Once upon a time.....

...Happily ever after.

These are common fairy tale phrases. But they're more than just staid story stems. These common phrases -- and the stories in between -- hold not only a recipe for imagination and fantasy but also for resilience.

Stephanie Goloway (EdD) is a powerful advocate for the importance of imagination, play, and storytelling. As a now-emeritus professor, she's taught young children as well as college students and has focused her research on how fairy tales align with and support child development. She's written a book called, Happily Ever Resilient, where she shares how the ordinary magic of resilience is woven into the extraordinary magic of fairy tales, supporting all children as they face the challenges of life.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode72

Most people associate the library with silence. But what if we associated it with play?

In this episode, I'm talking with Tammie Benham, Youth Services Consultant for the Southeast Kansas Library System. Tammie believes that where libraries, children, and families intersect, magic is possible. And she's set out to make that magic through a family engagement program focused on using play to teach, encourage, and support families in the communities she serves.

Find Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode71

We started this series with the overall argument for why play is essential for human development. The next three episodes dug deep into three main themes: Why we need play for mental health and wellness, for brain development and real learning, and for soft skill development. Then, we shifted to several shorter episodes, touching on specific types of play and how they contribute to development. In this final episode, I'm talking about why ALL children need play, even when others may think it's time to help children "catch up" instead.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode70

What does fingerpainting have to do with the Space Race? In this episode, we're talking about art and creative play and their role in learning, thinking, and innovating.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode69

This episode's focus is the dress-up area and dramatic play. We'll talk about the powerful developmental support that comes from preschoolers dressing up and playing pretend.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode68

This episode's focus is sensory play. We'll take a look at why these bins full of rice, water, goop, and other media aren't just a big mess waiting to happen, they're a really important key to supporting healthy child development.

Find Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode67

This episode's focus is the block area. We look at what's going on in those busy building centers of the early childhood classroom, and why it's important to keep those big spaces open for construction, even when there's pressure to move the blocks out to make room for "real school".

Don't underestimate the simple nature of a collection of rectangles, squares, and triangles made out of hardwood maple. When children play with construction toys (which include the ever-present unit blocks, of course, but also other open-ended building toys like Legos, magnet tiles, bristle blocks, architectural blocks etc.) they get hands-on experience that simply can't be replaced by virtual imitations.

Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode66

While some schools may claim they're moving away from play and toward more direct academic instruction as a way to prepare children for their future careers, business leaders repeatedly share that soft skills are becoming increasingly relevant in the workplaces of today and of the future. In this episode, we'll talk about how pushing out play also pushes out prime opportunities for building essential soft skills. Soft skills that not only enhance careers, but improve life.

FInd show notes at: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode65

This is the third episode in a nine-episode series! (Find them all here.)

In this episode, we're digging into why we play for brain development and real learning. There are many people who say they support play for young children, but question whether or not we need play in school, or who might argue that play is important, as long as we get the work of learning done first. So today, we'll talk about why play and learning aren't as separate as people might think.

Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode64

In this episode, we're digging into why we play for mental health. It's not just something we think is true or that sounds nice, it's a claim that's backed up by science and statistics. There's something about play that is essential to developing and maintaining our mental health. We'll dig into those findings and what they mean for our youngest learners.

Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode63