Education & Parenting Publication Features

Celebrate Buffy Sainte-Marie and Amplify Indigenous Peoples With Your Kids

I first learned of Buffy Saint-Marie's work in early childhood education when I read the foreword of "Children of Native America Today" by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder, where Sainte-Marie wrote: "During the five years that I spent on 'Sesame Street,' I tried to convey in the Native American episodes one message above all: Indians Exist. We are alive and real. We have fun, friends, families and a whole lot to contribute to the rest of the world through our reality."

3 Fun Ways to Help Kids Love the Earth All Year

Children are naturally curious about the world around them, and research has proven the benefits of spending time in nature. When kids have time to go outside, we see increased confidence, creativity, responsibility and critical thinking skills. It's no surprise that breathing in the fresh air and putting our hands in the dirt is good for the soul, but how do we raise kids who care about the Earth and take steps to protect it during Earth Month and all year?

Helping Kids Understand Their Inner Monster With Grover from ‘Sesame Street'

"Sometimes the monster that's inside you, it's a monster that is mad, it's a monster who is angry, it's a monster who feels bad; when your monster wants to throw things, and your monster wants to shout, there's a way to calm your monster, and chill your inner monster out." — Sesame Street: Common and Colbie Caillat Sing "Belly Breathe" with Elmo. If you kept a log to jot down each emotion you felt throughout the day, you'd likely fill the page within a few hours.

Encouraging Education Leaders to Help Teachers to Get Curious About Behavior

“I often urge noneducators to ponder the versatility and resilience that have been asked of teachers during the pandemic. Just think about all that’s required to sustain relationships with, let alone educate, dozens of students who have been reduced to so many squares on a screen. And consider how the long-awaited transition back to actual schools presents challenges of its own.” Alfie Kohn, The Case Against Classroom Management...A Quarter Century Later.

Small Worlds and Bubble Baths: 4 Fun Sensory Activities for Kids

Research has proven that sensory play builds cognitive skills. Children learn about the world around them through their senses. After a baby is born, the entire world slowly opens up to them through experiences with touch, smell, sound, taste and sight. When young children have sensory experiences, they are stored in their "sensory memory." They can pull from their "sensory memory" to build connections and understand/gain new information.

3 Ways to Teach Kids Grown-Up Skills While Sorting

Grown-ups rely on mathematical thinking and problem-solving all day without even realizing it. Simple tasks like sorting recycling, choosing which vegetables to purchase based on what’s grown locally or collecting items around the house that can be donated become second nature. Here are three simple ways to grow your child’s knowledge of sorting and collecting while teaching them how to be more engaged people.

Big Feelings Alert: How Can I Stay Calm When My Kid Is Having a Meltdown?

We've all had those days when nothing seems to be going the way we planned. Unexpected meetings popping up on your calendar, spilled lattes, and heavy traffic when you are already running late. Yet, as an adult, you may have developed some strategies to self-calm even during the most challenging times. Deep breaths, long walks, letting feelings pass like clouds in the sky and a big glass of ice water are among my favorites.

Exploring Gender Identity and Expression with Children

If we want to raise kids who are free to be themselves and dedicated to making the world a better place, we must begin by learning what it means to create a more accessible and inclusive world for everyone. Transgender, gender non-conforming and gender fluid folks and children deserve to be seen, heard and represented in the books they read, shows they watch and curriculum that’s taught in schools. They deserve to live happy and safe lives.

Teachers Deserve Trauma-Informed Support, Too

The heart of a teacher extends far beyond supporting students in excelling academically. Instead, teachers recognize that students are whole human beings who grow with love, care, and compassion. Because of this, it’s not uncommon to read articles, attend professional development, and read books that preach about the importance of taking a trauma-informed approach with students. But how often do we ask ourselves, “How are we supporting and caring for the emotional needs of teachers?"

Four Easy Ways to Recycle Household Materials and Play with Math

Earth Day is right around the corner, which means it’s the perfect time to find ways to reuse everyday household items we normally discard. Instead of buying expensive wooden or plastic math activities, you might be surprised to learn that everything you need is lying around your house. It’s possible to create enjoyable math explorations for young children simply by thinking outside of the box and finding ways to repurpose everyday items.

Three Autistic Disability Rights Activists to Amplify in Your Classroom

In the education world, we often hear and use words like "inclusive" and "accessible" without much proof that steps to create classrooms and communities centered on disability justice are being taken. One prominent example is the lack of disabled representation when it comes to the revolutionaries and change-makers we teach our kids about in school. You can begin to support disabled students in feeling validated, seen and heard by amplifying the voices of autistic activists in your classroom.

Math is All Around Us: Simple, Everyday Games to Practice Creating Sets and Sorting with Kids

When someone says the word math, what comes to your mind? Do you remember worksheet after worksheet of timed math drills in school? Or how you felt when you didn’t understand a concept and the only feedback you received was a big red X on your paper? That’s the way it was for me many years ago before I became a teacher and parent. It wasn’t until I began creating joyful learning experiences for my students that I realized math doesn’t have to be taught in such disconnected ways from our everyday
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