The Preschool Podcast

The Yale-China Program on Child Development is a cross-cultural program that promotes exchanges and cooperation between China and the US in early education and child development. In this episode, Dr. Tong Liu, the Executive Director of the program shares her belief that all children, no matter where they are in the world, deserve to have access to quality early education. She talks about both countries can benefit from exchanging best practices and the trends that she’s seen in recent years. Resources: Yale-China Program For Early Education Connect with Dr. Liu at t.liu@yale.edu

Burnout is a common challenge for early childhood educators and a lot of teachers are leaving the field entirely because they are overworked and underpaid in the profession. In this episode, we talk to Ellen Drolette, author of the book Overcoming Teacher Burnout in Early Childhood, about different ways to prioritize making time for self-care and establishing balance as a child care provider. She shares tips on managing workflow, shifting mindsets and creating an environment that sets you up for success and overcome burnout. Resources: Overcoming Teacher Burnout In Early Childhood Positive Spin LLC  

Socio-emotional development in early learning builds the foundation for emotional awareness and communication. In this episode, we chat with Allen Croxall and Dr. Regina Rees about Tools For Life, a resource that was developed to teach children how to process and express their emotions. They share their passion for the approach and the benefit of having a common language to talk about and work through emotions for adults and young children. Resources: Tools For Life

As the demand for quality child care increases, parents often find themselves starting their own child care businesses to fulfill their needs. In this episode, Bernadette Testani, Head of School at Atelier Kids, shares her experience opening and running her Reggio-inspired centers. We talk about how she developed her passion for the Reggio Emilia philosophy and how she implements it for both programming and teacher training. She gives us tips on building a collaborative environment that balances the needs of her teachers and families. Resources: Connect with Bernadette on LinkedIn Learn more about Atelier Kids

Working with young children with developmental disabilities is both a challenging and rewarding experience for child care professionals. In this episode, we interview Lynette Klejka, Assistant Director of Inclusion at the Summit County Board of Developmental Disabilities in Ohio about the Community Partnerships for Inclusion (CPI) program that she runs. She talks to us about the importance of seeing a child first and the diagnosis second when supporting children of varying abilities in the classroom and shares some strategies for the classroom. Resources: Connect with Lynnette at lklejka@summitdd.org Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board

Child care in aboriginal communities are conserving their cultures through early education curriculum. We chat with Lori-Ann Paige, a First Nations Mohawk who is also the Coordinator of the Indigenous Early Learning Program at Cégep de Saint-Félicien in Montreal, Canada. Lori-Ann shares her experience working in child care for her entire career. We talk about culture, heritage and adapting early education frameworks to reflect their tribes’ cultures by incorporating language, traditional meals and activities. Resources: Connect with Lori-Ann at paigeconsulting@bellnet.ca Cégep de Saint-Félicien  

Being a child care business owner comes with its unique set of challenges. In this episode, we interview Sholom Strick, CEO of a franchise of centers under Daycare Team and founder of a scheduling app called HoppingIn. We talk about his experience growing his business and how he maintains culture at his centers in order to stay true to their mission of contributing positively to the community that they serve. He also gives his take on where he sees the market moving with the rise of millennial parents.   Resources: HoppingIn Blog

Young children build their handwriting skills in preschool as it combines fine motor skills and cognition. In this episode, we have a conversation with Nikki Wilson, creator of the Rhythm and Writing program that supports children in learning how to write by combining hip hop tunes with letter formation. She shares her story and method as well as the importance of making learning fun for the kiddos from an early age! Resources: Rhythm & Writing

Leadership in child care has evolved and become a hot topic of conversation in the field recently. In this episode, we chat with Lori Buxton, Managing Director of Early Learning Leaders, about how good leadership in child care directly impacts program quality. She shares her view on trends in the space as well as strategies for current and aspiring child care leaders on how to develop their talent personally and within their team. Resources: Association for Early Learning Leaders Connect with Lori at lori@earlylearningleaders.org LEAD Regional Training Even

We often think about early childhood education in the context of our own geographical area. In this episode, we step outside North America into West Africa with Patricia Falope, founder of the Early Childhood Development Initiative (ECDI). Patricia works to make the play-based approach accessible to the child care community in Nigeria by adapting the method to be culturally relevant in West Africa. She does this by finding points of intersection between the curriculum and home cultures through her Partner to Play program and emphasizes the importance of keeping an open mind to learning as educators. Resources: Early Childhood Development Initiative Partner-2-Play

As classrooms become more culturally diverse, teachers are now facing the question of how to teach diversity. In this episode, we have a conversation with Jordana Shakoor, Founder of JYS Consultants and PosiPower Concepts about shifting perspectives from seeing diversity as a requirement to seeing diversity as an exciting learning experience for both the kiddos and the teachers. She talks about how genuine curiosity when learning about new cultures makes celebrating cultural differences cultures a more natural process

