That Early Childhood Nerd

By Explorations Early Learning

What's That Early Childhood Nerd about?

Each week host Heather Bernt-Santy and a member of the ECE Nerd Collective share and discuss a quote with a focus on effecting change in the early learning world.

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That Early Childhood Nerd episodes:

04.24.2024
NERD_0319 Who Gets to Decide What Matters?
Heather is TIRED of non-expert stakeholders trying to tell her what is and isn't "quality" for young children's spaces and experiences. In this episode, she invites Carol Garboden Murray and Richard Cohen to help her process how problematic it is...
04.17.2024
NERD_0318 What Should We Call Ourselves?
If there's one thing host Heather Bernt-Santy loves, it's a nerdy panel discussion! And this one is a good one...including Heather, Richard Cohen (Zen and the Art of Early Childhood), Nancy Rosenow (author of Encouragement Every Day), Carol Garboden Murray...
04.10.2024
NERD_0317 The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers with Dr. Casey Stockstill
This week host Heather Bernt-Santy welcomes Dartmouth sociologist Dr Casey Stockstill, author of the book False Starts: The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers. In her book, she describes and discusses what she learned while conducting research in two different early childhood...
04.03.2024
NERD_0316 Is Education an Equalizer, or a Reproducer of Inequity?
Join host Heather Bernt-Santy and fellow nerd Lizz Nolasco as they explore this quote from an article by Beth Blue Swadener and Shirley Kessler: "Of significance among reconceptualist perspectives is the social, historical and political context of the early childhood...
03.27.2024
NERD_0315 Loose Parts…and Stuff with Miriam Beloglovsky and Suzanne Axelsson
The idea of loose parts is often misunderstood and misrepresented in early childhood spaces and conversations. In this conversation, Heather talks to authors Suzanne Axelsson and Miriam Beloglovsky to explore the origin of the idea, the reasons and ways it...
03.20.2024
NERD_0314 Happily Ever Resilient with Author Stephanie Goloway
Join host Heather Bernt-Santy as she talks to Stephanie Goloway, author of the Redleaf Press book Happily Ever Resilient: Using Fairy Tales to Nurture Children Through Adversity. Discover how "we can transform our best practices surrounding play, stories, and nurturing...
03.13.2024
NERD_0313 The Rules of Children’s Play
In a post on his Substack, Peter Gray wrote, "the rules of play provide boundaries within which the actions must occur, but they do not precisely dictate the actions. The rules always leave plenty of room for creativity." In this...
03.06.2024
NERD_0312 Structure….or Control: Which Do Children “Need”?
We've heard and read over and over again that children need "structure," but too often what that translates into in practice with young children is attempts to "control." Host Heather Bernt-Santy and Nerd Favorite Lisa Murphy are here to unpack...
02.28.2024
NERD_0311 Just Play! with Miriam Beloglovsky
In play, children stay connected to their childhood capacities that support creativity and innovation. Just like children, when adults engage in play and creative endeavors, they can find that childlike center that cultivates happiness and joy. Play is affirming because...
02.21.2024
NERD_0310 Encouragement Every Day with Nancy Rosenow
Author Nancy Rosenow, advisor at Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to discuss her new book, Encouragement Every Day, "a collection of 366 quotes and daily nuggets thoughtfully curated by Nancy...as she journeys along with you. A little...
02.14.2024
NERD_0309 The Disadvantages of Romanticizing Children
Heather Bernt-Santy talks with Carol Garboden Murray about the ways that idealizing or romanticizing children or childhood can prevent us from seeing them as fully human.
01.31.2024
NERD_0308 Power ON vs Power FOR vs Power WITH Children
In this episode, Heather is joined by Mike Huber, who has some thoughts about young children, power, and play.Thanks for listening! If you'd like to help support the show, you can do that here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/heatherf
01.17.2024
NERD_0115 Patience–A Negative Teacher Trait
Lisa Murphy cohosts to explore a mind blowing new (but really pretty old) perspective on "patience". Thanks for listening! Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy...
01.10.2024
NERD_0225 Evidence Based Claims in ECE
After reading Peter Gray's article, "Beware of 'Evidence Based Preschool Curricula,' Mike Huber and I decided we needed to dig in to how curriculum and practices labeled "evidence based" and "research based" should not be given a free pass.
01.03.2024
NERD_0307 Is Play a Human Right? With Lisa Murphy
"Human rights belong to everyone from cradle to grave and everywhere in between, irrespective of who we are or where we come from." (Alison Tonkin)Join host Heather Bernt-Santy and Guest Nerd Lisa Murphy for a conversation of play as a...
12.13.2023
NERD_0306 Thoughts from the Conference Vendor Hall with Lisa Murphy
FINALLY! It's been so long since Lisa Murphy was on the show! After hanging out at the NAEYC conference Expo/Vendor Hall, Lisa and host Heather Bernt-Santy have some thoughts about the priorities and messages of the Vendor Hall, teacher developmental...
12.06.2023
NERD_0305 Visual Perception and Emerging Literacy with Stacy Benge
