But You Did It Yesterday…
September 3, 2026A new school year. Some familiar children, some new children. Maybe an entirely new group, or perhaps many of the same little faces returning. Either way, there is something exciting about beginning again. We are about to create new bonds and new memories. We are going to discover new personalities, new group dynamics and, hopefully, new ways of thinking. We will watch children learn and grow — and if we’re paying attention, we’ll probably do quite a bit of learning and growing alongside them. But with a new year, I think it is also a good time to look at…
Is toilet training really an age milestone?
As a preschool teacher, this is one of those conversations that seems to arrive with the changing seasons. We have started welcoming children from the toddler room for their transition visits before September, and one topic comes up again and…
Have I Already Written the Ending?
In my previous post, I wrote about how often we interrupt children while believing we are helping them. I have been wondering if we do something similar when we redirect children. Not because redirection is wrong. Sometimes it is necessary.…
When Did We Stop Playing?
Our professional development day started like most of them usually do. Coffee. Conversations. Celebrating birthdays and milestones. People slowly waking up properly while trying to remember where they left their notebooks. Then balloons appeared. We were asked to get into…
They’re Small…Not Lesser
“Come on, we’ve already talked about this.” “Hurry up.” “You’re fine.” “Use your words.” Which, to be fair, is interesting advice coming from adults who sometimes need an iced coffee, a silent drive home, and at least two hours before…
Transitions aren’t hard… until we make them.
I’ve been hearing a lot about transitions over the years that I have been in this field and for some reason the question(s) never change. “How do we make them smoother?” “What strategies actually work?” “Why do toddlers struggle so…
Are we supporting regulation… or interrupting it?
When I first started this blog, I wrote a whole series on emotional intelligence, and I found myself returning to self-regulation again and again—how it develops, how we support it, and why it feels so important in the early years.…
It Starts With How We Show Up
I’ve mentioned before that one of the qualities research highlights in a strong educator is the importance of building trusting relationships—with both children and colleagues. In my previous posts, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the relationships between…
The Strength I Didn’t Understand Yet
In this series I’ve been reflecting on what actually makes a classroom successful — not in theory, but in the everyday reality of working with children and the adults around them. In the last post, I wrote about strong teams.…
Strong Teams Build Strong Classrooms
In this series, I’ve been reflecting on what actually makes a classroom feel strong — not in theory, but in the messy, everyday reality of working with children and the adults around them. In the last post I wrote about…
Vision Before Systems
Before I go any further, I should probably explain what I mean by “systems” and “vision,” because I used to think they were almost the same thing. When I say systems, I mean the structure we are trying to implement…
