Meghan Fitzgerald has combined her many professional and personal experiences with her passion for learning, play, and nature, to create Tinkergarten, a program that supports caregivers in providing children with powerful outdoor play experiences.  In this episode, she shares her insights on how and why playing in nature benefits every child’s development and supports healthier, happier growth. Show Notes at:  https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode46

Not Just Cute, the Podcast: Intentional Whole Child Development for Parents and Teachers of Young Children

Episode 46: The Power of Nature Play (with Meghan Fitzgerald of Tinkergarten)

I had a great conversation recently with my friend, Rae Pica, about how and why we should get parents on board with play-based, developmentally appropriate education. Show Notes: www.https://notjustcute.com/podast/episode45

Episode 45: Getting Parents on Board with Play (with Rae Pica)

You may be familiar with Sally Haughey’s amazing work through Fairy Dust Teaching, a site committed to respecting the whole child, community, play, and education as a living, breathing art form. She began the site in 2010, as a place to collect and share her own thoughts as an early childhood educator.  In the eleven years since then, it has grown into a global community and has been the springboard for two books and multiple conferences and summits, all focused on the beauty and wonder and magic of early learning.  Sally is a brilliant balance of down to earth accessibility and enchanting inspiration.  I know you’re going to love her as we talk about the importance of wonder, play, and building up great humans! Show Note: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode44

Episode 44: Fairy Dust Teaching (with Sally Haughey)

Matis Miller is the author of the new book, The Uncontrollable Child.  He’s a licensed clinical social worker and therapist and the founder, director, and supervisor of The Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy of New Jersey.  Certified in both cognitive and dialectical behavior therapies, Matis brings a unique perspective on the balance point between extremes – something that is often missing in conversations about challenging childhood behaviors.  If you’ve been wanting to show up to behavior challenges with more confidence and clarity, you are in the right place.  Find show notes at www.https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode43

Episode 43: "The Uncontrollable Child" (with Matis Miller)

Dr. Borba's newest book, THRIVERS: The Surprising Reason Why Some Kids Struggle While Others Shine, combines scientific studies, input from dozens of researchers/experts focusing on resilience, and interviews with more than 100 young people from all walks of life.  Through all of that research, Dr. Borba found something surprising: the difference between those who struggle and those who succeed comes down not to grades or test scores, but to seven character traits that set Thrivers apart (and set them up for happiness and greater accomplishment later in life).   Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode42

Episode 42: Thrivers (with Dr. Michelle Borba)

 One year ago, Allison McDonald was teaching preschool in the state of Washington and writing her popular blog, No Time for Flash Cards.  Like many other teachers, her class was suddenly canceled when the pandemic hit and the world shut down.  After the initial shock, her school began talking about how they could safely move forward and continue serving children and families.  While working with her team to answer those questions, Allison was fielding similar questions from teachers in her online world as well.  Over the past year, she’s been innovating to serve her own students while also supporting teachers around the globe during this unique and challenging period.  Through it all, she’s not only discovered tips and concepts to help teachers through a pandemic, but she’s also identified key questions that we can all use to guide us now AND as we move forward.  Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode41

Episode 41: Lessons from Remote Teaching (with Allison McDonald)

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode40   After the U.S.- based National Association for the Education of Young Children – or NAEYC – launched its national accreditation system for early childhood learning programs in the early 1980s, they made an interesting observation.  While their accreditation criteria frequently referenced the term “developmentally appropriate practice”, when they met with different people across a variety of programs, they found little agreement about what that term actually meant.  In response, the association released a position statement in the mid-80s to help create a more cohesive understanding and application of the term across the field of early education.   In the same spirit of responsive care that they endorse, NAEYC revises and updates their position statement about every 10 years to respond to the current state of research and social discourse, and to clarify misunderstandings.   The Fourth Edition of NAEYC’s Position Statement was released at the end of 2020.  If you’ve been curious about what kind of changes can be found in this latest edition, I’ll be jumping into some of the main concepts and key changes in this episode.

Episode 40: What's New with DAP?

