That Early Childhood Nerd

It's time for the second installment of Free the Teachers! In this episode, Heather Bernt-Santy is joined by Richard Cohen, Carol Garboden Murray, Stacy Benge, and Tiffany Pearsall to talk through the ways we can be free of traditional calendar, circle, and other large group times and to share new ways of thinking about gathering with young children. Order Heather's book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood here:Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243 Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

In this week's episode, host Heather Bernt-Santy interviews Amy Reyes-Hauff, Early Learning Specialist with the Wyoming Department of Education's school success divistion. They talk about traditional circle time practices in early childhood settings and Amy suggests that it's time to scrap circle time in favor of more developmentally informed practices....and PLAY!Amy is an advocate for outdoor learning and has integrated outdoor learning into over 200 classrooms across her home state of Wyoming with the Get Wild Wyoming Initiative. Amy is an early childhood speaker and motivator who firmly believes children learn best in outdoor learning settings where they are able to self regulate through natural colors, shapes, sounds, and feelings. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-reyes-a1b15844/ Order Heather's book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood here:Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7bBarnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Host Heather Bernt-Santy and fellow nerd Mike Huber talk with Ebba Theorell about her brilliant article, Transformative Aesthetic Dimensions in Young Boys' War Play: Exploring the World Through Kinesthetic Musicality, in which she discusses her research and thesis work examining war play through the lens of dance and choreography. Find her article here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/34/article/960063/pdfWant to order Heather's book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood?Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243 Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Every now and then, host Heather Bernt-Santy and the other nerds in the TECN group chat hit on hot issues that we wish early childhood folks didn't have to worry about. We decided to do a few episodes on these topics, calling it the Free the Teachers! series. In this episode, we talk about how stressful tightly controlled daily schedules are for adults and for children, and discuss some alternatives. Want to order Heather's book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood?Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243 Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

When host Heather Bernt-Santy talked with Amy Chiu (www.theworkofplay.com) on TECN episode 372, she knew she had to have a follow up conversation including Carol Garboden Murray (https://www.carolgarbodenmurray.com/). Join them all as they discuss the benefit of slowing down with children in our early childhood settings, including some great first-of-the-school-year practices that help build slow habits. Want to order Heather's book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood?Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243 Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Live from the lobby of the Claggett Retreat Center, listen in as attendees and presenters debrief the day's events--what resonated, what challenged them, and dreams for what happens next. The Play Empowers Teacher Retreat is truly one of a kind. Because it was a live recording of a large group, the volume levels vary a bit from person to person--this  may not be an ear bud episode!Thank you to Kisha Reid for bringing us all together!Want to order my book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood?Teachers College Press: https://www.tcpress.com/using-schema-play-theory-to-advocate-for-free-play-in-early-childhood-9780807787243 Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mry4md7b Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/4vy5eyxy Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Nikki Darling-Kuria joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to share her growth as a trauma informed early childhood professional in an unpredictable world. The quote to start this conversation is from Katherine Anne Porter, who said, "The past is never where you think you left it," meaning that events that we think are in the past and believe we should be "over" aren't ever over. Nikki shares thoughts and resources about moving through our work and our lives with trauma informed practices. For more information:Listeners can get 10% off the book Trauma Responsive Strategies for Early Childhood from 7/7/2025-9/1/2025. Enter code: podcast10https://www.redleafpress.org/Trauma-Responsive-Strategies-for-Early-Childhood-P2503.aspx  Listeners can get 10% off each of the four eLearnings from 7/7/2025-9/1/2025. Enter code: podcast10https://www.thinksmall.org/trauma-informed/  Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

For a century, America’s early childhood policy has been premised on a myth. This falsehood—which dictates that child care and education are somehow separate and distinct—not only suboptimizes the most important window into all human development, but costs American taxpayers an untold fortune. It’s time to think differently.Written in plain yet provocative language by one of the field’s most respected bipartisan policy experts, The Daycare Myth makes the case for why the early years matter; why America’s longstanding early childhood policy approach sacrifices the needs of young children in favor of promoting adult employment; and why fixing the problem makes good sense, regardless of your place on the political spectrum.With straightforward guidance for policymakers, practitioners, and parents, this incredibly timely book is a wake-up call for a nation that aspires to nothing less than the wholesale transformation of America’s early childhood landscape. Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Mike Huber is back to talk more about pretend play, children's power, and the teacher's liberation as we continue to discuss his new book The Power in Pretend: Supporting Children's Power, Identity and Agency. Mike shares a story of powerful pretend play that started with taking chairs outside so that children could clean them and ended with the children's own take on what happens when you go to church. So fun! And so powerful. Buy Mike's book here: https://www.redleafpress.org/Power-in-Pretend-Supporting-Young-Childrens-Power-Identity-and-Agency-Through-Play-P3107.aspx Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

