Cute Little Liars
There’s a large group of people who are lying to us every day. These liars may even be living right in your home. It’s preschoolers. Young children discover the art of telling fibs at about three. But us adults have a job to do by teaching them that the truth will set them free. Listen now and let us lay some truth on you to help navigate young children toward honesty.
Resources
Lies: Why Children Lie and What To Do (Raising Children)
A Parent's Guide to Lying and Age-Appropriate Consequences (Parents)
How to Stop a Child From Lying (What to Expect)
Positive Early Childhood Experiences
We spend a lot of time on these segments talking about ACEs or Adverse Childhood Experiences and the negative effects they can have on a person throughout life. However, if we’re going to talk about the negatives, we must also talk about positive experiences.
Resources
America Has a Decision to Make
Making choices can be hard. But in a high-quality early learning environment, young children learn how to make wise choices one step at a time. Well, some of the same early childhood educators who teach children how to make good choices, must make a very difficult decision of their own.
Resources
Money 4 Child Care
Child care is expensive. Very expensive. The Maryland State Department of Education has just announced significant changes to the Maryland Child Care Scholarship program to help parents get the resources they need to pay for care.
Resources
Nurturing Adds Up
Children who receive high-quality early education as babies, toddlers and preschoolers do better in science, technology, engineering, and math through high school. Researchers from the University of California say that this link is strongest among children from low-income households. Investing in quality early childhood education could help remedy the underrepresentation of racially and ethnically diverse populations in STEM fields.
Resources
High-Quality Child Care Contributes to Later Success in Science, Math (American Psychological Association)
Quality Child Care Leads to Better Grades — and Future Scientists (StudyFinds)
Transition to Kindergarten
Back to school time is almost here and your little one is ready for kindergarten! The transition from pre-K or child care to kindergarten is a big one. We want to help parents make the transition a smooth one for your child…and yourself.
Resources
Transition to Kindergarten (Office of Head Start)
Transitioning to Kindergarten (NAEYC)
12 Ways to Help a Child Make the Transition to Kindergarten (Harvard Medical School)
Making Memories
Do you remember your first day? I don’t mean the first day at work or at school. I mean your very - first - day. Ever. That’s ok. No one does. You might remember your first day of kindergarten. Or maybe your fourth birthday. But chances are you don’t remember anything before age three. In this episode we discuss where those early memories go.
Resources
Once Upon a Time...
Once upon a time… Those four words have the power to set a child’s imagination free and it begins at birth. Let us tell you a story about why reading aloud to children is so important.
Resources
Reading with Your Child (Reading Rockets)
Rocking and Rolling. Reading Aloud with Infants and Toddlers (NAEYC)
10 Tips for Reading Aloud with Children (NY Public Library)
The Read Aloud Handbook (Jim Trelease)
Environment Matters
If you’ve ever worked somewhere that wasn't supportive of you, wasn't safe, or wasn’t welcoming, you not only probably didn’t like working there very much but I bet it made it pretty hard to do your job or grow professionally. Child care is very similar. Young children need the right environment to learn, to develop, and to thrive.
Resources
Learning Environment (University of Nebraska Extension)
Preparing the Environment (Child Care Technical Assistance Network)
Creating a Child Care Environment that Supports Children's Exploration (Extension Alliance for Better Child Care)
Learning to Make Good Choices
Learning to make decisions as a child prepares us to make good choices as adults. When you honor a preschooler’s choice it tells them that you respect them and their abilities. We have tips to help children make their own choices.