The Everything ECE Podcast

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward explores block play, provocations, three-dimensional learning, problem-solving, and what can happen when children are given more time and space to build, experiment and figure things out.

From rethinking the way we respond when structures come crashing down to considering what hands-on learning offers children in an increasingly digital world, this episode is an invitation to take another look at the block area in your early learning environment.

In this episode:

• Block play beyond building towers

• Using provocations to extend children's thinking

• Three-dimensional learning and spatial awareness

• Supporting problem solving and resilience through play

• Rethinking safety without unnecessarily limiting children's ideas

• Block play in a world of screens, technology and AI

• Simple ways to add curiosity to your block area

Books

Iggy Peck Architect

Resources mentioned:

Purdue University — Block play could improve your child’s math skills, executive functioning: https://www.purdue.edu/research/features/stories/block-play-could-improve-your-childs-math-skills-executive-functioning/

Research article on block play and mathematics:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7954229/

Transcript

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Website: carlatheece.com

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In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla is joined by Pat Rumbaugh, better known as the Play Lady, for a conversation about why play belongs to adults as much as it does to children.

Pat spent 30 years as a physical education teacher and coach before helping start a community play day in Takoma Park, Maryland. That work grew into Let's Play America, a nonprofit that organizes free play events and helps other communities make room for people of all ages to play.

Together, Carla and Pat talk about giving children real choice in their play, what happens when adults join in, and the joy of bringing different generations together through games. Pat shares what an adult play day can look like, while Carla reflects on how they met at a workshop about play for grown-ups. Their conversation moves from community events to small, everyday invitations: hopscotch on a walk, a game with friends, or simply making time for something you enjoy.

If you spend your days protecting children's opportunities to play but rarely think about your own, this episode may help you find your way back to it.

ABOUT PAT

Pat Rumbaugh taught physical education and coached at Washington International School from 1981 to 2011. She founded a play committee in Takoma Park in 2009; it became the nonprofit Let's Play America in 2014. Pat has written two children's books on play, given two TEDx talks and organized 49 Play Days.

LINKS

Let's Play America: https://www.letsplayamerica.org

Instagram: @lets.play.america

Facebook: @letsplayamericaltd

TikTok: @letsplayamerica

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The ECE Entrepreneur Experience

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Website: carlatheece.com

Instagram: @carlatheece

This week’s Dear Carla question comes from Lime Green, an educator who will be working with a four-year-old with selective mutism.

They’re looking for ideas and strategies to support the child, and the question takes Carla back more than 20 years to one of the first children she ever taught.

In this episode, Carla draws on that experience, what she learned along the way, and what she wants Lime Green to consider as they begin building a relationship with this child.

ASK CARLA

Have a question? Ask here

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Website: carlatheece.com

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In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla sits down with Cheryl Sutherland, founder of PleaseNotes, for a conversation about journaling, self-trust, confidence, and learning to pay attention to what we actually need.

Cheryl shares why she once considered herself a “journaling hater,” how journaling can help us recognize patterns and make clearer decisions, and why the words we use with ourselves matter more than we may realize.

Carla and Cheryl also talk about the very real overwhelm educators carry, the pressure to be everything to everyone, and what can happen when we acknowledge that something isn’t working instead of continuing to push through it.

And Carla makes a commitment during the episode: 30 days of journaling. Listen in, then join her for the experiment.

Transcript

CHERYL SUTHERLAND

Cheryl Sutherland is a speaker, author, and founder of PleaseNotes, a Toronto-based personal growth brand offering guided journals, planners, and affirmation cards for confidence, clarity, and self-trust. She also works as a facilitator and mindfulness speaker for corporate clients, ERGs, and HR teams, with a background spanning banking, sales, and business coaching. She has run four successful Kickstarter campaigns and has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, InStyle, HuffPost, CBC, and Inc. She is passionate about helping people build self-trust through journaling and reflection. 