You've heard Stacy Benge on a previous episode, but we had to bring her back! This book is SO GOOD, folks. Join host Heather Bernt-Santy, Mike Huber and Stacy for this discussion of visual perception, how it differs from "eyesight,"...
11.22.2023
NERD_0304 Children’s Invisible Intentions with Ron Grady
"Childhood is full of invisible intentions. The ones that, without listening, would bloom and die without our knowledge." -Ron GradyTune in to hear Ron talk more about these intentions, the relational energy of materials in early childhood spaces, and honoring...
11.15.2023
NERD_0303 Saying YES to Pushing Children on Swings
Did you know that some early childhood folx have strong feelings AGAINST pushing children on swings? What started as text chat between Mike Huber and Carol Garboden Murray (and was then shared with host Heather Bernt-Santy) turned into a really...
11.08.2023
NERD_0302 Slow Knowledge pt 3–Interview with Author Alison Clark
Host Heather Bernt-Santy and visiting Nerd Carol Garboden Murray are so excited to present this episode for you! Dr Alison Clark, author of Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: Time for Slow Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education. You can buy the...
11.01.2023
NERD_0301 What If They Don’t Know How to Play
It's a question that comes up whenever Heather talks about play--what do we do when children don't know how to play? Listen in as she talks through some possibilities with beloved Nerds Richard Cohen, Bethany Corrie, Mike Huber, and special...
10.25.2023
NERD_0300 Deconstructing School Readiness
You all! It's the 300th episode of the show! And you know what special episodes mean? PAJAMA PARTY! Put on some jammies, grab a favorite beverage, and join the Nerd Collective as we talk about how gross our obsession with school...
10.18.2023
NERD_0299 Settings for Young Children: One Size Still Does NOT Fit All
Tune in for a conversation about attempts to define quality, gatekeeping in early childhood, myths about one type of care being automatically higher quality, and more with Heather Bernt-Santy and Lizz Nolasco. Want to support Heather's work? You can do that...
10.11.2023
NERD_0298 The Whole Child Alphabet with Stacy Benge
YOU GUYS! You have to read Stacy Benge's book "The Whole Child Alphabet: How Young Children Actually Develop Literacy" as soon as you can! Author and speaker Stacy Benge joins Heather Bernt-Santy to discuss this really, very, really important new book....
10.04.2023
NERD_0297 Curriculum: One Size Does NOT Fit All with Helen Frazier
New York City PreK teacher Helen Frazier joins Heather Bernt-Santy for a discussion of her Chalkbeat article "In Preschool, One Size Doesn't Fit All. So Why is NYC Asking Early Educators to Use a Single Curriculum?"Read the article here: https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/31/23807750/preschool-creative-curriculum-nycWant to...
09.13.2023
NERD_0296 Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child part 2
Heather, Carol Garboden Murray and Bethany Corrie finally get together (woo hoo!) for part 2 of our discussion of Allison Clark's book Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: Time for Slow Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education.
09.06.2023
NERD_0295 Let the Children Play with William Doyle and Pasi Sahlberg
If you haven't read the 2019 book Let the Children Play: How More Play will Save Our Schools and Help Children Thrive, you're missing out! The book's authors, William Doyle and Pasi Sahlberg, join Heather for a conversation about play,...
08.30.2023
NERD_0294 What ECE Can Learn from Others
Occupational therapists. Speech language pathologists. Artists. Family Therapists. Heather and Mike spend some time talking about the ways we have learned and our work has been impacted by people outside of the early childhood education field.
08.23.2023
NERD_0293 Beyond the Economic Argument for Child Care with Elliot Haspel
Child and family policy expert and author Elliot Haspel joins Heather and Tiffany to talk about why the economic argument for "solving" the child care crisis is important--but not enough. Love the show? Help support our work by "buying me a...
08.16.2023
NERD_0292 Humanity, Genius and Joy with Kisa Marx
Child advocate, play enthusiast and maker of magic Kisa Marx is this week's guest! Listen in as she talks with Heather and cohost Mike Huber about humanity, genius and joy in early childhood settings. Thank you for listening! Would you like...
08.09.2023
NERD_0291 The Science of Reading in Early Childhood with Amanda Morgan
Amanda Morgan (www.notjustcute.com) stops by to talk with Heather about the renewed focus in education on the Science of Reading, and how to be sure we don't forget the early childhood foundation necessary for supporting its "Five Pillars." Thank you for...
08.02.2023
NERD_0290 Tamar Jacobson (yay!) Talks Self Regulation
Tamar Jacobson, author of Everyone Needs Attention: Helping Young Children Thrive (and other great books!) joins Heather to talk about authentic self-regulation and young children.Check out That Early Childhood Nerd episode 117 for more Tamar Jacobson!
07.27.2023
NERD_0289 Better Ways than ABA with Occupational Therapist Greg Santucci
If you haven't followed occupational therapist Greg Santucci on social media, what are you even doing? In this episode, Greg joins Heather to talk about ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis), the reported experiences of autistic people who have been "treated" with ABA,...
