Workshops & Webinars
Bring That Early Childhood Nerd to your next conference, professional development day or webinar! Check out some of my most popular topics.
Supporting and Extending Play Using Schema Play Theory
SUPPORTING AND EXTENDING PLAY USING SCHEMA PLAY THEORY
Did you know that when children repetitively mix paints, dump toys, swipe toys off of tabletops and hide under tables, they are giving you important clues about how they are exploring the world and how you can support those explorations? I didn’t—until I discovered schema play theory.
How to Be a “Toddler Teacher”
Very few people I’ve met or talked to in came into the ECE field to work specifically with one and two year olds—it’s sort of a default assignment that you end up loving or not loving. I want to help you LOVE IT!
A New Lens for Viewing “Difficult Behaviors"
Discipline? Guidance? Punishment? Misbehavior? Behaviors? Our field is very skilled at finding euphemisms for discussing children’s behavior and our responses. But do the underlying assumptions ever really change? And what good can come from changing our language and views?
Baby Steps: Moving from Themes to Child Centered Lesson Planning
Many of us believe that child led, child centered programming is developmentally appropriate practice, but feel constraints from our regulations, program expectations and customer requests. How can we begin to move in a more appropriate, more fulfilling direction?
6X7=Yikes! Overcoming Our Own Math Anxiety to Teach Young Children
It’s a common tale—early childhood practitioners carry math anxiety from their school memories and it interferes with our ability to help young children develop solid math foundations. It’s easier to overcome than you think!
Conscious Caring: Slowing Ourselves Down to be Truly Present with Infants and Toddlers
If you work with infants and toddlers, do you ever feel like all you do is change diapers and feed them? When do we get to “teaching?” The answer is out there. Let’s talk about it.
Working with Families: What You Think Determines What You Do
How do we talk to each other about families? What do we really think and believe about working with parents and families? Gone are the days when we can say, “I chose to work with children, not their parents.”
Quit Tattling on Children!
How can we have conversations with families about behavior that build and strengthen the care partnership? Are the conversations necessary? What is our responsibility? Let’s figure it out together.
Observing Children: Why? Then What?
Why should we observe young children in our programs? How can it work without removing ourselves from interacting with them? How can we make authentic use of those observations? Let’s find out together!