Blog

Play has changed dramatically over the years. Many of today’s toys are brightly lit, battery-operated, or activated with the push of a button. While these toys can certainly be entertaining and engaging, they often require very little physical manipulation from children. As technology continues to s...

From an occupational therapy perspective, behavior is often one of the clearest windows into how a child is processing and responding to their environment.

In early childhood settings, it can be easy to focus first on compliance:
Sit down.
Come to circle.
Clean up.
Follow directions.

But many young ch...

Summertime in my childhood backyard included a daily gathering of my siblings and next-door neighbors, barefoot, with time to be bored. When I was young, my father built a HUGE sandbox in our yard that was shaded by an enormous eucalyptus tree. (That tree was even home to a treehouse big enough to s...

How the Environment Can Support Regulation, Engagement, and Sustainability

In early childhood classrooms, the environment is more than a backdrop for learning. It actively shapes how children and adults feel, move, and interact throughout the day. Layout, noise level, visual input, and flow all pla...

In early childhood education, regulation is often framed as a skill children must learn. While this is true, regulation is also deeply relational. Children borrow calm from the adults around them, learning how to manage emotions and challenges through everyday interactions. When educators are suppor...

In early childhood education, readiness is often discussed in terms of academic skills, such as writing letters, counting, or sitting for group lessons. While these skills will develop over time, research and experience consistently show that learning does not begin with academics alone. Readiness i...

The holidays can bring joy, excitement, and celebration. But they can also bring disruption, overstimulation, and big emotions, especially for young children. Classroom routines change, family schedules shift, and everywhere children turn, there are unfamiliar sights, sounds, and expectations. For c...

Preschool is a time of enormous emotional growth. Children are learning not only how to name their feelings, but how to live with them, as well as how to calm their bodies, ask for help, wait their turn, and handle disappointment. These are not small skills. They are complex, often messy, and deeply...