Not Just Cute, the Podcast: Intentional Whole Child Development for Parents and Teachers of Young Children

Rae Pica is a force to be reckoned with.  With her unapologetic straight-talk, she has been advocating for children and for whole child education for decades, filling shelves of books with her words and inspiring educators around the world.    Her latest book, What if We taught the Way Children Learn , fits the pattern, calling into question the many instances where our common practices seem to be...

Today I'm talking with Dr. Nefertiti Poyner of the Devereaux Center for Resilient Children and I'm going to to tell you right now, she is an absolute delight.  Educators and the children they love and teach are being stretched in every direction,  Dr. Poyner shares some of the principles that create the "ordinary magic" that helps us all to bounce back.  She shares a fantastic script for building...

It's back to school time, and normally that means getting back to the structure of something familiar….but this year is totally different.  And it's different for each of you.  I've been thinking about how to kick off this new school year, with a pep talk of sorts, and somehow address all of the challenges and all of these differences in a way that applies to each of you in your unique circumstanc...

Today I'm talking with Vanessa Levin, experienced early childhood educator and creator of the wildly popular site Pre-K Pages, which is chock full of activities and resources for early childhood teachers.  She's an accomplished trainer and advocate who's passionate about helping educators teach well AND save time.  I asked her to talk with me today about the importance of play in early childhood e...

As states and districts begin this trickling process of making final announcements about the school year, many closing -at least physically – for the remainder of the school year, I've seen heartbreak reflected over and over in educators around the country.  These feelings of loss.  Over the progress we were making.  Over the plans we'd set out.  Over the routine we loved – a hundred little precio...

In this episode, we'll cover a quick review of what serve and return interactions are as well as what the newest research tells us about why they're so important. Find Show Notes at: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode32

Author of Zoey & Sassafras and creator of the publishing house, Innovation Press, Asia Citro is truly a woman on a mission to help young children think creatively and see themselves as scientists.  You'll want to catch what Asia has to say about helping children see themselves as scientists and how we can all learn to see that science is truly everywhere.  I think she'll give you a lot to think ab...

Cooking can be a powerful activity for young children. From literacy skills, math skills, fine motor skills, and sensory and science experiences, along with the confidence that comes from taking risks, learning from failures, and sharing time and food with others, time in the kitchen with kids is time well spent. I've invited my friend, Tiffany Dahle to talk with us about her experiences with teac...

Why are there so many reports of children frequently falling out of their seats?  Why is behavior becoming more and more of a challenge in the classroom?  And why are delayed fine motor skills becoming more and more prevalent?  One common thread, as my guest Rae Pica will explain, is movement.  In Rae's new book, Acting Out, she addresses not only why a lack of movement is causing serious problems...

Back at the beginning of 2019 a study made a bit of a splash as headlines claimed that it demonstrated that the increased academic expectations in the early years don't compromise social and emotional development as some fear. I felt like there may be a bit of stretch from the data to the headlines, so I decided to nerd out on the actual study and break it down for all of you. https://notjustcute....

Today I'm talking about how to get parents on board with play in your classrooms, right from the start. Just like the children, each parent in your classroom comes with a different set of life experiences and perspectives.  For some, the concept that their child's best learning will be through play is a new revelation.  Some may be expecting more of a sit down and do worksheets environment.  Other...

Today I'm talking with the Artful Parent, Jean VanHult. She is what she calls an "art enabler", a term that I love! She's also the author of the book, The Artful Parent. You can find show notes for this episode at www.https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode26

Online preschool options are growing in popularity.  Just this past spring, Ted Talk organizers created a bit of a stir in the early childhood community when they awarded a portion of their Audacious Project funding to an online preschool company, Waterford UPSTART.  While proponents suggest this is an affordable and accessible option for families that may not otherwise have preschool options, det...

There are many decisions to make as a parent.  Breastfeed or bottle?  Cosleep or no?  Where to find quality care? And when you reach out for more information while making these decisions, the waters sometimes seem to only get more cloudy. Emily Oster's new book, Cribsheet, tackles many common decisions make in the early years.  But she's not here to tell you what to do.  She's taking a different a...

Julie Bogart is an accomplished writer and the creator of a popular language arts program, Brave Writer .  She's also mom to five (now grown) children, whom she homeschooled for 17 years. Her new book, Brave Learner – Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life,  shares so many perspectives about inspiring wonder and engaging in responsive learning with your children.  It's written sp...

development can be talked about in an academic construct, I received Deborah Schein's book (Inspiring Wonder, Awe, and Empathy- Spiritual Development in Young Children) and found confirmation for some of those things that I had found in the research as well.  That spiritual development takes us beyond ourselves and into something bigger.  Wonder, awe, and a deeper sense of meaning in life and rela...

This episode was inspired by a real-life conversation with a friend of mine who was venting about not handling a parenting situation the way she WISHED she would have….the way she KNEW she should have. But the morning was just too much and she snapped. She didn't handle the challenge the way she wished she had and the whole thing left her and her child feeling horrible. Now what? Sound familiar? I...

Play isn't what we do when we're done with the curriculum. Play IS the curriculum. Listen to a second read of the post, Play is Efficient. Learn more about the project, WHY WE PLAY >> www.notjustcute.com/whyweplay

I am so excited today to be talking with Kristina Bill and Joy Marchese, who, along with Jane Nelsen, co-authored the book, Positive Discipline for Today's Busy (& Overwhelmed): Parent How to Balance Work, Parenting, & Self for Lasting Well-Being. Both women share wonderful insight in our conversation, as they talk, not only about the book, but how the principles they're writing about have changed...

I was recently invited to speak for 10 minutes on the importance of early childhood education as part of a local private preschool's annual fundraiser. I was more than happy to do so. But I'll be honest – it's harder for me to only speak for 10 minutes than it so for me to do a one or two hour presentation. What do you say to a room full of parents and community members? What's the message you wis...

Alissa Marquess is adamant that she is not a parenting expert. She's a mom who makes a lot of mistakes like we all do – but she's learned something along the way that has helped her step back from the emphasis on perfection in today's parenting culture and focus on learning, growing, and connecting in the process.  Even in the messy parts. She's sharing her insight a new book to be released on Apr...

Many of us are seeing that grief in the classroom as different policies and practices seem to forget that our children have bodies. As one of the foremost child development experts in education, Rae Pica has devoted nearly 40 years to advocating for more play and more movement. She's sharing what she's discovered about movement and whole child development throughout her career and giving tips for...

In today's episode, I'm sharing the fifth and final installment in a series of conversations with Emily Plank, author of Discovering The Culture of Childhood. Instead of one broad overview, we've been diving in deep over the course of several months. You can get caught up with previous episodes by going to the podcast homepage at notjustcute.com/podcast or searching on iTunes or Stitcher. If you H...

In this episode, I asked Deb to join me for a conversation about how to choose the right preschool for your child.  My hope is that what we share will help parents have more clarity and confidence in making this sometimes overwhelming decision, and that it will also help schools to guide parents through that process as well. What should you look for?  What questions should you ask?  We'll dive int...

Today, I'm taking on a couple of common questions about early education and reading. The questions seem to be opposites, but are really two sides of the same coin. In one form, I hear, "Why don't you teach reading?" The other, "Isn't it damaging to teach kids reading in preschool?" Both questions are well-intended, but hinge on some common misunderstandings I hope to address today. You can find th...