07.19.2023
NERD_0288 Consequences and Euphemisms with the Occuplaytional Therapist
When Heather saw Kelsie Olds' post on her Occuplaytional Therapist Facebook page that opened with, "I think we would actually all be fine if we would drop the word 'consequences' from our vocabularies entirely," she KNEW this would be a...
07.12.2023
NERD_0287 “Belongingness” with Dr. Erika Bocknek
Family therapist and child development expert Dr. Erika Bocknek joins Heather Bernt-Santy for a "convo" about relationships and belongingness in early childhood.Find Dr Erika's website here: www.myconvo.orgOr find her on Instagram: drerikaconvo
07.05.2023
NERD_0286 Warnings Against The Use Of ACE Scores in Trauma Informed Schools with Alex Winninghoff
Strategies and responses for working with young children who have experienced or are experiencing trauma are vital for early care and education practitioners to understand--why would we need to be warned about our use of ACE scores? Instructional coach and...
06.28.2023
NERD_0285 Exclamation Points, Question Marks And School Readiness
In his foreword to the book Rethinking Readiness in Early Childhood Education: Implications for Policy and Practice (edited by Jeanne Marie Iorio and Will Parnell), William Ayers writes, "Every child comes to school a question mark and an exclamation point...every...
06.14.2023
NERD_0284 Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child
Carol Garboden Murray and Bethany Corrie join host Heather Bernt-Santy for part 1 of our discussion of Alison Clark's book Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: Time for Slow Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education.Thank you for listening! If you loved...
06.07.2023
NERD_0283 The Original Learning Approach with Suzanne Axelsson
Host Heather Bernt-Santy talks with Suzanne Axelsson, author of The Original Learning Approach: Weaving Together Playing, Learning and Teaching in Early Childhood
05.31.2023
NERD_0282 11 Simple Rules to Create Thriving Communities for Children with Judy Jablon
Author and executive director of Leading for Children Judy Jablon joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to discuss her new book "11 Simple Rules to Create Thriving Communities for Children." Spoiler alert: Heather loves it. For a limited time, you can order the...
05.24.2023
NERD_0281 The Intellectual Lives of Children with Author Susan Engel
Susan Engel, author of several books, including The Intellectual Lives of Children, joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to talk about her research into how young children think and share her thoughts about how the adults in those children's lives can support...
05.17.2023
NERD_0280 A Conversation with DEY’s Denisha Jones
Denisha Jones of Defending the Early Years (DEY) joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to talk about the kinds of early learning experiences children deserve, issues of equity in our work, and why it matters that we get it right.
05.10.2023
NERD_0279 Co-regulation vs. Compliance
Starting with a story of ABA in early childhood, inclusion experts Mike Huber and Ana McRae join host Heather Bernt-Santy to discuss behaviorism, compliance, co-regulation and authentically supporting children.
05.03.2023
NERD_0278 The Sleepover Sessions-Interest Areas Are For The Birds
It's March 2023, and it's the first annual TECN Sleepover...of course there are going to be great conversations! Listen in as Heather, Mike Huber, Lizz Nolasco, Tiffany Pearsall and Bethany Corrie talk about moving children through "stations," interrupting play and...
04.26.2023
NERD_0277 Melinda’s Cookbook
It's March 2023, and it's the first annual TECN Sleepover...of course there are going to be great conversations! Listen in as Heather, Mike Huber, Lizz Nolasco, Tiffany Pearsall and Bethany Corrie talk about preparing food, honoring children, and how much...
04.19.2023
NERD_0276 The Sleepover Sessions-The One Time Time Is Important
It's March 2023, and it's the first annual TECN Sleepover...of course there are going to be great conversations! Listen in as Heather, Mike Huber, Lizz Nolasco, Tiffany Pearsall and Bethany Corrie talk about how children might be impacted by their...
04.12.2023
NERD_0275 The Sleepover Sessions: TECN Gets Gritty
It's March 2023, and it's the first annual TECN Sleepover...of course there are going to be great conversations! Listen in as Heather, Mike Huber, Lizz Nolasco, Tiffany Pearsall and Bethany Corrie talk about how much we all hate the idea...
04.05.2023
NERD_0274 Katie Doesn’t Give A S— About Letter Of The Week
Early Childhood educator and consultant Katie Heiser (puddlejumprs on Instagram!) stops by to talk about why she doesn't give a s--- about letter of the week, and what she does instead to support young children's literacy.
03.22.2023
NERD_0273 Anji Play’s Jesse Coffino
In addition to his work as Chief Interpreter and Translator for Anji Play founder Ms. Cheng Xueqin, Jesse Coffino has also authored numerous articles and essays on the history and practice of the Anji Play Approach, including “The Anji Play...
03.15.2023
NERD_0272 Play Equity With Miriam Beloglovsky
Miriam Beloglovsky is a professor of early childhood education, sought-after public speaker, CEO of Playful Transformation, and author. Play is her passion, as she works to ensure that all children have equitable access to play.

