Jean-Mari Dagarin, from The Early Childhood POV, joins me today to talk about a growing concern in early education: 'schoolification'—the push to bring formal academic practices into early childhood spaces. With over 30 years of experience as an early childhood advocate, administrator, college professor, and developmentally appropriate practice expert, Jean Marie has seen firsthand how these pressures impact young learners. Today, we’re unpacking what schoolification means, why it’s problematic, and, more importantly, how educators can combat it while staying true to developmentally appropriate practices.

Highlights:

1. Defining Schoolification: Jean Marie breaks down the concept of "schoolification" in early childhood, discussing how academic pressures are being pushed down to younger ages and why this is often developmentally inappropriate.
2. Examples of Inappropriate Early Literacy Practices: Jean Marie shares specific examples of early literacy practices that do not align with developmentally appropriate principles, highlighting the need for a child-centered approach. Laura shares some that she did before she knew better
3. Natural Literacy Development in Play-Based Learning: Jean Marie and Laura provide insights into how early literacy skills can unfold naturally through play, offering practical strategies for fostering language and literacy in a way that supports children's developmental stages.

If you want to think deeper about early literacy, what’s often done wrong, and how teachers can nurture children’s natural literacy development through play, this episode is for you! So, grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and let’s jump into this eye-opening conversation with Jean-Mari.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Learn more with the Play-Based Literacy Masterclass

Connect with Jean-Mari:

• Instagram: @the.early.childhood.pov
• Website: earlychildhoodpov.com
• Learn more with DAP 101

In this episode, I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Julia B. Lindsey, Ph.D., a leading expert in foundational literacy and the author of Reading Above the Fray: Research-based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills. With a wealth of experience as both an educator and researcher, Dr. Lindsey has made significant contributions to the field of literacy, including the creation of widely used knowledge-rich decodable texts. Together we simplify and break down all the different aspects of early literacy using research.

Highlights:

1. Explicit Reading Instruction: Hear some concrete reasons why some literacy skills have to be explicitly taught and the research that supports this. Learn simple ways to do this with young children in a play-based setting.
2. Phonemic Awareness: Julia simply explains the difference between phonemic and phonological awareness and their role in developing early literacy skills.
3. How It's All Connected: Laura and Julia discuss how reading and writing is deeply interconnected with language. They also share how joyful literacy learning can be for young children as they start to make sense of the code that they see all around them.

If you’re ready to start building in 5-7 minutes of explicit literacy instruction a day and aren’t sure where to start, this episode is for you. Find out how and why you should be doing this and what the current research says.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Learn more with the Play-Based Literacy Masterclass

Connect with Dr. Julia Lindsey:

• Instagram: @juliablindsey
• Website: www.juliablindsey.com
• Her book: Reading Above the Fray

Laura welcomes Dr. Jasmine Moses, an anti-bias early childhood educator dedicated to promoting anti-bias and anti-racist practices within early childhood education. Jasmine shares insights into how anti-bias education can help raise more aware, kind, and forgiving children. This chat covers the importance of addressing biases, involving the community in this collective effort, and using children's literature as a powerful tool to promote diversity, inclusivity, and critical thinking among young children.

Highlights:

1. Defining Anti-Bias Education: Laura and Jasmine discuss their shared understanding of this complex topic and the four aspects of this work.
2. Incorporating Anti-Bias Education into ECE: Learn how anti-bias work seamlessly fits into early childhood education. Jasmine provides insights into the important work adults must do to engage in learning alongside children.
3. Using Children’s Literature: Laura and Jasmine share resources, favorite books, prompts to use, and questions to ask yourself (and children).

If you’re ready to start being proactive rather than reactive when addressing topics of culture, race, gender, and more, this episode will help. Jasmine shares practical tips on selecting diverse books and offers an extensive list of recommended reads for both children and adults engaging in anti-bias education. Additionally, you’ll learn some places to start and how to start decentering yourself and centering this work.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Free Guidebook: Culturally Responsive & Inclusive Storytelling

Connect with Jasmine:

• Instagram: @theantibiasece
• Website: The Anti-Bias ECE
• Free Guide: Now We're Talking

Resources:

• Social Justice Books
• • Guide for selecting children’s books
  • Book lists

Some of the Books Mentioned:

• Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks
• Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate, Anti-Racist, Justice-Minded Kids in an Unjust World by Traci Baxley
• Raising Anti Racist Children: A practical guide by Britt Hawthorne
• First Conversations books
• Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
• Big by Vashti Harrison

In this episode of “Stories That Stick,” Laura and Ms. Ashley chat about storytelling and how it supports children to learn about the world around them. Ashley is THE early childhood enthusiast and creator of Nguzo Babies. She’s dedicated to exposing children to new cultures and languages through storytelling and puppetry. Together Laura and Ashley explore how storytelling can build connections and teach important social concepts to kids.

