Early childhood is a time of great creativity. Building creativity into the learning environment should be natural, organic, as observant teachers follow the child. This article provide tools for building creativity through play across the creative arts including dramatic play, movement and dance, music, and visual arts. Additionally, play and…

Children with special needs may have less access to play due to the nature of their developmental delay or disability or their lack of experience with typically developing peers. Many preschools and kindergartens have reduced play in their daily schedules and elementary schools have reduced or eliminated recess (Jarrett et al., 2015; Zigler &…

This article shares a selected number of research-evidenced and field-tested playful oral language learning activities (POLLAs) for early childhood educators to engage English learners (ELs) and their peers in focused oral language practices. These activities are easy to infuse in existing curricula.

Problem solving is a critical component of academic and social emotional learning. It is a life-long skill. For young children, opportunities to make choices and problem solve lay the foundation for later development of self-determination (Palmer et al., 2012). However, young children may not have the experience or ability to resolve problems…

In today's fast paced early childhood classrooms, mathematics play activities in prekindergarten settings are not consistently supported. Administrators and educators have discussed with great intensity and passion about incorporating mathematics play in prekindergarten classrooms. Both groups discussed the benefits and reservations of…

Africans are often misrepresented or under-represented in popular books and media. They are often presented as a single group of people; hence, other peoples' formed notion of Africans represents a single story (Adichie, 2009). This single story needs to change because it does not represent many Africans' lived experiences. The antidote to…

Play allows children to experience joy in the moment of learning. Parrott and Cohen (2020) highlight the benefit of unstructured play to children's overall learning in their case study. Outdoor play typically has no restrictions or end goal in mind. The possibilities of outdoor learning experiences are endless for children as they experiment with…

As a literacy educator, the author's interest in how students conceptualize writing is one that she devotes a significant amount of time and interest. Understanding how students make sense of reading and writing at an early age can assist educators in designing and implementing literacy engagements that are both high quality and effective. To…

Psychologists caution that the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate already existing mental health challenges -- warning that we may see more depression and anxiety in children due to fears about their health and that of their families, exposure to negative messages from the media, social isolation, and family financial issues due to economic…

The development of young children can be disrupted by repeated stress because stress triggers a response which changes the chemistry of their bodies (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (NSCDC), 2014). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is used to describe stressful or traumatic experiences which threaten children's development.…

A key factor in a child's healthy development is resilience, which allows a child to have an adaptive response to hardships even when exposed to a toxic environment or adversity. Resilience is the interplay between a child's positive environment and adaptive and coping skills outweighing risk factors and adverse experiences to create a positive…

Vygotsky (1978) describes play as having three main components, one being the ability for a child to create an imaginary situation, the second taking on and acting out roles, and the third, following a set of rules that were determined by the roles children took on during play during social or group settings. Hence, supporting much needed social…

When teachers take on the sole responsibility for teaching children to write, it is a hefty load to bear. Fortunately, families can serve alongside teachers as powerful writing role models and help welcome children into the world of written language. Involving families as team members in a teacher's writing instruction is not always easy. It takes…

Mathematics is abstract for young children. One way to help children develop better understanding of core early mathematical concepts is by providing concrete learning experiences, thereby making mathematics more accessible to them. Additionally, children will choose to spend more time on subjects or activities they enjoy, which in turn leads to…

One of the most impactful and transformative practices early childhood teachers can engage in is the practice of inquiry. Inquiry requires educators to be both fully present and fully engaged in professional practice while adopting the mindset that the cycle of inquiry is never complete. In inquiry-based learning, the learner is at the center of…