Early Learning with Kristin

01/22/2026

"Learning to deal with setbacks, and maintaining the persistence and optimism necessary for childhood's long road to mastery are the real foundations of lasting self-esteem." ~ Lilian Katz

10/08/2025

09/15/2025

My son came home from kindergarten the other day saying, "you get what you get and you don't get upset." He said it in his pretend play, he said it to his brother, and he almost sang it at dinner! This is not something we say at home or a concept we believe at all! As a mom I was concerned and as an educator I was nearly in tears that teachers are still using this saying in 2025! Let me explain my reaction.
"You get what you get and you don't get upset" seems on the surface to be a fun way to guide positive behavior, it even rhymes! But when we think deeper about the phrase and question the message that is being sent with it, we start to see the flaws. Do we really want to send the message that children can't or shouldn't feel upset? Isn't that teaching them that being upset is wrong?
"You don't get upset," is emotion repression and can make children feel as though they are wrong for experiencing negative emotions. That is not emotion regulation! To regulate emotion they first need to understand that all emotions, positive and negative, are normal. They need to feel confident that they can come to the adults in their lives to help them with all emotions! They need to know that negative emotions can feel big and uncomfortable but they are normal and that there is nothing wrong with them for feeling those emotions!



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07/15/2025

Looking to promote prosocial behaviors like kindness and consideration? Try reading "Fill a Bucket" and "Buckets, Dippers, and Lids" by Carol McCloud. After reading the books we decided to fill a jar with our bucket filling moments. Each time someone witnesses a bucket filling moment we write it on a piece of paper and add it to the jar! We planned an ice cream party as our celebration once it's full! 🍦

07/11/2025

As a preschool teacher and director I often meet parents who were pushing their children to read in preschool. I'm sure they were swayed by the many phonics programs that promise to have your child reading by age 3! Are some children able to learn to read that young, maybe. But is it what is best for them? Are they physically ready to learn to read? Jenny Gold set out to find out and discovered the answer is not yet, which is what many early childhood educators have been saying. In her article she share:

"Reading words off a page is a complex activity that requires the brain to put together multiple areas responsible for different aspects of language and thought. It requires a level of physical brain development called mylenation — the growth of fatty sheaths that wrap around nerve cells, insulating them and allowing information to travel more quickly and efficiently through the brain. This process hasn’t developed sufficiently until between 5 and 7 years old, and some boys tend to develop the ability later than girls."

I'm going to be saving this article as a parent resource!

California’s dismal reading scores point to the need to bolster early literacy, but here's why experts say it may be possible to introduce reading too early.

06/26/2025

"The question is not how we can 'teach' an infant to move well and correctly, using cleverly thought up artificially constructed, complicated measures, using exercises and gymnastics. It is simply a matter of offering an infant the opportunity- or, more precisely, not to deprive him of the opportunity- to move according to his inherent ability." ~Emmi Pikler
When we realize that infants don't need the fancy walker, chairs, and jumpers to develop, we start to truly support learning and development. We can simply provide them with a safe place to play and explore on the floor or ground, and their development soars!
=learning

06/21/2025

Time in nature challenges children's physical, cognitive, and social development in ways that we cannot replicate in a classroom. The nature world allows children endless possibilities!

06/08/2025

"When children pretend, they're using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero." ~ Mr. Rogers
In our case a trip to a soccer game can be a vacation needing a suitcase full of toys! Pretend play can happen anytime, any where, and with anything. When we allow children the freedom to play freely, there are no limits to the creativity that can happen!

06/06/2025

Turning the sensory table into a toy car wash is not just a fun activity for a warm day, it's also a great way to work on some cognitive, fine motor, and science skills.
What we used to create our car wash:
* Soap dispensers with dish soap
* Old towel cut into smaller pieces for small hands
* Dirty cars (played with in the mud the day before!)
* Water
So easy to set up with things we already had and so fun!