Elliot Haspel’s newest book, Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All makes a powerful case that ensuring child care for every family who wants or needs access benefits each of us. Listen to host Heather Bernt-Santy’s conversation with Elliot about the way child care for all can support the values of those who believe in national security, family values, community, racial and gender equity and more.

More about Elliot: https://elliothaspel.com/

Have you ordered Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood yet? It’s available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, or you can order directly from the publisher on the Teachers College Press website. 

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NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct says, “Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall

What does this have to do with nap time in child care settings? A whole lot, according to host Heather Bernt-Santy and her guests Kisa Marx, Tiffany, Pearsall, Lizz Nolasco and Carol Garboden Murray. 

Have you ordered Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood yet? Find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, or straight from the publisher on the Teachers College Press website. 

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

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Author, educator and community organizer Dr. Megan Madison joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to talk about her First Conversations children’s book series, children’s developing sense of justice and fairness, book bans, and more. This conversation will leave you feeling determined and hopeful, as it did Heather. 

More about the book series, including downloadables and other guides, here: https://www.firstconversations.com/

Find Megan on instagram as @meganmadison

Order Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to

Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

It’s time for the second installment of Free the Teachers! 

In this episode, Heather Bernt-Santy is joined by Richard Cohen, Carol Garboden Murray, Stacy Benge, and Tiffany Pearsall to talk through the ways we can be free of traditional calendar, circle, and other large group times and to share new ways of thinking about gathering with young children. 

Order Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to

Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

In this week’s episode, host Heather Bernt-Santy interviews Amy Reyes-Hauff, Early Learning Specialist with the Wyoming Department of Education’s school success divistion. They talk about traditional circle time practices in early childhood settings and Amy suggests that it’s time to scrap circle time in favor of more developmentally informed practices….and PLAY!

Amy is an advocate for outdoor learning and has integrated outdoor learning into over 200 classrooms across her home state of Wyoming with the Get Wild Wyoming Initiative. Amy is an early childhood speaker and motivator who firmly believes children learn best in outdoor learning settings where they are able to self regulate through natural colors, shapes, sounds, and feelings. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-reyes-a1b15844/

Order Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to

Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Host Heather Bernt-Santy and fellow nerd Mike Huber talk with Ebba Theorell about her brilliant article, Transformative Aesthetic Dimensions in Young Boys’ War Play:

Find her article here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/34/article/960063/pdf

Want to order Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to

Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Every now and then, host Heather Bernt-Santy and the other nerds in the TECN group chat hit on hot issues that we wish early childhood folks didn’t have to worry about. We decided to do a few episodes on these topics, calling it the Free the Teachers! series. 

In this episode, we talk about how stressful tightly controlled daily schedules are for adults and for children, and discuss some alternatives. 

Want to order Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to

Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

When host Heather Bernt-Santy talked with Amy Chiu (www.theworkofplay.com) on TECN episode 372, she knew she had to have a follow up conversation including Carol Garboden Murray (https://www.carolgarbodenmurray.com/). Join them all as they discuss the benefit of slowing down with children in our early childhood settings, including some great first-of-the-school-year practices that help build slow habits. 

Want to order Heather’s book Using Schema Play Theory to

Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Live from the lobby of the Claggett Retreat Center, listen in as attendees and presenters debrief the day’s events–what resonated, what challenged them, and dreams for what happens next. The Play Empowers Teacher Retreat is truly one of a kind. 

Because it was a live recording of a large group, the volume levels vary a bit from person to person–this  may not be an ear bud episode!

Thank you to Kisha Reid for bringing us all together!

Want to order my book Using Schema Play Theory to

Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Nikki Darling-Kuria joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to share her growth as a trauma informed early childhood professional in an unpredictable world. The quote to start this conversation is from Katherine Anne Porter, who said, “The past is never where you think you left it,” meaning that events that we think are in the past and believe we should be “over” aren’t ever over. Nikki shares thoughts and resources about moving through our work and our lives with trauma informed practices. 

For more information:

Listeners can get 10% off the book Trauma Responsive Strategies for Early Childhood from 7/7/2025-9/1/2025. Enter code: podcast10

https://www.redleafpress.org/Trauma-Responsive-Strategies-for-Early-Childhood-P2503.aspx  

Listeners can get 10% off each of the four eLearnings from 7/7/2025-9/1/2025. Enter code: podcast10

https://www.thinksmall.org/trauma-informed/ 

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.