Campbell Child Development Center

08/19/2026

Trust on PLAY! It's how we learn best!

Imagine if kindergarten were actually built for children.

More movement. More play. More joy.
Fewer delays. Fewer referrals. Fewer “behavior issues.”

Brains would wire the way they’re meant to.
Teachers could breathe again.
Children would love school instead of surviving it.

It’s not radical. It’s developmentally appropriate.

We don’t need to invent a new solution. We just need to return kindergarten to what worked, before we complicated it into something it was never meant to be

08/14/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCPqK4uB5Yn/

RIE teaches the oppsit of container syndrom. e

PLAY = freedom of unrestricted movement and even encourages safe enough risks such as the pikler triangle to encourage healthy development from the beginning.

Container Syndrome is a term used to describe the lack of skill in infants who are not allowed ample movement opportunities. Container Baby Syndrome is the result of an infant being placed in a container for an excessive amount of time during the day. This extended time leads to structural, movement, and behavioral challenges as a result.

Baby containers include baby equipment and items such as:

👣Restrictive playpens
👣Crib
👣Car seats
👣Strollers
👣Bumbo seats
👣Bouncy seats and swings
👣Rockers
👣Nursing cushions
👣Vibrating chairs
👣Jumpers
👣Exersaucers
👣Positioning pillows
👣Slings
👣Floor seats
👣Infant swings
👣Walkers
👣Jumpers

All of the time spent in these baby containers adds up! When in a positioning device such as the ones listed above, little ones are limited in the motor development that results from stretching, wiggling, turning, reaching, and otherwise moving.

https://www.theottoolbox.com/container-baby-syndrome/

08/08/2026

Observe, bserve, observe and get out of children’s way so they may fully immerse and benefit from PLAY!

I spent a lot of years thinking that being intentional meant planning what I was going to teach, setting up the right activity, or finding a way to bring literacy into children's play.

Now, I think intentionality starts with paying attention.

What are the children doing?
What are they talking about?
What ideas are they working through?
What literacy is already showing up?

Because once I can see that, I can make a much better decision about what they actually need from me.

Sometimes that's a new material. Sometimes it's language or information that helps move an idea forward. Sometimes it's explicit instruction.

And sometimes it's getting out of the way.

The goal isn't to make play more educational.

It's to get better at seeing the learning that's already there.

What are you noticing in children's play that you might have missed before?

08/04/2026

Process art is the only way to go throughout Early Childhood (birth through age 😎)

There will be decades of time for crafts later.

Trust in PLAY; it's all they need to flourish!

07/31/2026

PLAY is the way humans of all ages thrive and is absolutely essential for chdren!

"Finish your work and then you can play."

Every time we say it, we teach five-year-olds that play is the prize and learning is the punishment. Both lose their value in the same sentence.

Play is not the reward. Play is the lesson. 💛

That dramatic play corner where two kids are negotiating who gets to be the veterinarian? Standards-aligned social-emotional learning. The block center where a child is stacking, counting, and rebuilding? Math. The pretend restaurant menu covered in invented spelling? Literacy in action.

The harder part to say out loud: telling an administrator your students spent 30 minutes "playing" and meaning it as a professional statement, not an apology.

So here is the permission slip Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers keep asking for. You are allowed to call play the lesson. You are allowed to point to the standard it covers. You are allowed to stop saying "just."

The data your district wants to see? Five-year-olds build it through play. That is not a workaround. That is the developmental research.

We do not earn play in a Kindergarten classroom. We learn through it. 👇

07/26/2026

07/25/2026

Trust children and trust PLAY!
It’s all they need to develop the skills needed to be successful in life and in school.

07/24/2026

Unscheduled “wants nothing” time is crucial for healthy children (and adults) of all ages. Remember to prioritize a little of this ever week throughout the year and watch your whole family thrive.

Here's my somewhat unpopular opinion about caring for kids during the summer months: they need as much time as possible to be unhurried and gloriously unstructured.

Those slightly boring, self-directed hours, the ones that can feel almost lazy, are where so much real development happens. Kids are using their imaginations, problem-solving, learning resilience, and finding ways to be calm. In fact, researchers are now linking the loss of this kind of free time to rising anxiety in children.

Our kids need days that are unscheduled. They need to lose track of time.

So this summer, whatever yours looks like, give them, and yourself, permission to simply be. ❤️

Check out the article for my full thoughts: https://tinyurl.com/33ucjpn

07/24/2026

Come check out this amazing PLAY- based, developmentally appropriate, NAEYC accredited, parent participation program and consider signing your 12-30 month old for one of my Together Time classes. I hope to see you there! ~ Ellen

On Monday, Explorer students enjoyed a great summer play date filled with water, sand and laughter. They loved seeing friends from school and meeting new ones. Interested in learning more about Explorer and our community? Sign up for an upcoming tour today! https://www.explorerpreschool.org/contact

07/20/2026

Hope to see you today at Jack Fisher park.

Join us for our summer park play date TOMORROW! Come to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones too! If you're a returning family, we encourage you to wear your Explorer Gear.

Bring your swimsuits for water play at the splash pad!

July 20th, 9:30am - 11:30am at Jack Fisher Park, Campbell CA

If you have any questions about the park play dates, please email our Social Team at [email protected]