Every Child's Champion

Send us Fan Mail What if the secret to managing challenging behaviors in young children lies in understanding their unspoken needs? Today, let’s uncover the transformative Pyramid Model and its profound impact on early childhood education. This episode is all about empowering teachers to build nurturing, positive relationships with every child, especially those who express themselves through chall...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever considered that PLAY might be the missing piece in making children’s education truly effective and joyful? Join me in this episode as we explore the transformative potential of PLAY-based learning in the classroom. Reconnect with your inner child and rediscover the joy of teaching. We know how life's pressures can overshadow our passion for education but there a...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine being the cornerstone of a child's development, where every action you take has the potential to shape their future. As educators, your mental, emotional, and physical well-being is indispensable. In this episode, we will delve into the profound influence you have on your students. Reflecting on self-efficacy, we urge you to list your strengths and find joy in your te...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when nearly one-third of early childhood educators abandon their classrooms? The alarming ripple effects of teacher shortages, inadequate training, and rising stress levels are unraveling a crisis in early childhood education. In this eye-opening episode of Every Child's Champion, Sara unpacks the statistics and stories behind this troubling trend. Let’s explore...

Send us Fan Mail Teachers at all levels are seeing unprecedented levels of challenging behavior in the classroom due to the pandemic and societal changes. Fortunately, researchers have identified exactly which teacher practices will work best to prevent most negative behaviors, and which practices are most effective when teachers do need to intervene. The Pyramid Model was born from research and i...

Send us Fan Mail Engaging parents of our most "at-risk" children can be super hard. Grant-funded programs serving poor and disadvantaged, or otherwise at-risk families utilize a weighted eligibility scale for making enrollment decisions, to ensure that the neediest children are served. But what if the neediest families don't know your program exists?   One program in Mattoon, IL has...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is a replay of my all-time highest listened to podcast ever and here we will be talking about classroom management. While you're listening, you might think about next year and plan ahead. Try to ask these questions: -         What routines do you need to put in place? -         What are your classroom rules going to be? -         What things do you have to really...

Send us Fan Mail As we've shared in other podcasts, the prenatal to 3 period of development is all about incredible amounts of brain development that is occurring at this time, with billions of new connections forming the very architecture of the brain not only during the prenatal period but for the entire span of these early years. The sensory inputs (not the least of which is touch) a child...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s podcast message goes to all children’s champions out there. Sara is sharing ideas and resources for our own emotional and mental health. Difficult times will always be ahead of us even post pandemic and still, teachers are really hit the hardest. So, how are you all holding up emotionally and physically?  When our minds are under stress, it is really difficult to focus. So...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast, Sara shares her own personal history with trauma, depression, and anxiety, and introduces what she has learned about the different ways children cope with trauma. Why do some children have hairpin triggers, lashing out at their classmates, teachers, and virtually anyone else who tries to set limits on their behavior? On the other hand, why are some children “walle...

Send us Fan Mail “You need to work on building your relationship with that child.” How many times have you heard this from a supervisor or coach, when trying to get support for dealing with extremely challenging behavior? What more do we have to DO, beyond what we do with all students? Our guest today will answer this question, as we explore the reasons why the RELATIONSHIP you build with a challe...

Send us Fan Mail The incidence of childhood trauma is higher than most people think: many, many of our children have experienced what experts refer to as “developmental trauma,” meaning the cumulative effects of chronically dangerous and stressful environments and daily life circumstances. Often, we teachers are unaware of the fact that challenging behaviors in the classroom are actually symptoms...

Send us Fan Mail Research has shown that teachers who provide high levels of emotional support for their students (create a positive climate, are highly sensitive, and support children’s autonomy and individuality) AND who provide high levels of classroom organization interactions (supporting behavior management, productivity, and engagement levels), these classrooms have lower levels of aggressiv...

Send us Fan Mail Everywhere we look, on every news channel, all our social media feeds, all around us, we see race-related actions and expressions, both hate-charged and promoting of unity and healing. Racial attitudes have become blatant and polarized, more so than many of us can ever remember. And now we even have an extensive research base supporting the notion that many of our policies in educ...

Send us Fan Mail So your program is re-opening after a long period of quarantine. So much to do to get ready- so much stress! In this episode of the Every Child's Champion podcast, Sara gives you several key areas of focus and stresses the most important things you can do to ensure a smooth and healthy return for everyone. She shares a plethora of great resources for helping kids understand n...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Sara will explain the executive function skills of self regulation. Self Regulation capacities involve calming the physical body, understanding and expressing emotions, and having some problem-solving skills. Although developing self regulation depends on brain development, we know that brain development itself is highly dependent upon the relationships and intera...

Send us Fan Mail This week we are reviving part of our first broadcast on "How to enjoy your job". A year ago, we would have thought things couldn't get any more stressful when it came to the work we do and juggling it all with families, education, etc.....None of us was prepared for a pandemic! Our world has really changed, and so has teaching! So it is a great time to revisit the...

Send us Fan Mail  Drawn from the e-book “Think UP! Developing High Level Instructional Supports – A Guidebook for Coaches and Instructional Leaders,” (which is currently in development!) this episode looks at teacher intentionality. The ultimate goal is for all teachers to become conscious and competent practitioners. In this podcast, Sara discusses the benefits of pushing oneself, as a teacher, t...

Send us Fan Mail Lions, and tigers, and bears – Oh My! Water, and sand, and air – what flies!?  Flowers, and weather, and bugs – these too! Planets, and textures, and weights – computers, machines, and tunnels and ramps! Hot and cold, smooth or sticky. Skin, fur, feathers, and scales! Experimenting, mixing, and cooking! All of these things fit in the category of science teaching and learning. It’s...

Send us Fan Mail Math is a subject alot of teachers either shy away from or don't really know how or what to teach. Yet, research has shown that early Math skills are predictive of later math AND reading achievement; there is a strong tie between children's expressive vocabulary and their math learning in Pre-K. In this two-part podcast (episodes 012 and 013), Sara looks at the number an...

Send us Fan Mail Math is a subject alot of teachers either shy away from or don't really know how or what to teach. Yet, research has shown that early Math skills are predictive of later math AND reading achievement; there is a strong tie between children's expressive vocabulary and their math learning in Pre-K. In this two-part podcast (episodes 012 and 013), Sara looks at the number an...

Send us Fan Mail This podcast episode reviews the many health, safety, and sanitation recommendations recently issued by the Centers for Disease Control. These are the current recommendations; ultimately it will be the job of child care centers, Early Head Start and Head Start centers, and public and private preschool programs to meet the guidelines that are adopted by each state. The question is,...

Send us Fan Mail It’s Teacher Appreciation Week - and never before have parents had such a window in to their children’s teachers nor have they been so tied in to the actual learning process. Suddenly, parents have to manage their children’s days, make sure they get online at the right times, and then figure out how to keep their kids occupied for large stretches of time each day. After Covid19 wi...

Send us Fan Mail The COVID19 Pandemic is wreaking havoc on our individual and collective mental health in this country and around the world. As scary, stressful and anxiety producing as the quarantine has been on all of us, we can anticipate that there are some real consequences for young children and their development. Preschoolers' brains are still in a rapid period of development, and that...

Send us Fan Mail Lots of teachers these days are asking "What the heck is going on with all of these insane behaviors kids are bringing in? Teachers are dealing with high levels of aggression, fighting, arguing, swearing and name calling -- on a DAILY BASIS! Whether it is because of trauma, electronic babysitters and parenting in the electronic age, lack of limits at home, or something we hav...