What's That Early Childhood Nerd about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

That Early Childhood Nerd episodes:

NERD_0319 Who Gets to Decide What Matters?

NERD_0318 What Should We Call Ourselves?

NERD_0317 The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers with Dr. Casey Stockstill

NERD_0316 Is Education an Equalizer, or a Reproducer of Inequity?

NERD_0315 Loose Parts…and Stuff with Miriam Beloglovsky and Suzanne Axelsson

NERD_0314 Happily Ever Resilient with Author Stephanie Goloway

NERD_0313 The Rules of Children’s Play

NERD_0312 Structure….or Control: Which Do Children “Need”?

NERD_0311 Just Play! with Miriam Beloglovsky

NERD_0310 Encouragement Every Day with Nancy Rosenow

NERD_0309 The Disadvantages of Romanticizing Children

NERD_0308 Power ON vs Power FOR vs Power WITH Children

NERD_0115 Patience–A Negative Teacher Trait

NERD_0225 Evidence Based Claims in ECE

NERD_0307 Is Play a Human Right? With Lisa Murphy

NERD_0306 Thoughts from the Conference Vendor Hall with Lisa Murphy

NERD_0305 Visual Perception and Emerging Literacy with Stacy Benge

NERD_0304 Children’s Invisible Intentions with Ron Grady

NERD_0303 Saying YES to Pushing Children on Swings

NERD_0302 Slow Knowledge pt 3–Interview with Author Alison Clark

NERD_0301 What If They Don’t Know How to Play

NERD_0300 Deconstructing School Readiness

NERD_0299 Settings for Young Children: One Size Still Does NOT Fit All

NERD_0298 The Whole Child Alphabet with Stacy Benge

NERD_0297 Curriculum: One Size Does NOT Fit All with Helen Frazier

NERD_0296 Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child part 2

NERD_0295 Let the Children Play with William Doyle and Pasi Sahlberg

NERD_0294 What ECE Can Learn from Others

NERD_0293 Beyond the Economic Argument for Child Care with Elliot Haspel

NERD_0292 Humanity, Genius and Joy with Kisa Marx

NERD_0291 The Science of Reading in Early Childhood with Amanda Morgan

NERD_0290 Tamar Jacobson (yay!) Talks Self Regulation

NERD_0289 Better Ways than ABA with Occupational Therapist Greg Santucci

NERD_0288 Consequences and Euphemisms with the Occuplaytional Therapist

NERD_0287 “Belongingness” with Dr. Erika Bocknek

NERD_0286 Warnings Against The Use Of ACE Scores in Trauma Informed Schools with Alex Winninghoff

NERD_0285 Exclamation Points, Question Marks And School Readiness

NERD_0284 Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child

NERD_0283 The Original Learning Approach with Suzanne Axelsson

NERD_0282 11 Simple Rules to Create Thriving Communities for Children with Judy Jablon

NERD_0281 The Intellectual Lives of Children with Author Susan Engel

NERD_0280 A Conversation with DEY’s Denisha Jones

NERD_0279 Co-regulation vs. Compliance

NERD_0278 The Sleepover Sessions-Interest Areas Are For The Birds

NERD_0277 Melinda’s Cookbook

NERD_0276 The Sleepover Sessions-The One Time Time Is Important

NERD_0275 The Sleepover Sessions: TECN Gets Gritty

NERD_0274 Katie Doesn’t Give A S— About Letter Of The Week

NERD_0273 Anji Play’s Jesse Coffino

NERD_0272 Play Equity With Miriam Beloglovsky

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