Child’s Heart and Mind

05/03/2026

Comment “GRIP” to get the development stages of pencil grip and signs to watch for if a child is falling behind in pencil grip development.

Millennials and upcoming generations of kids are struggling with enough hand strength to hold and grasp a pencil.

While this image serves as a guide, it also shows how hand strength can impact learning in the classroom. Kids with weaker hand strength and pencil grip may struggle in the following areas:

👋Doesn’t know how much pressure to apply when writing
👋Trouble with letter directionality
👋Difficulty spacing letters and numbers
👋Switches hands often, which results in disconnections in the brain

To find out the stages of pencil grip development (depending on the child), comment “GRIP” and we’ll send you the link with the breakdown.

05/02/2026

https://youtu.be/Ebyna6L9tNY?si=4hg2p9mj5sOwfNLm

05/01/2026

https://youtu.be/Ebyna6L9tNY

Why Realistic Expectations Make You a Better Early Childhood Teacher

04/19/2026

https://www.facebook.com/100064829285370/posts/pfbid02ULVzvuEUCGFySuRhgD2cj2PYV53D9DyagbjZ6yKiVDAJWep26aVhRauiY2Z98uScl/?deeplink_ref_surface=instagram_direct&direct_share_include_copy=1&fb_entity_type=newsfeed

04/19/2026

This article shares ways in which process art can help children grow in their expressive language, nurture social and emotional development, and encourage thinking skills.

04/06/2026

What it looks like when Executive Function breaks down…

Kids who have trouble staying organized, following directions, and managing their time, may struggle with executive function.

If you suspect gaps in executive function, you may find the child has trouble with the following:

🫢Making decisions
🫢Remembering homework
🫢Getting thoughts down on paper
🫢Multi-tasking

There are 8 executive function skills that every child needs to develop so the brain can organize and act on the information that is provided within their environment.

For all 8 executive functioning skills, leave a comment below and we’ll send you the link.

04/06/2026

AI is already in young children's lives. Sweta Shah explains the current landscape of AI-enabled products affecting young children.

06/08/2025

One challenge early care and education professionals face no matter where they live in the world is how to address young children’s biting in positive and effective ways. An article on the Community Early Learning Australia (CELA) website quotes experienced early childhood educator and CELA Facilitator Meg Anastasi:

“Biting often stems from frustrations and an inability to regulate and express themselves,” she says. “Some children may also be more sensory seeking with their mouth and prone to biting.” The article goes on to explain that “some other common reasons for biting include:

Teething
Experimentation with cause and effect
Overstimulation
Boredom
Hunger
Feeling unwell

Whatever the reason behind the biting, and as confronting as it is, it’s important to remember that biting is developmentally appropriate.

Children have many communication strategies (not all appropriate) that they may employ to initiate or join interactions with peers. Educators' roles are to work intentionally to resolve and minimise these incidents including biting…It’s essential that children are supported to navigate these challenging times. An individual plan will facilitate this.

Note: Sometimes biting can be an indicator of an underlying issue that may require further investigation. It's important that educators report the incidents to families…they may have some valuable information you are unaware of.”

06/08/2025

What feelings do you have about gunplay at your program? In the Exchange article “Exploring Consent and Power in Preschool” author Mike Huber examines how teachers can balance between setting boundaries, allowing children to explore their interests, and teach consent and respect. With your team, have a discussion on engaging with children during play, guiding children to respect others’ boundaries, and validating children’s choices.

06/08/2025

In the Exchange Reflections, “Exploring Consent and Power with Gun Play,” based on an article by Mike Huber, the possible drawbacks of simply banning gun play are explored:

“If a teacher simply bans the play because ‘We do not play with guns at school,’ the message the players receive is that whoever is in charge decides what happens. After all, the teacher does not ban other play that children choose simply because of the theme. The children are not actually being unsafe. They know they are not actually playing with guns, but rather pretending to play with guns. This can be a big distinction for the children playing. They know they could not bring real lions to school, but they can play lion. They could not actually fill the school with hot lava, but they can pretend there is hot lava in the school. So why can they not pretend to use a gun? The most likely answer is because the teacher has declared that they cannot. Therefore, the message is, ‘The person in power decides what happens.’

"Looking into the future, this is a dangerous message for any child to grow up with. Some day these children may grow up to find themselves in power. Do they get to be the one who decides what happens to other people? If they are subordinate to someone, do they have to follow that person’s wishes?"

And Huber offers a number of other issues related to gun play that he encourages early educators to consider carefully.

Note: For deeper reflection on a similar topic, the book, Pursuing Bad Guys, describes a teacher’s journey on a year-long exploration with children on topics such as goodness and badness, safety and courage, real and pretend.