Highlights:

1. Continuous Learning: Ashley shares about the importance of cultural respect in language learning and how adults must shift their perspective on teaching.
2. Authenticity: Laura and Ashley discuss why children need to be exposed to different cultures and how to do this with authentic resources and stories.
3. Fostering Understanding: At the heart of all social studies is supporting others in celebrating diverse stories, background, and cultures. Through puppetry and character development, Ashley shares strategies to foster understanding and compassion with children.

If you have been looking for ways to build more cultures and social studies into your early learning environment, this episode is just what you need! Tune in to this episode to learn about Nguzo Babies and the ideas behind how puppetry and cultural exploration helps children to connect with diverse backgrounds and languages.

Connect with Laura: @little.stories.that.stick & website

Free guidebook ‘Culturally Responsive & Inclusive Storytelling’: Download here!

Connect with Ashley: @NguzoBabies, Nguzo Babies YouTube Channel & Nguzobabies.com

Learn more on teaching Social Studies with Young Children: Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks

In this episode of “Stories That Stick,” Laura and Nyetta chat about homeschooling with their children and how they understand the Science of Reading. Nyetta is the self-proclaimed Mom Playologist and founder of The Activity Playhouse. Nyetta shares about her journey as a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling parents that naturally learned the importance of play in children’s development.

Highlights:

1. Different Journeys: Nyetta shares about how she became a stay-at-home mom that homeschools her three children. Laura and Nyetta reflect on what brought them to homeschool and draw parallels between their experiences.
2. Play and Early Literacy: Laura and Nyetta discuss the importance of play in early childhood education and how fostering early literacy is critical for later reading success.
3. Unpacking the Science of Reading: Laura and Nyetta know that although explicit instruction and following a scope and sequence is necessary, building background knowledge, vocabulary and comprehension is just as important. They both give examples from their lives of how these skills develop naturally through play.

If you have been hearing about the Science of Reading, but you’re not sure how it applies to you as an early childhood educator, tune in to this episode. Along with learning some practical ways to embrace literacy learning through child-led play, you may also be inspired to explore additional ways to support learning outside of the classroom.

Connect with Laura: @little.stories.that.stick & website

Free guide with 50 ideas to incorporate literacy into play: Download here!

Connect with Nyetta: @TheActivityPlayhouse & website

Check out Nyetta's podcast: Let Kids Play!

Tune in and listen as Laura shares part 2 to the story of Tea and Honey (listen to Tea & Honey: Part 1 first!)! She's fully invested in the family of robins that built a nest outside her kitchen window. Find out what happened after they built their nest.

If you’re ready to start telling stories of your own, but need a little nudge, you can grab some story cards here to help!

Follow Laura on Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick

Check out her stories on YouTube: Little Stories That Stick

In this episode, Laura welcomes Dr. Ben Mardell, a mentor who has profoundly influenced her understanding of storytelling and story acting. Dr. Mardell, the Atelierista and Pedagogista at the Newtown School, shares his extensive experience in early childhood education. Together they talk about the excitement and learning that storytelling brings to young children.

Highlights:

1. Power Dynamics: Laura and Ben discuss the importance of shifting the power dynamics when learning alongside children. Ben explains how empowering children enhances the overall power and capability of a classroom or family, rather than diminishing adult authority.
2. Storytelling as Play: Laura and Ben met through their work with Storytelling and Storyacting. They chat about how storytelling is inherently playful, allowing children to express agency and creativity.
3. Being a Storytelling: Ben shares a memorable storytelling experience from year ago, where he discovered the power of storytelling in engaging children. Laura and Ben discuss the importance of being present and engaged while telling stories.

Storytelling is essential in early childhood education. You need to incorporate it into your daily rhythms. You can start small and embrace all the imperfections of storytelling, practice leads to improvement and deeper connections with children! If you’re looking for some practical advice on embracing being a storyteller, or how to bring storytelling to life in your classroom, listen up!

Connect with Laura: @little.stories.that.stick & website

Learn more about Storytelling and Storyacting with this free handout

Download a PDF of the book “A Pedagogy of Play: Supporting playful learning in classrooms and schools” by Ben Mardell, Jen Ryan, Mara Krechevsky, Megina Baker, Savhannah Schulz, and Yvonne Liu Constant

This story is for one of "Stories That Stick" biggest fans. Enjoy Manu, thanks for all your support.

If you’re ready to start telling stories of your own, but need a little nudge, you can grab some story prompts here to help!

Follow Laura on Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick

Check out her stories on YouTube: Little Stories That Stick