by Ellen Cogan | Oct 26, 2023 | Play
Play is an overused word that means much to early childhood educators and very little to many other adults. They often think of children “wasting” time with play. It is during independent exploration that children discover and learn so very much. I challenge all who...
by Ellen Cogan | Oct 26, 2023 | Children and families
This week, we’ve changed the clocks and everybody’s body clock will take about a week to get used to the new time. Adults and children find this week difficult. On top of this, we have an emotional election going on and most adults are concerned, whatever...
by Ellen Cogan | Oct 26, 2023 | Teaching and Learning
You don’t need a book to tell stories. Story telling happens in all cultures, and has been going on far longer than the written word. Any time you describe something that happened already, you are telling the story of what happened. The more you do...
by Ellen Cogan | Oct 26, 2023 | Teaching and Learning
Someone asked how to introduce loose parts in an early childhood center where the teachers were not familiar with them. It would have been better to introduce the idea at a staff meeting first. But it’s too late for that now. So I suggested what I did when...
by Ellen Cogan | Oct 26, 2023 | Teaching and Learning
Most often, children who make things, especially pictures, collages, block or rock or other structures, have no idea before-hand about a finished product. They just make things. Sometimes, after they are finished, they look at it and notice it looks like...
