The Preschool Podcast
Ron Spreeuwenberg
The Preschool Podcast, brought to you by HiMama, is a platform for learning from leading professionals in early childhood education. If you work in a daycare, childcare or preschool setting, The Preschool Podcast will provide you with both practical advice for managing your organization, center or classroom, as well as thought provoking content and insights about the field of early childhood education.
Each week, we chat with leaders in early childhood education, from teachers and educators in the classroom with innovative curriculum approaches, to directors who are excelling at empowering their team, and leaders outside of the child care environment that are passionate about making a positive impact on outcomes for young children.
Our goal with The Preschool Podcast is to provide knowledge and inspiration to the future leaders of early childhood education by speaking with experienced and insightful leaders in the world of preschool and early learning today. At HiMama, it is our belief that leadership within early childhood education is crucial to the future of the childcare sector and, of course, the future of our most important asset in this world, our youngest children.
Each week, we chat with leaders in early childhood education, from teachers and educators in the classroom with innovative curriculum approaches, to directors who are excelling at empowering their team, and leaders outside of the child care environment that are passionate about making a positive impact on outcomes for young children.
Our goal with The Preschool Podcast is to provide knowledge and inspiration to the future leaders of early childhood education by speaking with experienced and insightful leaders in the world of preschool and early learning today. At HiMama, it is our belief that leadership within early childhood education is crucial to the future of the childcare sector and, of course, the future of our most important asset in this world, our youngest children.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 3, 2017 • 22min
Be "WUCA": Welcome, Understand, Comfort, Appreciate
Episode 64 Frank Spillers wants you to create a classroom environment where people (children, administrators, educators) can be engaged. "Be WUCA to yourself and the people you work with". Spillers works with different childcare providers to help them identify engagement techniques and helps them to be happy in the work they do. He often asks "Are you passionate about kids?" - if the answer is no, then Spillers says they're doing more damage to the sector than you are helping. When we have engaged people working with children, their impact is far-reaching. "People will stay where they are appreciated and where they feel welcome". Resources Find out more about HiMama here.
Sep 28, 2017 • 22min
Scaffolding and Discipline Without Punishment
Episode 63 - This week Ron chats with Jack Wright about scaffolding and discipline without punishment in early education. Jack Wright was previously a Mental Health Consultant who worked with a HeadStart program on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Jack describes the impact of punishment on children long term and why scaffolding and discipline can be trained without punishment. A relaxed, nonpunitive approach is more effective than a punishing approach for behaviour-changing in children. Resources Find out more about HiMama here.
Sep 19, 2017 • 26min
How to Teach What You Love
Episode 62: Ron chats with Jarred Geller about his organization Punk Rock Preschool. Punk Rock Preschool is all about unleashing the incredible potential in your students. It's about exposing your classroom to the magnificent world we live in so your students can find their own interests and set off on their own paths! Punk Rock Preschool is the start of a life-long, never-ending adventure to learn and grow. Jarred has seen incredible results in his classroom and it all stems from believing in your students. "And as teachers, we know we must show them we believe in them, not just tell them. So how do you show your students you believe they can accomplish anything? By challenging them and pushing them and supporting them to accomplish anything! When you do, they will surpass even your most ambitious dreams and expectations." Find out more about HiMama here.
Sep 12, 2017 • 27min
Tech in the Early Years: Attitudes and Intentionality
Episode 61: Ron chats with Chip Donohue, Director, Technology in Early Childhood Center about intentionality and digital media use. Specifically, Donohue explores why while there can be systemic challenges to technology use in education and in our own families, ultimately we can have a positive relationship with our children, devices, and apps. Resources Find out more about HiMama here.
Sep 5, 2017 • 27min
Empower teachers with creative leadership
On episode 60, we interview Ruth Churchill Dower, Director of Earlyarts, an award-winning creative training network for early childhood professionals. We learn about her passion for incorporating creativity both in the classroom and in educational leadership. Our conversation focuses on the impact of the arts in supporting early development, how teachers can approach early learning more creatively and what leadership can do to support meaningful professional development in the sector.
Aug 29, 2017 • 21min
Leading as a learning process
On episode 59, we interview Patti Clark, VP of Product Development at LA-based Lakeshore Learning and one of Huffington Posts’ Women in Business Q & A guests. We learn about her career journey from teaching in the classroom to taking on a Product Developer role as a way to broaden the scope of her work and impact more children. Our conversation centers on the skills and mindset to be a good leader.
Aug 22, 2017 • 26min
Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf curriculum
On episode 58, we interview Marilyn Grudniski, CEO of Little Lions Waldorf and one of 2017’s Most Influential Women in Northern Ontario. We learn about the Waldorf philosophy and how it is different from other more conventional (popular) curricula such as Montessori, Reggio or Traditional. In our conversation, Marilyn emphasizes the importance of authenticity to the philosophy and offers advice for early childhood educators who are looking to adopt Waldorf into their practice.
Aug 15, 2017 • 27min
Universal childcare and its possibilities in Canada
On episode 57, we interview Morna Ballantyne, Executive Director of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC). We learn about the history of early childhood education in Canada and the challenges faced by the sector. Morna also shares her optimism behind how changes in policy and advocacy are moving the field towards creating a system for universal childcare in Canada.
Aug 8, 2017 • 25min
Taking control of your early childhood career
On episode 56, we talk about how teachers can take control of their early childhood career by joining associations or founding their own communities in order to have a support system for professional growth. Our guest, Belinda Costin, President of Ohio AEYC, shares her career journey with us and some steps that teachers can take to bring each other up in the challenging and valuable work of early childhood education.
Aug 1, 2017 • 22min
Circle of Security and Attachment Theory
Everyone in early childhood education knows that it’s all about the relationships. Parents and teachers have relationships with the children under their care, but the quality of that relationship can’t be understated! Babies use their relationships with their main carer to create expectations about themselves and how they relate to others as they grow. Our guest, Melissa Grant, tells us about the Circle of Security framework and how parents and teachers can come together to better read the emotional needs of children and respond appropriately.