LINKS

Website: PleaseNotes & cherylsutherland.com

Instagram: PleaseNotes / Cheryl Sutherland

TikTok: Cheryl Sutherland

Affirmations in Abundance: Link

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff

If You Want to Change the World, Start Off by Making Your Bed - William McRaven, US Navy Admiral

SEE CHERYL LIVE

Cheryl will be speaking at the ECE Entrepreneur Experience on November 14, 2026. www.carlatheece.com/ece-entrepreneur-experience 

30 DAYS OF JOURNALING

Carla is taking Cheryl’s advice and turning journaling into an experiment: 30 days of showing up and seeing what happens.

Want to join her? Tag @carlatheece and Cheryl/PleaseNotes on Instagram so you can do the 30 days together.

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

CONNECT WITH CARLA

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Website: carlatheece.com

Instagram: @carlatheece

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward sits down with Saira Remtulla, Ontario Certified Teacher and founder of Connected Start, for a conversation about rethinking circle time in early learning.

Circle time can be one of the most powerful opportunities for connection in an early learning program, but only when we’re clear about why we’re gathering in the first place.

Carla and Saira talk about the difference between entertaining children and genuinely engaging them, why participation doesn’t always look like sitting still, the importance of flexibility and intentionality, and what can happen when circle time becomes less about getting through the plan and more about creating a shared experience.

They also explore educator confidence, following children’s interests, the role of songs, rhymes and repetition, and why connection needs to come before content.

Whether you love circle time, avoid it, or have been wondering if it still belongs in early learning, this conversation will have you thinking differently about what gathering together can be.

SAIRA REMTULLA

Saira Remtulla is an Ontario Certified Teacher with over 19 years of experience, specializing in early years education. Her work is grounded in fostering connection, creativity, and meaningful learning experiences for young children. As the Founder of Connected Start, Saira has developed joyful, hands-on programming for children from birth to age four, that sparks curiosity, supports emotional development, and lays the foundation for lifelong learning. Saira is committed to empowering early years centres with accessible, high-quality resources that enrich their programs and strengthen the communities they serve.

LINKS

Website: www.connectedstart.ca 

Instagram: @connectedstart & @learnwithmssaira

LinkedIn: Saira Remtulla

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If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

CONNECT WITH CARLA

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Website: carlatheece.com

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After 34 years in the field, one educator has seen a lot of trends come and go, including the shift away from using food like rice, beans and pasta in sensory play.

But with a growing understanding of sensory needs and regulation, is it time to reconsider? Or are there bigger questions about food, resources and respect that should still guide practice?

In this Dear Carla episode, Carla responds to “Frustrated Foodie” and digs into food in sensory play, the rabbit hole of deciding which resources are okay to use, and why the better question might be: Why this material, for these children, at this moment?

ASK CARLA

Have a question? Ask here

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

CONNECT WITH CARLA

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Website: carlatheece.com

Instagram: @carlatheece

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward explores what happens when “no,” “stop,” “don’t,” and “put that back” become the soundtrack of the day. Rather than immediately looking at the child when something isn’t working, she challenges educators to get curious about the environment, the expectations within it, and the rules they may be enforcing without ever stopping to ask why.

Carla shares how changing her own classroom environment changed the way she showed up as an educator and explores the difference between boundaries that protect safety and rights and those that exist for adult convenience.

If you find yourself repeating the same direction over and over again, this episode might have you asking a different question: what if the 48th reminder isn’t the answer?

Listen in and discover what can happen when we let the environment do more of the work.

JOIN YES SPACES

www.carlatheece.com/yes-spaces-course 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

CONNECT WITH CARLA

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Website: carlatheece.com

Instagram: @carlatheece

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward is joined by Hayley Peacock, creator of Playoneering®️, for a conversation about play, curiosity and what the future of education could look like.

Together, Carla and Hayley explore what happens when play doesn't end with the early years and education is built from children's natural curiosity, creativity and capacity to learn.

