Better Kid Care

Learn To Play - Ithute Go Tshameka Priyanka, Founder of Learn to Play, shared this story about from a Dukwi Refugee Camp, “about children who arrive speaking different languages, carrying different experiences, and yet within days, begin playing together. Singing together. Laughing together. Long before they share a common vocabulary, they find a common language. Play does that. It creates belonging before words can.” [Link] https://learntoplay.org/blog/details/?id=20

When you allow play to flourish, you can create a sense of welcome and belonging before there are words to thank you. What a lovely reality that children can connect across, even in spite of, barriers that our society puts in place. A smile, a hug, a gesture can invite a child in, and then the magic of childhood unfolds. What can you do today to make your space a place where children play with abandon, in community with one another? How can you create a space where every child, every staff member, every family senses in their innermost being “THESE are my people. I belong here.”?

Recently the BKC team has been brainstorming about some course design improvements. What things are you discussing with your team at work? Trying to solve problems? Trying to think through challenges? Many people know the pattern of describing
“What” (has happened/been observed),
“So what?” (what are the implications, meaning behind this, feelings the circumstance),
“Now what?” (what needs to happen going forward?)
Want to spark more imagination and creativity, maybe positive, divergent thinking? Between the So what? and Now what? stages of reflection and planning, insert a “What If?” question. “What if we could increase the number of completions?” “What if we could insert a pop-up window if a person starts to close out before taking the assessment?” “What if we had access to running water on the playground?” “What if we could stay with our primary group from enrollment through graduation?” “What if we tried taking books outside?” “What if the bathroom were inside our space, how would that change our ability to supervise?”

This line of questioning develops ideas for experiments. Record answers at each stage and look for relationships between them.

The natural world is FASCINATING! Did you know swifts are almost never seen perching. They spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking on the wing – only ever landing to nest.

[Link] https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/birds/swallows-swift-martins-and-nightjar/swift

They feast on small flying insects by catching them in flight. Insects collect in a special pouch at the back of the swift's throat, where they are bound together by saliva until they form a kind of pellet known as a bolus, which can be regurgitated and fed to chicks. One single bolus can contain over 300 insects, with some holding over 1,000! How can you encourage children to marvel at the natural world? Who around you might be fascinated by this “swift fact”?

's Promise for Children and their 2026 Summer Learning & Literacy Road Trip features a recommended list of 8 engaging books all about rocks—perfect for curious young learners! Visit your local library to find these books and others about rocks!

[Link]https://papromiseforchildren.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/8-Books-About-Rocks.pdf

Infants, young children, and even those up to 18 years of age are especially vulnerable to risk of smoke-related health effects and other factors during wildfires due to their developing lungs.

Children with asthma, allergies, or other chronic health conditions are at an increased risk.

Children are more likely to be exposed to smoke because they spend more time outdoors, engage in vigorous activity, and inhale more air per pound of body weight compared to adults.

Wildfire Smoke can travel hundreds of miles from the source of a fire and change rapidly during the day, even if no fire is nearby.

What you can do:

Pay attention to and check the air quality indicator (AQI) levels often at https://www.airnow.gov.

Know your program’s policies on air quality and consider participating in the Air Quality Flag Program.

Be attentive to children’s emotional health and well-being. Calmly let children know what’s happening. Reassure them that you are working to keep them safe. Keep to routines and have a back-up plan of fun and interesting inside activities ready to go.

Resources:
Wildfire Smoke, Climate Change, & Children’s Health: How to Keep Kids Safe
[Link]https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/climate-change-has-sparked-more-wildfires-why-kids-are-most-at-risk.aspx

Growing Up in a Warming World: How Wildfire Smoke Affects Early Childhood Development
[Link]https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/HCDC-Wildfire-Brief_1.24.pdf

Wildfire Smoke and Health Fact Sheets
[Link]https://www.epa.gov/wildfires/wildfire-smoke-and-health-factsheets

Indoor activities:

Ready Wrigley, Wildfires & Smoke, is a free, printable children's activity book developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [Linkhttps://www.cdc.gov/natural-disasters/media/pdfs/2024/08/CDC_CPR_RW_Prepares-for-Wildfires_FINAL.pdf

Learning, Rube Goldberg style
[Linkhttps://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/HO_RubeGoldberg.pdf

Children’s Art
[Linkhttps://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/TIPS0108.pdf

Creating Structures: Common and Uncommon Ideas
[Linkhttps://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/TIPS1312.pdf

Dear Magnificent Early Educator,

Shine your light!

This requires your intentional reflection about the practices, responsibilities, strengths, challenges, as well as hopes and dreams for working with young children.

Put it in writing.

Use this letter to write what you want your future professional self to remember, know, and think about. Consider sharing this idea as a team activity.

A letter to my future professional self!

[Link]https://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/HO_LetterToMyFutureSelf.pdf

Hydration is a team effort at summer camp and programs spending more time outdoors. Keep water nearby, offer frequent reminders, and make sure every child can easily access clean drinking water all day long.

Try building water breaks into transitions or creating fun routines that encourage children to drink.

How do you support healthy hydration habits in your program?

If you are looking for easy ways to incorporate more nature-based learning into your day, check out Discovertheforest.org for simple fun ways to play and learn in nearby future.

Research shows that the more time children spend playing and learning in nature-rich places, the more they strengthen key skills like attention, curiosity, and emotional regulation. This is the heart of Park and Recreation Month's "Power of Nature" theme. The neighborhood park counts as much as any forest.

We’re still thinking about a hands-on activity from the Natural Start Alliance conference in San Antonio.

Using tubing, connectors, funnels, and buckets, we created simple “water walls” inspired by Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds.

This type of play supports problem solving, teamwork, engineering, and early STEM learning in a meaningful way.

How might you bring something like this into your classroom or program?

Cuando el personal puede realizar su formación profesional en el idioma que mejor se adapta a su aprendizaje, puede centrarse por completo en el contenido del curso. Better Kid Care ofrece una selección de cursos y recursos On Demand en español para profesionales de la primera infancia y de la educación escolar. A continuación, le indicamos cómo apoyar a su personal:

Comparta estos enlaces con todo el personal para que quienes prefieran realizar su formación profesional en español sepan qué opciones están disponibles.

Antes de recomendar o asignar un curso, revise la página de información de cada curso en el sitio web de Better Kid Care y desplace el cursor hasta la parte inferior para verificar si hay una notificación de versión en español y el título traducido del curso.

Cuando sea posible, comparte ambas opciones para que el personal pueda elegir la versión que mejor se adapte a su aprendizaje.

Cursos disponibles en español:
extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/lessons/espanol
Recursos en español:
extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/spanish-espanol