Self-Regulation Begins with Dogs, Tense Knots and Calm Socks
We were all barking like dogs that were upset on all fours in the preK classroom. Then I used the Breathing Sphere to guide 20 preK children to take slow, deep belly button breaths to release the mad dog tension. As we all slowly exhaled and released the tight knots of tension, we were able to become calm dogs. The sounds of tense mad dogs had filled the room with rough, growling, sharp intonations. Muscles were tightened
throughout the little bodies in order to project tha
Helping Toddlers Safely Explore Natural Environments
I started my teaching career in public school kindergarten and first grade classrooms. When one of the schools where I was working received a grant for an Even Start program and wanted to staff it with fully certified teachers, I made the move to preschool. After 4 or 5 years of owning a nature-based preschool, I decided to include a caregiver-child session for toddlers. As I have progressively moved to working with younger and younger children, I have had to understand a new
Creating Meaningful Connections
It doesn’t matter how hard I work to set up activities, the kids just fly through the projects. They play with it for a few minutes, but then they’re off to the next thing. I just don’t know how to get them to really engage with the materials. I wish they would slow down so I could have a minute to teach them something. This type of frustration is a common sentiment amongst toddler and preschool teachers. For all the time spent preparing materials and artfully arranging learn
