Kitsap Early Learning Professionals

08/19/2026

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08/15/2026

Before we call a child “naughty,” “defiant,” or “attention-seeking,” it can help to pause and ask a different question:

“What might they be trying to tell us?”

A meltdown may be exhaustion. Refusal may be anxiety. Anger may be overwhelm. Withdrawal may be a child who doesn’t yet have the words for what hurts.

Children can struggle with hunger, tiredness, sensory overload, big feelings, changes at home or school, communication difficulties, loneliness, or unmet needs. Their behaviour is not always a choice to make life difficult — sometimes it is the only way they know how to say, “I need help.”

This doesn’t mean ignoring harmful behaviour or having no boundaries. It means responding with curiosity as well as consequences, connection as well as correction.

The question is not only, “How do we stop this behaviour?”
It is also, “What does this child need from us right now?”

FREE UNDERSTANDING WHAT MAY BE BEHIND CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOUR

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08/15/2026

After a long break, keep these 3 R’s in mind and at the forefront of your practice.

Regulation: Long breaks disrupt routines and bring a wide range of emotions back into the room. Children need time and space to regulate, and honestly, you probably do too. Young children rely heavily on co-regulation with you, so start there. Take slow, deep breaths, and keep the classroom dim and the pace gentle (if possible). Be patient and kind to yourself and the children. Remember, movement is a primary way children regulate their bodies, so expect and plan for it rather than working against it. Don’t stress about jumping straight into curriculum.

Rhythm: Returning to a predictable routine matters, but flexibility within that rhythm matters just as much. Children are recalibrating. Build in more opportunities for free play within your blocks of time and allow extra time for transitions. This isn’t lost time, but rather, it’s how everyone settles back in.

Relationships: Connection is what anchors everything and connection leads to cooperation. Prioritize check-ins, shared laughter, and time side-by-side. When children feel safe, seen, and reconnected, learning naturally follows. There is no rush and no race here. You and the children feeling good is the most important piece in all of this.

Wishing everyone a gentle, joyful start to the new school year. ❤

08/05/2026

So glad it’s cooling off!!
See you tonight!
We have a pair of pigs and pony for our farm theme!!
Summer suppers from 5:45-6:45.
Books passed out and read at 7pm.
Followed by our amazing book buffet and it’s all free!!

08/01/2026

This!

Louder 🙌🏼

07/30/2026

Children are not miniature adults.

We'll say it again...

Children are not miniature adults.

We're hearing more and more adults say that children's behavior is more challenging than ever.

But here's the uncomfortable question: Have children changed, or has childhood changed?

Children's brains still develop in the same predictable sequence. Young children are still wired to move, explore, touch, climb, question, experiment, make noise, experience big emotions, seek connection, and learn through play.

What has changed are the environments we've created, the expectations we've placed on children, and the experiences we've taken away. Then we're surprised when children struggle.

If you're working with preschoolers expecting prolonged sitting, unquestioning compliance, emotional restraint, quiet bodies, perfect self-control, and adult-like regulation, the problem isn't that children are failing. The expectations are.

Children are not miniature adults.

The goal isn't to make children fit adult expectations. It's for adults to understand child development well enough to create environments where children can thrive.

07/30/2026

We can debate curriculum, screen time, standards, all of it. But none of it matters if a kid doesn't feel liked by the adult teaching them.

Rita Pierson said this in her TED talk and it's stuck with early childhood educators ever since, because it's true at every age — but it's foundational at this one.

A three-year-old doesn't care about your lesson plan. They care whether you're glad they're there.

Relationship isn't the soft part of the job. It's the whole job.

07/28/2026

The behaviour you punish today could be a child's survival response.

The child who lashes out may be in fight mode. The one who runs away may be in flight. The child who goes quiet and seems to switch off may be frozen. The one who constantly tries to keep everyone happy may be fawning.

These are not choices. They are automatic survival responses that happen when a child feels unsafe, overwhelmed or frightened. Looking beneath the behaviour can completely change how we respond.

When we replace judgement with curiosity, punishment with connection, and ask "What has happened to this child?" instead of "What is wrong with this child?", we give children a much better chance to heal.

Too many children are labelled as naughty, defiant, manipulative or attention-seeking when they are actually doing what their nervous system believes is necessary to survive.

Free CHILDREN’S TRAUMA RESPONSES WHEEL – FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE, FAWN BEHAVIOUR POSTER

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