Several years ago, Pat Rumbaugh was nicknamed “The Play Lady.”  And the nickname stuck.  After spending 25 years getting young people to play through her work as a PE teacher and tennis coach, she co-founded Let’s Play America and took on the task of encouraging people of ALL ages across the nation to prioritize play.  We’ll be talking about why play matters and how we can do a better job of setting aside time to play every day.  In her TEDx Talk, Saving Play- One Playful Step at a Time, Pat not only shared her important message, but she delivered part of it while hula-hooping.  Pat is clearly playfully passionate, and she has an important message to share today.   Find Show Notes At: https://www.notjustcute.com/podcast/episode39

Episode 39: Let's Play, America! (with Pat Rumbagh)

I'm so excited for you to meet Heather Jackson, director of the Reggio-inspired Sunflower School. In this episode she shares her thoughts on verbs as thematic units, slowing down to capture the true intentions of the children we work with, and the beauty and importance in the magical thinking of childhood. Whether you aspire to teach specifically from the Reggio philosophy or not, you will find so much inspiration in this episode. If you’ve been wondering how you could do an even better job of bringing a child-centered approach to your curriculum or if you’re looking to bring more of the magic of childhood into your teaching practices, you are in for a treat. Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode38

Episode 38: Finding the Verbs and the Magic in Early Childhood Education (with Heather Jackson)

Rae Pica is a force to be reckoned with.  With her unapologetic straight-talk, she has been advocating for children and for whole child education for decades, filling shelves of books with her words and inspiring educators around the world.    Her latest book, What if We taught the Way Children Learn, fits the pattern, calling into question the many instances where our common practices seem to be at odds with what should be common sense about how young children learn and grow.  In fact, Dr. Eric Jensen says: “Rae Pica’s powerful, thought-provoking book provides rare and uncommon. Our kids would be MUCH better off if we practiced the way this book suggests we do, and so would the educators around them.”   If you’ve ever questioned the status quo in early education or wondered how you could better educate the whole child – particularly during this time of unique regulations – you’re going to want to listen to what Rae Pica has to share.   Find Show Notes at: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode37

Episode 37: What if We Taught the Way Children Learn (with Rae Pica)

Today I’m talking with Dr. Nefertiti Poyner of the Devereaux Center for Resilient Children and I’m going to to tell you right now, she is an absolute delight.  Educators and the children they love and teach are being stretched in every direction,  Dr. Poyner shares some of the principles that create the “ordinary magic” that helps us all to bounce back.  She shares a fantastic script for building resilience and relationships in the midst of all the frustration that children are feeling as they navigate new restrictions in the classroom and helps us all to remember how to “live today well.”   Find show notes at https://www.notjustcute.com/podcast/episode36

Episode 36: Resilience (with Dr. Nefertiti Poyner)

It’s back to school time, and normally that means getting back to the structure of something familiar….but this year is totally different.  And it’s different for each of you.  I’ve been thinking about how to kick off this new school year, with a pep talk of sorts, and somehow address all of the challenges and all of these differences in a way that applies to each of you in your unique circumstances. Show Note: https://www.notjustcute.com/podcast/episode35

Episode 35: A Back to School Pep Talk

Today I’m talking with Vanessa Levin, experienced early childhood educator and creator of the wildly popular site Pre-K Pages, which is chock full of activities and resources for early childhood teachers.  She’s an accomplished trainer and advocate who’s passionate about helping educators teach well AND save time.  I asked her to talk with me today about the importance of play in early childhood education with some extra attention to how playful learning can go hand in hand with meeting objectives and promoting literacy. Show Notes at: notjustcute.com/podcast/episode34

Episode 34: Play, Standards, and Literacy (with Vanessa Levin)

As states and districts begin this trickling process of making final announcements about the school year, many closing -at least physically – for the remainder of the school year, I’ve seen heartbreak reflected over and over in educators around the country.  These feelings of loss.  Over the progress we were making.  Over the plans we’d set out.  Over the routine we loved – a hundred little precious things that happened every day.  Over the work we love, and most of all, over these children we love.  There’s a collective mourning over the school year we thought we’d have.   Jill Riley talks with me about how to acknowledge and process our grief and why we need to do that in order to get "unstuck" and move forward. Find show notes at: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode33

Episode 33: Grieving the School Year We Thought We'd Have

In this episode, we’ll cover a quick review of what serve and return interactions are as well as what the newest research tells us about why they’re so important. Find Show Notes at: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode32

Episode 32: How Interactions Build Young Brains

Not Just Cute, the Podcast is like listening to a conversation with your nerdy best friend. Who happens to be obsessed with child development. Each episode covers a different topic related to parenting, early childhood education, and healthy, whole child development in order to support teachers and parents in serving young children.

hubhopper

Not Just Cute, the Podcast: Intentional Whole Child Developm...

hubhopper