Our favorite time is coming up soon, when we get a chance to connect with you and talk about how things are going in your centers. We want to hear from you about all of the things... how are staff meetings going? How is staff retention? Parent-teacher conferences? Anything and everything, we're here to problem solve and support you. What do you need right now? See you in the Preschool Director Network on Wednesday at 12:30 pm.

We’ve been a little quiet here lately, and we wanted to share the reason. Katherine’s husband recently passed away. As you can imagine, this has been an incredibly tender and difficult time for her and her family. We’ve taken a short pause to give space for grieving, rest, and being together. We’re so grateful for this community — for your patience, your understanding, and the way you hold space not just for children, but for the adults who care for them too. It means more than you know. We’ll be back soon, and we’re thankful to be part of a community that understands the importance of connection — especially in hard seasons.

Tomorrow is our Collaboration Corner live call at 1pm. We'd love to see you there and get to know all of you. If you have a question or a topic you'd like to discuss, please fill out the question form. To find it, go to the Classroom tab above, click the "start here" lesson, and find it under the Collaboration Corner page. While you're there, take a peek at The Ultimate Preschool Playbook introduction video! Looking forward to chatting tomorrow! Have a great day!

This week inside PDN, we’re focusing on building learning through movement — not just using movement before or after instruction. When you’re doing walkthroughs, try coaching with prompts like: - Where could children show the idea with their bodies instead of only with words? - What could we swap from “sit-and-tell” to “move-and-show” in the next 2 minutes? Then (this is the key) offer a tiny demo teachers can copy immediately. 1) Literacy: “Sound Switch Steps” (phonemic awareness + inhibition) - “When you hear /m/, take ONE step forward. When you hear a sound that is not /m/, freeze.” - Call quick words: mom, sun, milk, hat, map, fish - Add challenge: “Now let’s switch it up! This time, when you hear /m/, take ONE step backward. When you hear a sound that is not /m/, freeze right where you are.” - ✅ This teaches sound discrimination, listening, impulse control, and flexibility. 2) Movement & Science: “Animal Action Freeze” (gross motor + observation + self-regulation) - “Let’s move like animals we know! When I call an animal, show me how it moves.” - Call out: “Frog! Elephant! Bird! Snake!” - After a few seconds: “Freeze!” - Ask: “What do you notice about how your body feels? Which muscles did you use? How does a frog move differently from a bird?” - ✅ Builds body awareness, vocabulary, observation skills, and self-control through playful movement. (These work great even with wiggly groups because the movement is the instruction.) 📌 One line to share with staff:“Movement isn’t the break from learning — it’s one of the ways we teach it.” 💬 What’s one part of your daily routine that could become a “move-and-show” moment this week?

As we wrap up our last two days before a two week winter break, I am thinking of my fellow directors and teachers. Thank you for the hard work you do every day, the preparations you do to make life wonderful for the tiny humans in your charge, the support you provide to families and the encouragement you offer to each other. Wishing you happy holidays. In the words of Tiny Tim (from A Christmas Carol), “God bless us, every one!”