Play Before Pencils

Oct 30 2024 27 ep. 22 mins 1

Play Before Pencils Podcast artwork

Play Before Pencils is a podcast for early childhood educators who are interested in making the shift from teacher-led practices to a more organic, developmentally appropriate practice centered around play. Join your host, Jenn Zollinger, as you explore a wide variety of topics pertinent to the early childhood education field and how to make simple changes to incorporate them into your preschool or childcare setting.

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Unintended Consequences Pt. 4: Relationships

Oct 30 2024 8 mins

In the final episode of my Unintended Consequences of Teacher-led Classrooms, I explore the topic of building relationships in the early childhood classroom and comparing how relationships might differ in teacher-led classrooms vs. child-led classrooms.

Unintended Consequences Pt. 3: Observation

Oct 23 2024 8 mins

Teacher-led classrooms are so focused on instruction that there is often little time left for observation. When this powerful tool is left out of the assessment equation, teachers are at a disadvantage in understanding what their students actually know and where they could use some extra support. Show Notes: www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

Unintended Consequences Pt. 2: Play

Oct 16 2024 9 mins

Welcome to week 2 of my series "Unintended Consequences of Teacher-led Classrooms". Today we'll take a closer look at play in teacher-led environments and how a focus on following instructions and completing tasks can have a negative impact on a child's development when they take precedence over play. Show Notes: www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

Unintended Consequences Pt. 1: Choice

Oct 09 2024 11 mins

In this 4-part series, we will explore the unintended consequences of teacher-led models of education in early childhood classrooms. This week we are exploring the consequences of not offering choice to students and how a child-led model better supports their growth and development through choice. Show Notes: www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

Learning Out of Context

Oct 02 2024 7 mins

We know that when learning happens in context, there is a much greater chance that it will stick. But sometimes, children are interested in topics that fall outside of the context of their current environments or experiences--is following that lead OK? Find out my thoughts on today's episode! Show Notes: www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

The Whole Child Alphabet with Stacy Benge

Sep 25 2024 46 mins

There are so many resources out there about how to teach literacy in early childhood classrooms, but Stacy Benge gets to the heart of how that developmental process actually unfolds for young children in her book "The Whole Child Alphabet". Her easy-to-read style of writing makes this resource a must-have for every early childhood educator and my interview with her today

You Need to Share That!

Sep 18 2024 10 mins

Sharing is such an integral part of learning in early childhood and a LOT of children struggle to grasp this concept. But the good news? This is also a time when they’re incredibly curious and eager to learn. We just need to guide them in the right direction. In today's episode I discuss a small change I made in my classroom that had a big pay-off when it came to children nav

Building Strong Early Childhood Teams w/JaneAnn Benson

Sep 11 2024 46 mins

JaneAnn Benson is a wealth of information when it comes to building strong early childhood teams. Kick off your new school year with some extra knowledge and skills that will help you find success in creating a collaborative and healthy working relationship with fellow team members in your classroom. Show Notes: www.playbeforepencils.com/podcast

Common Does Not Equal Appropriate

Sep 04 2024 8 mins

Have you ever taken the time to consider that just because something is common does not necessarily mean it's appropriate? Today I hit on several very common practices in early childhood classrooms and discuss whether they are actually appropriate for the children in our care. Show Notes: www.playbeforepencils.com/podast

Storytelling w/Laura Shea

Aug 28 2024 43 mins

There are a tremendous number of benefits to incorporating storytelling into early childhood settings, but not all of us are comfortable stepping outside of simply reading a book and really getting into the good stuff. In today's episode, Laura Shea talks about the various components of storytelling, why it is an important practice when working with young children, and how to s