“Look a worm. We should make it a home!” If you’ve spent any time with young children, you’ve likely heard a phrase similar to this one. Sure, the specifics may have been different, but generally young children love to take care of animals. In fact, caring for animals is where we often first notice young […]
Why do we stop our kids from engaging in risky play? We don’t want them killed! We want to keep them safe and intact. That’s our job as caregivers and parents, right? Well, sort of. We’re programmed to protect our young. That’s how we keep our species going. But how do our young learn to protect […]
Ok, I admit it—it’s difficult for me when my kids go back to school in the fall. I’m one of those adults who has a tough time saying goodbye to my children’s summer vacation. In some ways, it’s my summer vacation too because I hang out with them in their flow of the days. No […]
The world is so noisy! There are dings of email alerts, cars, air conditioners running, lawnmowers, garbage trucks—the list goes on. Metaphorically we’re also surrounded by noise through all of the information and news reports on television, social media, radio, and more. This human-made noise is stressful to our bodies and minds. If you’re like […]
Exploring nature is a surefire way to spark young children’s learning. Children inherently want to learn which is why they’re constantly asking questions. They’re full of wonder and curiosity. The natural world is an environment rich with possibilities for learning and can help children’s wonder and curiosity flourish. In nature the opportunities for new knowledge […]
Light and shadow are all around us: you don’t need to look far to find natural or artificial light making spaces more interesting. In the bright summer sun, you might see intense shadows coming through the trees and showing crisp outlines of leaf shapes, or simply illuminating leaves from behind, making them seem like they […]
