That Early Childhood Nerd

02/17/2026

Mike Huber and I recently recorded an episode with Kerry, and I’m currently reading one of her books—I highly, highly recommend this webinar!!

🌈 What if we stopped asking children to “play the right way”—and started building environments where every child’s play is honored as meaningful?

Join Kerry Murphy (BA Hons, MSc)—author, Early Childhood Specialist, Lecturer, and Trainer—for Play and Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice in Early Childhood (Diverse Pathways for Early Childhood).

In this reflective, practical session, you’ll re-explore play through a neurodiversity-affirming lens, moving beyond narrow developmental expectations to better understand the rich functions, patterns, and insights found in neurodivergent and disabled children’s play.

You’ll discover how to:
🧠 Reimagine your definition of play through a neurodiversity-informed lens
🌀 Recognize the impact of neuronormativity on how we interpret children’s actions
🔎 Understand autistic play patterns as a framework for diversifying all play
🧩 Move beyond stage theory and typical play frameworks
🏡 Design play environments that are affirming, autonomous, accessible, and joyful
🧭 Get introduced to the Diverse Pathways for Early Childhood project

🗓️ April 22, 2026 | 2 PM – 3:30 PM EST
🎟️ Register free to join live or to receive the recording: https://ecewebinars.com/4kDHJGw

02/17/2026

I’ve GOT to stop listening to the other Nerdwork podcasts while I’m driving because of all the things I end up NEEDING to write down!

02/13/2026

"There is no benefit to group care before age three" is repeated fairly often when parents are weighing their child care options. But what do we have to back that up, and how does it influence our current care ecosystem, and what could be built?

Podcast Episode · Pre-Primary Sources · 02/13/2026 · 38m

02/12/2026

In every classroom routine, every hallway greeting, and every shared meal, there are moments where healing can happen—for children and for the adults who care for them. What if professional development felt restorative, too?

Join Michael Browne, MBA—Educator, Author, Consultant, and co-host of Napcast—for an immersive session designed as a healing space for caregivers and community. Together, you’ll explore healing-centered practices that can live in the relationships and rhythms of early childhood work—offering safety, connection, and regulation in even the smallest interactions.

You’ll leave with space and support to:
🌿 Restore yourself so you can hold space for children and families
🧠 Recognize how trauma can show up in classrooms and communities
🤝 Deepen connection, safety, and care across every role on your team
💛 Honor lived experience as wisdom—yours and others’
🫁 Practice simple grounding tools through story, reflection, rhythm, and breath

🗓️ Apr 23, 2026 | 2:00–3:30 PM ET
🎟️ Register free to join live or receive the recording: https://ecewebinars.com/4r79n1e

02/12/2026

Have you listened to the Home Grown Podcast yet? Bethany Corrie and Melinda Marshall have a lot to share about family child care. I think you’ll love it.

Melinda and Bethany kept yapping after the recording stopped so they picked up the conversation of policies but talked more about messy play policies, maybe other things

02/11/2026

The IPA USA Live and On Demand Conference starts February 15th.
All presentations are available through December 31st.
The IPA USA Live and On-Demand Conference starts February 15th.9user@gmail.com to receive the member coupon. If you join IPA USA, email to receive the member coupon when you provide your membership number.

Register here https://2026ipausaonlineandondemand.sched.com/

02/10/2026

I just finished recording an episode with Em Clark about her newest project — a free, open source early childhood research finder. You can do your own searches or find curated lists of the research that’s resonating from other early childhood folks (including a list from me soon—stay tuned!)

Check it out here:

Free Early Childhood Research Finder and community centering children's rights, play, and humanizing care. Translate research into practice.

02/10/2026

INDIANA FOLKS!

I’ll be presenting “But What If I Hate Math? Providing Authentic Math Experiences for Young Children.” Hope to see lots of you there!

Also there? The Two Pushy Dames and a keynote from Richard Cohen!

Be there or be square!

Register Now for the 2026 Early Childhood Conference in Indianapolis May 15-16, 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center!

Come network, earn training hours while you learn, visit the Exhibit Hall, and have a great time.

OECOSL's 50% Conference Scholarship is still available.
Find out more at https://inaeyc.org/conference/

02/07/2026

I've gotten a little bit behind with the video versions of the podcast, but I'm all caught up now....so get ready to see a lot of posts today!

Join host Heather Bernt-Santy as she talks with Mike Huber and Kisa Marx about pretend play, power, liberation, and their new podcast!

From Mike's article The Power of Pretend Play: "At a time in their lives when they have very little control of their day-to-day life, young children frequently take on roles that involve some form of power. This allows them to experience power in ways they may not have otherwise."

From Kisa's article The Politics of Play: Protecting Children's Liberation in a World of Control: "As early educators, we often buckle under this pressure, trying to “play teacher” without recognition of the profound, foundational work we do in the first 1,800 days of a child’s life. In doing so, many of us become fluent in the language of the oppressed: silent. We stay quiet, afraid to make waves, fearful that raising concerns will disrupt the families we serve. We convince ourselves—mistakenly—that our silence will keep us safe."

Join host Heather Bernt-Santy as she talks with Mike Huber and Kisa Marx about pretend play, power, liberation, and their new podcast! From Mike's article Th...

02/07/2026

I've gotten a little bit behind with the video versions of the podcast, but I'm all caught up now....so get ready to see a lot of posts today!

In her article The Key to Early Literacy is Child-Led Play, published in the winter 2025 issue of Exchange, Stacy Benge writes, "Child led play is the key to developing the foundations that support future reading and writing. And not just play that connects to the alphabet and books. All PLAY fosters the fundamentals needed for literacy, the development of the whole child." Stacy joins host Heather Bernt-Santy to dig deeper!

In her article The Key to Early Literacy is Child-Led Play, published in the winter 2025 issue of Exchange, Stacy Benge writes, "Child led play is the key to...

02/07/2026

I've gotten a little bit behind with the video versions of the podcast, but I'm all caught up now....so get ready to see a lot of posts today!

"Through the revisiting journey, children make sense of and give meaning to what they are learning. This journey is not linear or circular as children play and explore, then stop, then come back later and explore again in a different way. When we look closely, these complex journeys tell the story of each child’s learning. This book introduces a revisiting journeys framework to help educators understand these ways that children make sense of their learning and guide children in the next steps of their journeys. At the same time, it supports educators to create ecosystems that support messy revisiting journeys and to walk side by side with the children as they co-create their own journeys."

Listen as authors Miriam Beloglovsky and Jessica Frazier discuss their own journey to writing their book Revisiting Journeys: Understanding How Children Reflect, Reimagine, and Redesign Their Play and Learning.

"Through the revisiting journey, children make sense of and give meaning to what they are learning. This journey is not linear or circular as children play a...

02/07/2026

I've gotten a little bit behind with the video versions of the podcast, but I'm all caught up now....so get ready to see a lot of posts today!

In an article written for Exchange Press's special issue on Protecting Play, Stephanie Goloway wrote, "Like all forms of play, the magic of make-believe (AKA dramatic play, pretend play, fantasy play, sociodramatic play, etc) has deep roots in child development. It's the perfect playground for young brains to flex their growing capacity for representational thinking, the foundation of literacy."

Stephanie joins host Heather Bernt-Santy in this episode to discuss how make believe play protects and fosters children's development and joy.

In an article written for Exchange Press's special issue on Protecting Play, Stephanie Goloway wrote, "Like all forms of play, the magic of make-believe (AKA...