HILLTOP EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES Helping Adults to Help Young Children
Near the end of the movie “The Wizard of Oz”, the wizard reveals the balloon by which he intends to take Dorothy back to Kansas. He says, “I, your Wizard par ardua ad alta, am about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the...
Lately, I've heard people telling other people not to give up. Sports analogies abound. The saying, "If at first you don't succeed..." is engraved into our psyches. So how do we know when to give up? If you are burned out as a teacher or administrator, carefully...
This question was in the last blog post, and I want to go back to it. It's been going around a lot lately because so many people instantly "get" it. When you are around an upset child, the temptation is to jump right it and help make the child feel better. But if...
When I’m upset, I’m NOT all right! Telling me I’m all right is not good for several reasons: It shows me that you don’t believe me It shows me that you don’t value my feelings It’s not true. I am not all right and you are telling me I am all right. – You are...
Sometimes, we tell stories with children to help them work through problems. The scene: The park. An older child grabbed your child’s toy and it broke. He gave it back and left the park. You were too far away to intervene. Your child, A, was very upset and could...
When children are able to choose their own activity, it often brings them joy. Sometimes they look very happy, laughing, squealing, shouting, and the like. Sometimes, they get fully engaged with what they are doing and they may not look joyful. When adults are fully...
Today is September 1. For most education oriented folks, the school year either started already or is about to start. Jews are thinking of the Jewish New Year which starts later in the month. So many starts. I have started with a new webhost and I’ve been figuring out...
Is your child excited about going back after having been away from the program for a long time? Is the child somewhat fearful? Is the child wondering if the people will remember her, if her friends will be there, if her teacher/s will be the same, if they will still...
When you look online or in stores for toys for young children, many toys are offered for lots of money where they make noises, have lights, music, and other such things. None of them are necessary. Empty plastic containers, with and without lids and empty boxes are...
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...
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...
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