Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

Last week, a colleague of mine asked, "What does a child-led, play based program look like for infants and toddlers?" For many, it is really easy to see how to follow a child's lead with older children. It is easy when children can communicate with you, when they can tell you what they are doing or want to do, but how to do you embrace a child-led, play philosophy with our youngest learners? As a home based childcare program with mixed ages, I have the wonderful opportunity of learning, growing, and playing with children of all ages. In our program we support  a play based program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, school aged children, pre-teens, teenagers, and sometimes even adults! Regardless of age, supporting play boils down to relationships and trusting the player. For infants, this means providing a lot of materials that support child development and what we know about children at this age and stage of development. For infants it means getting ri...

Dan Hodgins, a good friend and colleague posted a great question over on his Invitations to Learning Facebook page today. The question simply stated was, If we plan for it, is it Play??? I invite you to visit the page and get in on that discussion. Dan is one of my favorite ECE people, not because we agree on everything, but because we don't always. We also tend to make each other think.   After answering his question today and some dialogue with a few other ECE professionals, I have decided to share a few thoughts that were originally published in the Child Central Station Provider's Play Day Book. (This isn't a book you can order, it is just a collection of handouts that changes every year and is given to each attendee of the Play Day). So here is section 1. During Play Day, we took a lot of time to discuss this in small groups. Why Choose Play? A Journey to Play We are living in a time where “play” is almost a 4-letter word. Some advocates have indicated th...

A few years back, I attended an amazing professional development conference. Like all opportunities to learn and grow, I found myself among many like minded people. One of the beautiful things about diversifying the training I attend is that I am exposed to a variety of programs and points of view.  During this particular session, I found myself questioning my practice and wondering if what the presenters were sharing really fit with my point of view and practice. Are you familiar with the idea of loose parts? If not, there are plenty of resources out there for you to explore. The basic premise is that children don't need to have toys that have a single purpose. The idea is that you can provide them with a variety of odds and ends where they can be creative and use them for a multitude of different uses. You'll find some practitioners who promote the loose parts theory who can give you a recipe... or a plan for exactly what to use and add. They may tell you to make...

"LOOK! It's Santa!" I exclaimed in my best impression of elf as I noticed a child putting on a Santa suit. "I'm not SANTA! I'm -------" "Oh, I thought you were Santa." "No, Santa's dead. I guess I have to deliver the presents now" (with a deep sigh) "Santa's dead?? What happened?" "Yeah, Santa's dead. It's a long story" and.. just like that he skipped off to play.  Clearly the story was too long to tell, and he had other things that were more important to do than to share it with me.  Many programs are looking at the calendar and providing materials and lesson plans revolving around spring and Easter. We tend not to look too closely at the calendar and instead follow the lead of the children. We have many holiday related materials available to the children, but they are available year round. On any given day of the year you will most likely find a child dressed up as Santa (in fact...

PLEASE STOP. Stop disrespecting a child's cry for help by making them talk to a wall, a phone where no one is there, a stuffed animal... or a crazy made up tattle monster.  When your spouse or your best friend comes to you to talk with you about a problem, do you send them to the wall or ask them to talk to a phone where no one is there? Of course not! When we value a relationship we seek connection, we listen, we respond, we help. So, why in the world are we hanging children who come to us for help out to dry?  Why do some adults think that it is okay to do to children? Young children tattle.  Children who feel powerless or lack the social/emotional skills to navigate a situation tattle. Children who are used to the adults in their lives solving all of their problems tattle.  What message are we sending young people when we ask them to tell their problems to the wall? To me it certain looks like "I don't care what you have to say" and it sends...