself and centering this work.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Free Guidebook: Culturally Responsive & Inclusive Storytelling

Connect with Jasmine:

• Instagram: @theantibiasece
• Website: The Anti-Bias ECE
• Free Guide: Now We're Talking

Resources:

• Social Justice Books
• • Guide for selecting children’s books
  • Book lists

Some of the Books Mentioned:

• Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks
• Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate, Anti-Racist, Justice-Minded Kids in an Unjust World by Traci Baxley
• Raising Anti Racist Children: A practical guide by Britt Hawthorne
• First Conversations books
• Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
• Big by Vashti Harrison

In this episode of “Stories That Stick,” Laura and Ms. Ashley chat about storytelling and how it supports children to learn about the world around them. Ashley is THE early childhood enthusiast and creator of Nguzo Babies. She’s dedicated to exposing children to new cultures and languages through storytelling and puppetry. Together Laura and Ashley explore how storytelling can build connections and teach important social concepts to kids.

Highlights:

1. Continuous Learning: Ashley shares about the importance of cultural respect in language learning and how adults must shift their perspective on teaching.
2. Authenticity: Laura and Ashley discuss why children need to be exposed to different cultures and how to do this with authentic resources and stories.
3. Fostering Understanding: At the heart of all social studies is supporting others in celebrating diverse stories, background, and cultures. Through puppetry and character development, Ashley shares strategies to foster understanding and compassion with children.

If you have been looking for ways to build more cultures and social studies into your early learning environment, this episode is just what you need! Tune in to this episode to learn about Nguzo Babies and the ideas behind how puppetry and cultural exploration helps children to connect with diverse backgrounds and languages.

Connect with Laura: @little.stories.that.stick & website

Free guidebook ‘Culturally Responsive & Inclusive Storytelling’: Download here!

Connect with Ashley: @NguzoBabies, Nguzo Babies YouTube Channel & Nguzobabies.com

Learn more on teaching Social Studies with Young Children: Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks

In this episode of “Stories That Stick,” Laura and Nyetta chat about homeschooling with their children and how they understand the Science of Reading. Nyetta is the self-proclaimed Mom Playologist and founder of The Activity Playhouse. Nyetta shares about her journey as a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling parents that naturally learned the importance of play in children’s development.

Highlights:

1. Different Journeys: Nyetta shares about how she became a stay-at-home mom that homeschools her three children. Laura and Nyetta reflect on what brought them to homeschool and draw parallels between their experiences.
2. Play and Early Literacy: Laura and Nyetta discuss the importance of play in early childhood education and how fostering early literacy is critical for later reading success.
3. Unpacking the Science of Reading: Laura and Nyetta know that although explicit instruction and following a scope and sequence is necessary, building background knowledge, vocabulary and comprehension is just as important. They both give examples from their lives of how these skills develop naturally through play.

If you have been hearing about the Science of Reading, but you’re not sure how it applies to you as an early childhood educator, tune in to this episode. Along with learning some practical ways to embrace literacy learning through child-led play, you may also be inspired to explore additional ways to support learning outside of the classroom.

Connect with Laura: @little.stories.that.stick & website

Free guide with 50 ideas to incorporate literacy into play: Download here!

Connect with Nyetta: @TheActivityPlayhouse & website

Check out Nyetta's podcast: Let Kids Play!

Tune in and listen as Laura shares part 2 to the story of Tea and Honey (listen to Tea & Honey: Part 1 first!)! She's fully invested in the family of robins that built a nest outside her kitchen window. Find out what happened after they built their nest.

If you’re ready to start telling stories of your own, but need a little nudge, you can grab some story cards here to help!

Follow Laura on Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick

Check out her stories on YouTube: Little Stories That Stick