Elevating Early Childhood

Why do toddlers do what they do? Have you ever asked yourself that?

I know I have! After all, little children sometimes do some astonishing things, and I would love nothing more than to understand why!

And this is exactly why I've invited this week's guest to come to the podcast and talk to us about it.

My good friend (and this week's guest) Devon Kuntzman is a coach, a former orphanage director, and the founder of Transforming Toddlerhood!

She has spent the last 15 years working with families from all over the world, and today, she's here to discuss toddler behavior with me.

Plus, she also offers some tips on what you can do to help toddlers become successful, so really, what's not to love?

Are you ready?

Let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Why do toddlers do THAT? (01:26)

Explaining toddler behavior (03:35)

Toddlerhood, the first step towards independence (05:40)

Toddlers' view of the world (08:33)

The gap between our expectations and what toddlers can do (10:58)

Shifting our expectations (13:27)

Following the toddlers' lead? (17:35)

Harnessing toddlers' interests (20:47)

Keeping projects developmentally appropriate for toddlers (23:18)

Experimentation equals learning (28:01)

The difference between attention-seeking behavior and connection-seeking behavior (32:07)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Check out Devon’s website here.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

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Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

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In last week's episode, I discussed how you can help your students develop their fine motor skills before working on their scissor skills.

If you haven't listened to that episode yet, I invite you to do so, because the tips I gave in that one are going to build the foundation the children will need to develop and hone their scissor skills.

Today, I pick up where I left off. I'll be focusing more on scissors and what you can do to teach your young students how to use them.

To many, it seems like using scissors is something that's super easy to do. However, like everything else, it's a skill, and your students will need to work on it.

How?

I answer this question in today's episode of Elevating Early Childhood, so tune in now.

Key Takeaways:

Previously on Elevating Early Childhood (00:00)

Step #1: Ripping (01:42)

Step #2: Snipping (04:40)

Step #3: Fringing (08:36)

Step #4: Straight lines (10:53)

Step #5: Zigzag lines (14:40)

Step #6: Curved lines (16:43)

Step #7: Right angles (19:17)

What to do if your students can't hold Fiskars scissors (21:12)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Learn how to teach your students scissor cutting skills here.

- Click here for my tips for teaching scissor cutting skills in your preschool classroom.

- Get your FREE Printable Scissor Skills Checklist here.

 - Get your Cutting Skills Printable Bundle here.

 - Get Fiskars Blunt Tip Scissors here.

 - Get Preschool Training Scissors here.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

Every preschool professional will have to, one day, introduce scissors to their students. And sometimes, that can go wrong. 

A lot of children can be scissor-happy. I mean, who would say no to cutting their own hair as a child?

However, if you do it the right way, teaching scissor skills to young kids can be, if not easy, quite fun.

And it all comes down to helping your students hone their fine-motor skills!

How can you do that?

Tune in now to find out.

Well then, what are you waiting for? Let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Teaching children scissor skills: Is it a challenge? (00:00)

Fine-motor skills and scissor skills (01:17)

Playdough is a great way to help kids develop their fine motor skills (02:00)

Make things fun and playful! (07:58)

Art activities that develop fine motor skills (10:07)

What if your students have to use two hands? (15:00)

Grab your FREE Fine Motor Skills Parent Handout (16:30)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Learn how to teach your students scissor cutting skills here.

- Grab a free copy of the Fine Motor Skills Parent Handout here.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

Do you ever feel pressured to put the most aesthetically-pleasing bulletin boards in your classroom? 

We've all been there! 

Creating eye-catching bulletin boards can become a chore that takes up way too much time!

And this is exactly what I discuss in this week's episode of Elevating Early Childhood, with my amazing guest, the brilliant Matt Halpern.

Matt has taught early elementary school for almost two decades. He is also a speaker and the author of Look at My Happy Rainbow: My Journey as a Male Kindergarten Teacher. 

And today, he's here to discuss the walls in our classrooms!

Ready?

Let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Do aesthetically-pleasing bulletin boards really matter? (00:00)

Are you spending your own money on your classroom? (02:37)

The pressure of being a new teacher (08:07)

The classroom is the children's space (15:57)

Teach smarter, not harder (20:41)

How to include the children in decorating the classroom (23:12)

The more you do it, the bigger it gets (26:14)

My bulletin board philosophy (30:57)

Over decorated classrooms can cause overstimulation in students (33:54)

Matt's best advice (39:02)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Visit Matt’s website here. 

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

In this week's episode of Elevating Early Childhood, I discuss a pretty exciting subject: How to start your own preschool.

Yes friends, because you can!

Plus, what's even more fun is that I talk about this with the fantastic Joy Anderson!

If you don't know her, then let me give you a quick introduction: Joy is a mom, a badass professional educator, and, DRUMROLL PLEASE, the founder and CEO of Preschool System.

So, if you've ever dreamed of opening your own preschool, you might want to listen to this episode, because Joy has a bunch of tips and tricks for you!

Well then, what are you waiting for?

Let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Starting your own preschool? Yes, it's possible! (00:00)

Meet Joy Anderson (00:22)

Advice from Joy (02:32)

Helping women start their own preschools (07:07)

You don't need a business degree or business experience (12:43)

You won't be competing with free preschool (16:28)

The freedom of being a preschool owner (22:18)

You can't control what other people think (26:42)

Success stories from Joy (28:02)

Where you can find Joy (32:01)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Get your free copy of Joy's book here.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

Picking up from last week's episode, we continue on today with my discussion with fellow preschool educator, Allison McDonald, about the Science of Reading.

In the last episode of Elevating Early Childhood, Allison and I discussed the science of reading, the importance of oral language development, and how you can help your students create a foundation for literacy.