Building real parent-teacher relationship is so important at a child care center. In this episode, we get personal with Amanda Munday, owner of The Workaround, a coworking space in Toronto that supports working parents and author of Day Nine: A Postpartum Depression Memoir. We talk about her journey into motherhood as well as her experience with postpartum depression. She also shares how she challenges her team of educators to be curious and get to know their families on a personal level. Resources: The Workaround Day Nine: A Postpartum Depression

Finding, hiring and retaining talent is something that is a top priority for any child care director or owner that cares about their team. In this episode, we chat with Caroline Jens from Childcare Biz Help about how a good team is built on the foundation of strong culture at the center. She gives us pointers on the different things to pay attention to when building your team culture, from onboarding new team members to engaging existing teachers. We also talk about how upholding culture as things change and grow over time. Resources: Child Care Biz Help Get in touch with Caroline at info@childcarebizhelp.com P.R.O.F.I.T.S Child Care Success Formula (E-book) Child Care Sales and Marketing Automation Platform (Press Release)

Minimalism is gaining popularity with the rise of Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up series and the move towards a more simple way of living fits really well with the Montessori philosophy. In this episode, we chat with Simone Davies, author of The Montessori Toddler about how to apply a montessori approach when working with young children. She shares her tips and tricks for balancing variety with focus when working with younger age groups and applying the philosophy in daily life. Resources: The Montessori Toddler The Montessori Notebook - Resources Instagram - @themontessorinotebook

Teaching pre-K can sometimes be isolating. In this episode, we talk to Vanessa Levin, creator of Pre-K Pages. We talk about bridging the gap between pre-K and K-12, as well as raising awareness around the importance of pre-K as a foundational part of education. She also speaks to her creation of The Teaching Tribe as a community for early educators to share resources, best practices, and tips.     Resources mentioned: Pre-K Pages The Teaching Tribe Facebook Group - Preschool Superheroes Soar to Success Summit (July 15-19)

Belonging and inclusion is a huge aspect of creating a successful preschool classroom. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Pretti-Frontczack, a speaker, researcher and play advocate with a mission to reimagine the way we’re approaching early education. She speaks to the implementation of blended programs that draw on different philosophies to create a practice that works. We also talk about the importance of developing emotional intelligence as teachers in order to support children in the classroom. Resources mentioned: Pre-K Teach and Play Resources About Kristie

Teaching preschool can be challenging. In this episode, we chat with Catarina Peterson, author of Golden Sparkles, researcher and certified trainer in the Mindful Schools Curriculum. She tells us about how she turned an overwhelming teaching experience into a positive one by incorporating mindfulness in her daily work with the children. We also talk about the correlation between practicing mindfulness in order to teach it to the children and how that contributes to a calmer and more organized classroom. Resources mentioned: Reach Catarina at http://www.catpeterson.co.uk/ Golden Sparkles Mindful Schools Curriculum

HiMama runs the annual ECE of the Year Award to celebrate individuals who are inspirations in the field. We had the pleasure of interviewing Halle Rubin, the 2018 ECE of the Year and Director at Children’s Creative Center in Chicago. In our conversation, Halle shares her passion for the field, her professional journey, and her leadership approach with us. She also talks about the global pen pal program that she runs at her center that has a big impact in connecting her teachers and kiddos with different cultures.  Resources mentioned: Reach Halle at belmont@childrenscreativechicago.com Children’s Creative Center Chicago 2018 ECE of the Year - Halle Rubin

Resource and referral agencies are key to supporting child care providers in running their businesses, connecting with families and meeting state requirements for program quality. In this episode, Mary Smicklas and Erin Holleran, co-authors of the business support system at North Western Ohio YWCA tell us about the impact of good business practices on the quality of care. We also talk about the importance of hard and soft skills in managing the business side of child care and what to look for in business training programs.  Resources mentioned: Contact Mary at marysmicklas@ywcanwo.org or 419 225 5465 YWCA Child Care Business Success Summit Iron Triangle Project Management

Leaders in child care wear many hats, from running the business operations of the center to ensuring that the children are well cared for. In this episode, Jacquelyn Ward, Director of Pleasant Time Child Care in Wisconsin, shares her experience opening her center in 1992 and growing her business from 8 to 85 children. She talks about overcoming challenges as well as the importance of finding a community of like-minded peers, making practical business decisions, and expressing gratitude towards your staff. Resource mentioned: Reach Jackie at jwpleasantime@gmail.com PleasanTime Child Care Emotional Intelligence 2.0