That Early Childhood Nerd

Latest Episodes:

NERD_0321 ECE MAYtriarchy Episode 2 May 09, 2024

Show notes

Have you ever noticed that most of the theorists and philosophies in our early childhood textbooks are the same handful of men-plus-Montessori? Heather got curious….who are the women (past and present) who are influencing and informing the work we’re doing with young children. This episode is the second installment of a new tradition–episodes in May that invite some of my favorite women in early childhood to talk about the women who guide our work.

In this episode, Heather is joined by Stephanie Goloway, Stacy Benge, and Nancy Rosenow to discuss how Sylvia Ashton Warner, A. Jean Ayres, Vivian Gussin Paley and Chris Athey inspire them.

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_0320 ECE MAYtriarchy part 1 May 01, 2024

Show notes

Have you ever noticed that most of the theorists and philosophies in our early childhood textbooks are the same handful of men-plus-Montessori? Heather got curious….who are the women (past and present) who are influencing and informing the work we’re doing with young children. So, here’s the first installment of a new tradition–episodes in May that invite some of my favorite women in early childhood to talk about the women who guide our work.

In this episode, Heather is joined by Rixa Evershed, Carol Garboden Murray and Lizz Nolasco to discuss how Robin Wall Kimmerer, Carol Gilligan, Janet Gonzalez Mena and Rhoda Kellogg inspire them.

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_0319 Who Gets to Decide What Matters? Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Heather is TIRED of non-expert stakeholders trying to tell her what is and isn’t “quality” for young children’s spaces and experiences. In this episode, she invites Carol Garboden Murray and Richard Cohen to help her process how problematic it is when we lose sight of children’s current, lived experiences in favor of placing the weight of solving adult problems on those children’s shoulders.

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_0318 What Should We Call Ourselves? Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

If there’s one thing host Heather Bernt-Santy loves, it’s a nerdy panel discussion! And this one is a good one…including Heather, Richard Cohen (Zen and the Art of Early Childhood), Nancy Rosenow (author of Encouragement Every Day), Carol Garboden Murray (author of Illuminating Care: The Practice and Pedagogy of Care) and Stacy Benge (author of The Whole Child Alphabet: How Young Children Actually Develop Literacy). Listen in as we talk about what we think we should call ourselves as we work with young children–teacher? Developmentalist? Caregiver?

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_0317 The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers with Dr. Casey Stockstill Apr 10, 2024

Show notes

This week host Heather Bernt-Santy welcomes Dartmouth sociologist Dr Casey Stockstill, author of the book False Starts: The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers. In her book, she describes and discusses what she learned while conducting research in two different early childhood programs: a Head Start program and an affluent private preschool. “False Starts suggests that as we continue to invest in preschool as an anti-poverty policy, we need a fuller understanding of how segregated classroom environments impact children’s educational outcomes and their ability to thrive.”

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_0316 Is Education an Equalizer, or a Reproducer of Inequity? Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

Join host Heather Bernt-Santy and fellow nerd Lizz Nolasco as they explore this quote from an article by Beth Blue Swadener and Shirley Kessler: “Of significance among reconceptualist perspectives is the social, historical and political context of the early childhood curriculum. Underlying this rethinking of curriculum planning is the study of the relationship between what we teach in school and the unequal outcomes of schooling based on social class, race, language or dialect, and gender. According to this perspective, schools are seen not as the equalizer in society, as Horace Mann envisioned, but as a means of reproducing the race, class, and gender inequities which persist in society today.”

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_0315 Loose Parts…and Stuff with Miriam Beloglovsky and Suzanne Axelsson Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

The idea of loose parts is often misunderstood and misrepresented in early childhood spaces and conversations. In this conversation, Heather talks to authors Suzanne Axelsson and Miriam Beloglovsky to explore the origin of the idea, the reasons and ways it gets mixed up, and how to get back to the beauty and possibility of filling our spaces with the “stuff” of child exploration and creativity.

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_0314 Happily Ever Resilient with Author Stephanie Goloway Mar 20, 2024

Show notes

Join host Heather Bernt-Santy as she talks to Stephanie Goloway, author of the Redleaf Press book Happily Ever Resilient: Using Fairy Tales to Nurture Children Through Adversity. Discover how “we can transform our best practices surrounding play, stories, and nurturing relationships into the protective factors for resilience: attachment, initiative, self-regulation, and cultural affirmation.”

Order the book here: https://www.redleafpress.org/Happily-Ever-Resilient-Using-Fairy-Tales-to-Nurture-Children-through-Adversity-P2648.aspx

Find Stephanie here: www.imaginationonthemove.com

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_0313 The Rules of Children’s Play Mar 13, 2024

Show notes

In a post on his Substack, Peter Gray wrote, “the rules of play provide boundaries within which the actions must occur, but they do not precisely dictate the actions. The rules always leave plenty of room for creativity.” In this episode, Mike Huber joins Heather to discuss rules in children’s power play.

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_0312 Structure….or Control: Which Do Children “Need”? Mar 06, 2024

Show notes

We’ve heard and read over and over again that children need “structure,” but too often what that translates into in practice with young children is attempts to “control.” Host Heather Bernt-Santy and Nerd Favorite Lisa Murphy are here to unpack the difference.

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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