The Preschool Podcast

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we welcomed back Chanie Wilschanski, CEO of Schools of Excellence. We discuss how to create space in your day as an insurance policy for retention, growth, and maintaining a positive mental state.

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we welcomed Sydney Bassard, Speech-Language Pathologist. Sydney has been an SLP for over three years. During university, her brother was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, which inspired her to fall in love with the field. She works primarily with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. We chat with Sydney about the difference between speech and language and how both are formed in early childhood development.

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are excited to welcome Janet Foster, RECE. Janet is a Professor and Coordinator of the ECE program at Fanshawe College and an Early Years Specialist at Tools for Life. She specializes in emotional literacy and we discuss the development of emotional regulation in the early years through childcare classroom socialization and books!

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are honored to welcome Ram Puvanesasingham, Founder of Gepeto Labs. Ram is passionate about implementing a digital curriculum to assist specialists in early childhood intervention. We discuss how parents and educators can be empowered to be involved in this process and how technology can help assess the potential of developmental disabilities.

The week on The Preschool Podcast we are excited to welcome Lucy Song. Lucy is the proud author of Awesome Art Activities for Kids: 20 STEAM Projects to Spark Creativity and Imagination. We discuss her favorite STEAM art activities for children and how to spark creativity and imagination at all ages and stages!

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are excited to welcome Heather Bernt-Santy. Heather is an Early Childhood Professor, Speaker, and Podcast Host. She has been in the early childhood education field for over 30 years. She has a special love for toddlers and we discussed how to understand them and work with them to effectively promote their growth and development.

This week on The Preschool Podcast we have a very exciting episode! We are overjoyed to welcome Darryl McDaniels, Co-founder of Run-DMC and Makeda Mays Green, Vice President of Digital Consumer Insights at Nickelodeon to the podcast! We discuss Darryl's journey as an early literacy advocate and how he and Makeda work closely together. We dive deep into early literacy strategies that stick and how educators can use digital tools, including music, to support literacy learning as early as PreK.

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are excited to welcome Gigi Schweikert, CEO of Lightbridge Academy Gigi shares her tips on how to provide high-quality childcare at your center that will entice families to stay with you long term!

The week on The Preschool Podcast, we are honored to welcome Judy Jablon, the Executive Director of Leading for Children. Judy is passionate about shaping experiences that ignite children's personalities. Through Leading for Children, she gets a chance to interact with all of the adults in children's ecosystems and finds so much wisdom in this community. We discuss how these adults play a key role in achieving equity and quality in early learning environments.

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are excited to be revisiting an episode from 2020 with Anisha Grossett. In this episode, Anisha, RECE, BASc shares with us her experience in helping educators rediscover their passion for early childhood education in the classroom and how fellow educators can do the same. Also, Anisha gives us a glimpse into her book, Zoey Has an Allergy- a great resource for young children, parents, and educators who are navigating a severe food allergy. 

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are excited to welcome Tirusha Dave, Founder of Ellie's Academy. Otherwise known as the “Early Education Entrepreneur", Tirusha is a professional leader in early childhood education and has worked in the childcare industry for over ten years! We chat to her about navigating the role of a director prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are excited to be revisiting an episode with Holly-Elissa Bruno! Holly-Elissa Bruno is the author of the book Happiness is Running Through the Streets to Find You, which is all about supporting traumatized children. She shares practical tips on how to talk to children about the feelings that come with traumatic experiences and how to build trust in an authentic way.

This week on The Preschool Podcast we are honored to welcome back Andrew Roszak, Executive Director at the Institute for Childhood Preparedness. We discussed how to be prepared for emergencies at your childcare center in a cost-effective manner. 

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are excited to welcome Mariana Carazo, educator and founder of Developing Minds! Mariana discusses 21st-century education and how to implement it in your classroom through play-based learning. 

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we revisit an episode with Tom Hobson (aka Teacher Tom). We discuss his thoughts on how early childhood educators can work together to face the challenges of reopening after COVID-19 while maintaining the engagement that they receive from learning through play.

The week on the 300th episode (!!) of The Preschool Podcast, we are honored to welcome Shawn D. Byrd, Founder and Executive Director of the SYMI Academy. Shawn is also our 2021 Early Childhood Educator of the Year and he joins us for our 300th podcast episode!! Shawn decided to champion the cause of community youth after witnessing years of violence and conflict and its’ direct effect on the lives of the community’s greatest hope and most vital resource; young people. We discuss how to teach STREAM in the classroom and he gives some amazing tips! 

The week on The Preschool Podcast, we are honored to welcome Paula Jackson, Director of Global Citizenship at Barefoot Books. Paula has lived in three continents and seen the effects that positive early childhood experiences have in establishing a solid foundation for life. Children are born with open hearts and creative and curious minds. This, unfortunately, shifts as they become older. We learn all about global citizenship and how it impacts early childhood educators! 

This week we are excited to welcome Nancy Kopman to The Preschool Podcast. Nancy Kopman is an Educational Children's Music Specialist, Recording Artist, and Performer. Nancy has been creating, testing, developing, recording, and performing her short, catchy, educational songs for children 0-10 for over 20 years. In this week’s podcast, we dive deep into how to use music as a learning tool to regulate, guide and assure children. Nancy provides many tangible tips for immediate use in a classroom or home! 

This week we are excited to welcome Kelly Wilk-Downs to The Preschool Podcast. Kelly is an Occupational Therapist and the owner of Junction of Function. She is certified in the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test and has specialized in working with Autism. Kelly is the developer of Shoe Tying Made Simple and Writing Made Simple products. She has spent most of her career working in the schools where she was responsible for staffing the schools with clinicians and she also owned her own clinic. We discuss occupational therapy and the educational value of toys and games. 

This week on The Preschool Podcast, we are honored to have revisited a previous episode with Dr. Elanna Yalow, Chief Academic Officer at KinderCare. We discuss how educators can support children as they learn through play. She highlights how play and academics are not separate from each other. Instead, play is the instinctive way that young children learn how to problem solve and develop skills. We discuss some strategies that educators can use to incorporate play into their practice.