The Magic of Littles with Renee Pena Lopez

Today’s episode is with Kayla Souza, an early childhood educator of almost 20 years. This last year, she made the transition out of the regular preschool classroom setting and opened a play-based home preschool. The past few years, she has been on a journey to learn more about play-based learning and the benefits it has for children, especially in the early years. Her motivation for doing this was her own child, who is now 3.5 and a student in her preschool program. Her child was a micro-preemie and had some significant health challenges in her first months that resulted in a 3.5 month NICU stay. Since coming home, they have worked closely with the early intervention team to support her child with her ongoing development. 

Kayla believes that play-based learning is one of the best ways that we can help children continue to grow and develop, as well as meet their goals in intervention. We talk about the importance of play in early childhood and that parents are trying to not play with their children - they’re just busy! If you want to learn more about play-based learning, then this is a great episode for you!

Full episode: 

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After the past 18+ months we’ve had, I feel myself asking the question “is it just me?” The Littles coming into the classroom seem to be at a different maturity level.  The transition hasn’t been easy for our Littles or us as teachers. So what is fair right now?

In this episode I talk to you about how to make time and space in your routine to understand where our Littles are at emotionally so we can break down our bigger goals to create smaller, more palatable change!

Shownotes: https://www.themagicoflittles.com/post/shownotes-032

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Welcome back to Season 3 of the Magic of Littles Podcast! Today’s episode is with Dana Rosenbloom of Dana’s Kids! Dana is a child and parent educator and I know you’ll love the nuggets she drops in this interview.

There’s lots of question marks going into another school year with Covid and a confusing time for children, parents and teachers. We talk about what Dana does, the benefits of working closely with parents, how to advocate, conflict resolution and some of our favorite resources.

Shownotes: https://www.themagicoflittles.com/post/shownotes-031

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Welcome back to Season 3 of the Magic of Littles Podcast starting on Wednesday, October 20, 2021! Look out for episodes on Wednesdays about supporting parents, supporting the needs of Littles during the pandemic plus a few solo episodes with helpful how-tos and reflections!

Show notes for the podcasts can be found here: https://www.themagicoflittles.com/blog

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In this episode, I share insights into frustration tolerance and some helpful tips to recognize and help a frustrated child. Learn about these new tips and tricks with me today such as frustration logging, supportive play, and body mapping.

I also invite you to a workshop given on July 6th-8th 2021:  Get Rooted in Play: Three easy takeaways to unpack supportive play

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Today’s episode is the last episode of Season 2! I talked with Sally Haughey, the Founder and CEO of Fairy Dust Teaching. We talked about how children need to be lifted and celebrated instead of shamed and compared. We also talk about the importance of children having the right to play and we don’t need to take them out of that! I’m so excited to talk more about her Free to Play Summit that is happening on July 12-16 online. There’s so many great nuggets during this interview with Sally and I can’t wait for you to listen in.

www.themagicoflittles.com

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Today I’m talking to you about prepping for the next school year as we’re told things might get back to normal. We talk about social-emotional learning, how to get organized for next year and a few book recommendations you can add to your summer reading list!

https://www.themagicoflittles.com/post/shownotes-028

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In this episode I’m reflecting on this past school year and how I’ve grown, you’ve grown and our children have grown in new ways. Let’s commend ourselves on the new skills we’ve all learned and how we’ve gotten through this school year. Celebrate those wins!

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Today’s podcast is with music teacher, JoEllyn Sumner. JoEllyn has formed choirs, world music drumming ensembles, percussion ensembles, and after-school parent-child music classes, so that her students and their families have countless positive musical experiences.

During this episode, we learn about how to create a tuneful home whether for your own family or as a Teacher of Littles.

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Today’s podcast is just me talking about the pandemic, boundaries and reflecting on the past school year in reflection of Teacher Appreciation Day. Teachers believe we should be (or are expected to be) super heroes, but taking the time to reflect, set boundaries and make sure you’re taking care of yourself is SO important for teachers all year round. 

https://www.themagicoflittles.com/post/shownotes-025

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