They dig into playful rigour, the influence of Reggio-inspired practice, intrinsic motivation, and why relationship management might be a much better place to start than behaviour management.

The conversation also turns to AI and the reality that today's children are growing up in a world that none of us experienced ourselves. What does that mean for the way we educate them—and for the human skills we need to protect and nurture along the way?

From questioning long-standing school practices to rethinking what children actually need to thrive, this episode challenges us to imagine what education could become when play, curiosity and connection remain at the centre.

HAYLEY PEACOCK

Hayley Peacock is the creator of Playoneering®️ and founder of the West Sussex-based, Reggio-inspired settings Atelier 21 Future School and Little Barn Owls Forest & Farm School Nurseries. An internationally recognised educator and speaker, she developed Playoneering®️, an enquiry-led education approach that combines creativity, curiosity and playful rigour to create meaningful learning fit for children's futures. 

LINKS

Website: https://hayleypeacockeducation.co.uk/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayley-peacock-208b26264/ 

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If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

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Website: carlatheece.com

Instagram: @carlatheece

Heather Jackson has spent years in early childhood education asking questions, following curiosity, researching practice, and deeply respecting the thinking of children.

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla sits down with Heather, founder of The Sunflower School and host of the Actions of Play podcast, to talk about the experiences that have shaped her work and the legacy she has built along the way.

They explore Heather’s journey through education, the ideas and people that have influenced her, and what it means to build a body of work that continues to evolve.

This isn’t a conversation about looking back because the work is finished. It’s about recognizing what has been built while continuing to ask: What comes next?

HEATHER JACKSON

Heather Jackson is a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) and the Executive Director of The Sunflower School, a Reggio-inspired early learning program in Orangeville, Ontario. With 40 years in child care, Heather remains deeply connected to the everyday work of being alongside children and educators—and still genuinely loves going to work each day.

Her work is grounded in curiosity, relationships, research, and a deep respect for children as thinkers and meaning-makers. Heather has continued to deepen her understanding of Reggio-inspired practice throughout her career, including travelling to Reggio Emilia, Italy, twice over the past ten years as part of international study tours.

Heather is also a mentor, researcher, and host of the Actions of Play podcast, where she shares her thinking and invites educators to remain curious, reflective, and intentional in their practice.

LINKS

Website: http://www.thesunflowerschool.ca/

Heather Instagram: @thesunflower_studio

School Instagram: @thesunflowerschool

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-jackson-17b0b455/ 

Book: Actions of Play

Community Podcast Referenced: Rethinking Early Childhood Education: Designing Curriculum Beyond Traditional Program Planning 

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In this episode, Carla sits down with Megan Wuerfel, founder of The ECE Exchange, to explore the many ways educators can use their experience beyond the classroom. They discuss how to recognize your unique ECE “superpower,” why classroom experience matters when stepping into coaching or professional learning, and the importance of documenting your journey long before you think you’ll need it.

Megan also shares how The ECE Exchange connects early childhood programs with experienced coaches, consultants, specialists, trainers, and speakers worldwide.

This conversation is an important reminder that leaving the classroom doesn’t have to mean leaving the field. Your knowledge still matters—and there may be more ways to use it than you realize.

MEGAN WUERFEL

Megan Wuerfel is the founder of The ECE Exchange, an innovative platform dedicated to connecting early childhood programs with specialized coaches, consultants, specialists, trainers, and speakers. With a Master's in Early Childhood Education and Curriculum & Instruction, she draws on her deep experience as a former Head Start teacher and current instructional coach. Outside of her mission to revolutionize ECE professional development, Megan is a busy mom of four living on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

LINKS

Website: theeceexchange.com,

Instagram: www.instagram.com/theeceexchange

LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/megan-wuerfel-98399538a

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

CONNECT WITH CARLA

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Website: carlatheece.com

Instagram: @carlatheece