Child Development
Snowball Time
Have you ever done the thing where you find yourself thinking, “okay, it’s 10:55 and I have an appointment at 2. So i need to leave at 1:30 and that’s basically right after lunch and […]
fine motor development
At School
Motor Plans & Letter Formation
People ask me semi-often about learning “letter formation”, or, to put it in other terms, what would be the “right” way to teach children letters? (assuming that they WANT to learn to write letters…none of […]
Activities
Risky Play: Clipline Zipline
A delightful little example of risky play in action. There are a few different opportunities for kids to play with height in my rooms. This was a really fun, creative one that also worked on […]
Activities
X-Ray Car Technician
I love it when kids merge the toys I have at different areas of my room. He merged the car table and my wooden “tools” and began pretending to use a screwdriver and a hammer […]
At Home
Pencil Grasp
I think early childhood education has misunderstood what is behind the concept of “using the right pencil grasp”. For example, in my child’s reception class (the UK equivalent of preschool/kindergarten — it’s not exactly 1:1 […]
At School
It Only Makes Sense To Us
Modeling writing authentically and meaningfully and delightfully doesn’t always have to be, like, great works of prose or poetry. They don’t even have to make sense or be meaningful to someone who wasn’t using them […]
At Home
Child-Led Scissors Play
Yesterday, my kids (age 5 and 4) found a stack of papers that my son had brought home from school. The speech therapist sent home a bunch of picture cards that he could use at […]
Activities
Playing With Scissors
Yesterday, my kids (age 5 and 4) found a stack of papers that my son had brought home from school. The speech therapist sent home a bunch of picture cards that he could use at […]
At Home
Writing My Name
My 4yo daughter told me that she wanted to “draw” my name. She wanted this because she has seen me write things by hand. She finds it meaningful and personally interesting. She has also watched […]
Activities
Invisible Ink
A fun idea for the big kids. This one is pretty involved and takes prep time. (You could delegate the steps of figuring out what supplies you will need to an older child who can […]