Today, we pick up again and discuss even more exciting (and fun) subjects, such as the importance of being intentional with your teaching (yes, it's possible to do that in preschool!), if sound walls are really necessary, the difference between phonemic awareness and phonological awareness, and a bunch of other great stuff!

So, without further ado, let’s get to it!

Key Takeaways:

Picking up from last week’s discussion (00:00)

The importance of being intentional with your teaching (02:00)

What are articulatory gestures? (05:16)

Do you really need sound walls in pre-k? (07:36)

The difference between phonemic awareness and phonological awareness (11:18)

The Science of Reading’s more controversial parts (14:33)

A quick summary of our discussion (21:31)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Check out Allison’s latest book, Everyday Preschool.

- Check out the book we based our discussion on here.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

What is the Science of Reading? And what should preschool teachers know about it?

In this week's episode of Elevating Early Childhood, I answer these two questions and more. 

But I won't be doing this alone! 

Yes friends, this is an interview episode! And in it, I will be discussing this hot topic with the lovely Allison McDonald.

Allison is the creator and founder of the early childhood website No Time for Flash Cards. She's also an author, a mom, and a rockstar early childhood educator!

Today, she and I will be discussing all things Science of Reading and what early childhood professionals need to know.

Are you ready?

Let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Discussing the Science of Reading (00:00)

Meet Allison (00:42)

Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (05:28)

The importance of oral language development (07:00)

Why you should be more intentional (11:19)

The importance of building background knowledge (14:46)

Moderate planning is okay (19:20)

Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness are key (20:47)

The four factors of future reading success (25:12)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Check out Allison’s latest book, Everyday Preschool.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

What does it take to teach preschool children how to draw? I get asked this question a lot, so I thought why not share my answer with all my listeners?

Yes guys, you've guessed it, it's another "Calm Down Corner Special" episode!

If you've ever wondered "Is directed drawing right for my class?", then this episode is the right one for you.

A few years ago, directed drawing became a trend on the internet, and as a result, many pre-k educators started asking themselves if they should be adding this activity to their preschool curriculum.

My answer? I personally think it’s not a very good idea.

Why is that?

Well, you might want to listen to this episode to find out the answer.

So, what are you waiting for? 

Let's get to it!

Key Takeaways:

- Is directed drawing right for my class? (00:00)

- Story time! (00:40)

- Fact #1: Learning to draw is a developmental skill (02:33)

- Fact #2: The ability to draw is tied to the child's fine motor skills (07:12)

- Fact #3: Motivation to draw or write is needed (07:41)

- Myth #1: It is our job as teachers to teach our students how to draw (10:20)

- Myth #2: Directed drawings make great bulletin board displays (15:54)

- Myth #3: Directed drawing is a great way to practice listening skills (16:55)

- Myth #4: You're not a good teacher unless you're doing directed drawing with your students (18:11)

- Myth #5: Parents love it (18:54)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my membership program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Get replay access to the 2021 Soar to Success Summit here.

- Learn more about creating the perfect Morning Message here.

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Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

Do your kids love visiting your preschool library center?

For many pre-k teachers, getting children interested in books and reading can be very difficult. And there are various reasons why that is so...

The kids aren’t interested…

They’re mistreating the books...

And very often, we’re not given the adequate resources to create a proper classroom library!

So in this week’s episode, I’m going to provide a solution for each of these challenges and share some proven practices for creating an exceptional preschool library center your kids will adore.

By applying these techniques, you’ll teach your kids to love books and handle them properly while designing an inviting and organized classroom library.

And you can do all of it on a shoestring budget!

All that and more on this week’s episode of Elevating Early Childhood!

Key Takeaways:

- Do your kids love going to your preschool classroom’s library center? (00:00)

- The most common library center challenges for pre-k teachers (00:51)

- Why children mistreat books (and how to teach them not to) (02:13)

- How to teach preschool children to love books and reading (06:27)

- Is having too many books in your preschool library center a bad thing? (11:01)

- The secret to making your preschool library center more inviting (11:53)

- An excellent system for teaching kids how to put books back where they belong (13:31)

- How many books should your preschool library center have? (15:19)

- Best methods for creating a fantastic library center on a low budget (17:37)

- Resources to help you create a top-notch library center! (blog post + book-handling skills kit + learning centers essential guide) (21:00)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my membership program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Get your 2021 Soar to Success Summit pass here.

- Check out our Preschool Classroom Library Center blog.

- Get our Book Handling Skills Kit here.

- Download our FREE Center Essentials Guide.

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Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers 

Every single year, I get questions about the first days of school.

And so, I thought, why not have an episode about it? After all, that first day of school is a pretty big deal, not just for the students, but also for professional educators like you.

That is why I’ve created a free printable lesson plan to go along with the episode! I’ll also explain how to use it, so make sure you listen all the way through!

But, did you know? It's not just the first day of school that's crucial, it's actually the first ten days, and you should be focusing on them as much as you can.

Why is that?

Simply because those first ten days of school will set you and your students up for a successful year. And who doesn't want that?

So, how do you make sure they go as smoothly as possible?

Join me now to discover the answer to that question (and a few tips you can use to help yourself and your students transition smoothly into the school year).

Let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Focusing on the first ten days of school is important (00:00)

First, let's start with a quick story (00:56)

Tip #1: Always go for quality over quantity (03:38)

Tip #2: Less is more (04:27)

Tip #3: No product art in the first ten days (06:28)

Tip #4: Ignore the teacher next door (08:02)

Tip #5: Troubleshooting (10:26)

Why the first ten days of school are sacred (12:53)

Check out my free First 10 Days of School Lessons Plans (17:20)

Use engaging, fun books in those first ten days (19:54)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my membership program “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Get our free First 10 Day of School Lesson Plan here.

- Get your 2021 Soar to Success Summit pass here.

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Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers