That Early Childhood Nerd

Latest Episodes:

NERD_0352 Risky Play And Mental Health With Author Frances Carlson Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

In what may be the first ever Nerd episode that starts with a quote from a LinkedIn post, author Frances Carlson joins Heather to unpack her idea that, “Since anxiety is a by-product of an aversion to risk, and young children are suffering from increasing amounts of anxiety, does it not makes sense that we intentionally plan for and cultivate a healthy amount of risk in their play, especially in their rowdy body play? We have to provide chances to climb up and down, jump off, swing around, navigate uneven surfaces, and hang from a variety of acceptable heights.”

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NERD_0351 Anti Ableist Play with Mike Huber and Kisa Marx Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

This episode was originally recorded to be part of a “Nerd Con 2” virtual conference….and then Nerd Con 2 didn’t happen. The good news is you get it as a podcast now! Listen in as Mike Huber and Kisa Marx dig into the idea of supporting play for ALL children, really ALL children, in authentic ways.

If you love the podcast, or want to say “thank you” for this episode, consider supporting Heather’s work with a one time donation or as member at Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf

NERD_0350 Wild Child with “350th Episode Sweepstakes” Winners Gemma Medina and Valley Varma Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

It’s the 350th episode of That Early Childhood Nerd! To celebrate, host Heather Bernt-Santy invited listeners to submit a quote that they would like to come on the show and talk about…and here it is! Please welcome listeners Gemma Medina and Valley Varma to the show!

The quote: “They caught all the wild children and put them in zoos. They made them do sums and wear sensible shoes. They put them to bed at the wrong time of day and made them sit still when they wanted to play,” from the book/poem Wild Child by Jeanne Willis.

To support Heather’s work or say “thank you” for this episode: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

NERD_0349 The Academic Pushdown Harms Children AND Teachers Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

In the fall of 2024, IPA-USA (the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play) celebrated its 50th anniversary by releasing an extensive collection of white papers on play topics across the lifespan. Host Heather Bernt-Santy contributed one of the papers.

In this episode, Carol Garboden Murray interviews Heather about her white paper on the history and harm of the academic pushdown phenomenon in early childhood, and her recommendations for future efforts to combat it.

Find the collection here: https://ipausa.org/whitepaper/

Support Heather’s work, or say “thank you” for this episode here: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

NERD_0348 Ensuring Every Child Can Thrive with Kisa Marx and Emily Clark Jan 08, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Heather Bernt-Santy interviews Kisa Marx and Emily Clark about their white paper, “Redefining Basic Needs: Eliminating Systemic Barriers to Ensure Every Child Can Thrive.”

Find the collection here: https://ipausa.org/whitepaper/

Support Heather’s work, or say “thank you” for this episode here: buymeacoffee.com/heatherf

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

NERD_0347 Who Gets to Be Neutral? Social Justice in Our Field Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Jamie Cho, an assistant teaching professor of justice in early learning at the University of Washington and Ninderjit Gill, tenured early childhood education faculty at North Seattle College, join host Heather Bernt-Santy to discuss their article, “Who Gets to Be Neutral? The Respectability Politics of Leading for Educational Justice.”

Find the article here: https://hub.exchangepress.com/articles-on-demand/37114/

Support Heather’s work here: https://studio.buymeacoffee.com/dashboard

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

NERD_0346 When ‘Quality’ Becomes a Dollar Sign Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Emily Clark, aka “EarlyEdEm” on instagram, has some thoughts to share about the impact of trying to make a profit off of attempts to assess quality in early childhood settings. Can true quality be commodified? Do attempts to make money off of quality child care fit with what research tells us are indicators of quality? We don’t think so.

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

NERD_0345 When Conversations About Quality Erase the Child Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

In the third episode of this series on “quality” in early care and education, play advocate Kisa Marx joins host Heather Bernt-Santy for an important conversation about how too often, our standards for quality do not center the child. As part of the conversation, they discuss Heather’s decision to reject the industry standard descriptor “developmentally appropriate” in favor of more child-centering terms like “developmentally informed” and “developmentally responsive.”

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

NERD_0344 When Conversations About Quality Erase Care Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, care advocate and author Carol Garboden Murray and host Heather Bernt-Santy share stories of being told that if we want anyone to pay attention to early childhood, we need to stop talking about “care.” How in the world did we get here? There is no “quality” without “care.”

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

NERD_0343 When Conversations About Quality Erase Play Nov 13, 2024

Show notes

In this first episode in a new series about quality in early care and education, host Heather Bernt-Santy talks with Deb Lawrence and Lisa Murphy about her concerns that some of our ideas and tools for measuring “quality” often lead to early care and education settings where play is devalued or simply doesn’t exist.

Thanks for listening!

Save 10% on professional development from Explorations Early Learning and support the show with the coupon code NERD.

Like the show? Consider supporting our work by becoming a Patron, shopping our Amazon Link, or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. You can leave a comment or ask a question here.

Click here for more Heather.

For a small fee we can issue self-study certificates for listening to podcasts.

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