"School can be a stressful place. It can be overstimulating and demanding which impacts everyone's nervous system and ability to cope, let alone learn. The prevailing wisdom is that children thrive in predictable routines, but it's not black and white." Early childhood education speaker and instructor Amy Chiu suggests that we shift from thinking about routines and rigid schedules to developing rhythms in our days with young children. Find more of Amy's work here: https://www.theworkofplay.com/ Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Child development expert Amanda Morgan returns to That Early Childhood Nerd to discuss her new book, "Not Just Cute: How Powerful Play Drives Development in Early Childhood," in which she calls out myths and pressures that push play aside and makes a compelling case for bringing it back. Find more Amanda here: https://notjustcute.com/Order the book here: https://notjustcute.com/book Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Kisa Marx joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to talk about her powerful Exchange article, "A Letter to Educators: Surviving the Child Care Crisis." Find the article here: https://hub.exchangepress.com/articles-on-demand/50396/More about Kisa's work: https://theplaylabnfpoakpark.org/the-play-lab Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Host Heather Bernt-Santy thought she was joining a recording session to discuss an article shared by Lizz Nolasco--but surprise! The Nerds ambushed her--tricking her into talking instead about her upcoming book Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood! The book will be out in the fall of 2025, keep your eye out on That Early Childhood Nerd's social media accounts, or Teachers College Press's website: https://www.tcpress.com/browse-books Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Mike Huber is back to dig into ideas about how pretend play supports focus, impulse control, and self regulation. And what about super hero play? When children imitate superheroes from tv or movies, can that be considered imaginative? It's a fun conversation! Buy the book here: https://www.redleafpress.org/Power-in-Pretend-Supporting-Young-Childrens-Power-Identity-and-Agency-Through-Play-P3107.aspxFind the episode with Cay Burton that Mike mentions here: https://www.thatearlychildhoodnerd.com/podcast/episode/1f238ea3/nerd_0325-princess-playgender-creative-play Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Mike Huber has a new book! He joins host Heather Bernt-Santy for the first of (we hope) many conversations about his book The Power of Pretend: Supporting Children's Power, Identity and Agency. Buy the book here: https://www.redleafpress.org/Power-in-Pretend-Supporting-Young-Childrens-Power-Identity-and-Agency-Through-Play-P3107.aspxMore about Eve Trook: https://www.thatearlychildhoodnerd.com/podcast/episode/1f10d8e0/nerd_0362-early-childhood-maytriarchy-eve-trook-dr-marianne-gibbs-and-bev-bos Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

San Francisco Transitional KG Teacher Aaron Neimark joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to talk about being a teacher researcher and challenging yourself to survive and thrive!  For more of Aaron's work:  1) Do You Want to See Something Goofy? Peer Culture in the Preschool Yard    2) Learning from Children's Humor: Peer Culture as a Teaching Tool (book chapter on peer culture and humor in this book): Educating Toddlers to Teachers: Learning to See and Influence the School and Peer Cultures of the Classroom   3) The Chairs are Theirs: Conflict Resolution in a Kindergarten Classroom (book chapter about problem solving in kindergarten in this book): Teaching Kindergarten: Learner Centered Classrooms for the 21st Century Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Welcome to Early Childhood MAYtriarchy 2025, where we celebrate the contributions of women to the work of early childhood. In this episode:Denisha Jones shares how the work of bell hooks has influenced her and informed her work.Krystina Tapia talks about her life changing experience visiting the Anji schools founded by Cheng Xueqin, and how Ms Cheng's work informed her as an early educator and now as a parent. I love doing this series! Hope you love it too. Support the work of That Early Childhood Nerd with a one time donation or monthly membership here: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Welcome to Early Childhood MAYtriarchy 2025, where we celebrate the contributions of women to the work of early childhood. In this episode:Stephanie Goloway shares the accomplishments and contributions of Constance Kamii and Rhonda DeVries.Suzanne Axelsson brings two Swedish women to the conversation: Ellen Key and Alva Myrdal.I love doing this series! Hope you love it to. Support the work of That Early Childhood Nerd with a one time donation or monthly membership here: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Welcome to Early Childhood MAYtriarchy 2025, where we celebrate the contributions of women to the work of early childhood. In this episode:Lizz Nolasco blows Heather's mind with her discussion of play advocate Dr Millie Almy.Gemma Medina expands our understanding of Caroline Pratt and her work beyond the wooden unit blocks we often associate with her.Bethany Corrie brings Magda Gerber's life and career changing work to the conversation.I love doing this series! Hope you love it too. Support the work of That Early Childhood Nerd with a one time donation or monthly membership here: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

Welcome to Early Childhood MAYtriarchy 2025, where we celebrate the contributions of women to the work of early childhood. In this episode:Mike Huber shares about how he has been influenced by Eve Trook and her ideas on having power on, power for, and power with children. Stacy Benge shares about Dr Marianne Gibbs, and occupational therapist who has informed Stacy's work around literacy.Richard Cohen shares about our beloved and brilliant Bev Bos and her ideas around what we all need for healthy human growth. I love doing this series! Hope you love it to. Support the work of That Early Childhood Nerd with a one time donation or monthly membership here: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf Thanks for listening! Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD. Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here. Click here for more Heather. For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.