This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. I have a memory from very young in my childhood, that I can’t remember whether it was all just a thought process I … Read more
“You can struggle for weeks to teach a child to identify colors before they are ready, or you can do it in a few moments when they are ready to learn.” True about colors. True about numbers. True about writing. True about lots and lots and lots and lots of things. (And by “ready to … Read more
In the infamous “Duck Cake” episode of Bluey (season 2, ep 44), it’s little sister Bingo’s birthday and she is looking through a cake book for which cake she would like to have for her birthday. She chooses a duck cake because, when she looks at it, her tail starts wagging, which she knows means … Read more
Something that I desperately wish that we saw more of in the US is letting kids learn literacy on their own terms, without the intense pressure that it often carries. (I know that this is rampant outside the US, too. I just can speak the most authoritatively from within my own window of experience.) Children … Read more
Kids are very creative in play. They may be interested in symbolic play, using things to represent other things. They may be interested in sensory play, exploring the sounds and sights and textures of materials or the ways they interact. They may be interested in motor play, exploring how objects move and how they themselves … Read more
[Image description: There is a title at the top of the meme that reads “Verbal Referencing: Say What You See”. Three images of toddlers are shown, with captions beneath them. The first child is smiling with an open-mouthed smile. The caption says, “I see your big smile! I think you LIKE that.” The second child … Read more
Sitting is not morally better than standing. Sitting is not morally better than pacing. Sitting is not morally better than wandering. Sitting is easier for some adults to handle than standing, pacing, or wandering. Why are we more worried about what is easier for adults to handle than what makes it easier for children to … Read more
This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. I think we would actually all be fine if we would drop the word “consequences” from our vocabularies entirely. I’d certainly prefer it … Read more
A post originally from two years ago, of a time when I “got it right” with playfulness, and with seeing “misbehavior” as a plea for playfulness. *** My 2yo and I were sitting at the kids’ dinner table. My 3.5yo always has a hard time with dinner. He’s groggy from his nap and his blood … Read more
My kid saw me through the open door of daycare. Her face lit up, my face lit up, we both did a wiggly happy dance to see each other. She over-exaggeratedly mouthed, “Hi Mummy!”, because she’s been experimenting with what kinds of nonverbal/nonspeaking communication will be understood—gestures, mouthing, pointing, etc. I over-exaggeratedly mouthed back, “Hi … Read more