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If There Was Just One Thing…

November 28, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

If you could measure the quality of an early childhood setting by only one factor, what would it be?

[Read more…]

School Readiness AND Developmentally Appropriate Practice? How to Get on the Same Page with Parents.

November 1, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience, Uncategorized 1 Comment

When I do workshops and trainings with teachers, I often hear several variations of the same question.

“But what about at home?”

[Read more…]

Process Over Product — It’s not just about art.

September 27, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience, Uncategorized 2 Comments

“Process over product”.  We hear that phrase frequently in early childhood, most often referring to the perspective that the process of participating in the creative process is more important to a child’s development than the craft-factory product we may be tempted to focus on.

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Maybe We Should Teach the Way They Learn

April 18, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience 2 Comments

learn

In America, we currently have this idea that our children are struggling academically so the answer lies in pushing them more and more, at earlier and earlier ages… If our children are struggling academically, it does not make sense to make them do more of the same things that are failing them and from a younger age.”

[Read more…]

Keep Them Passionately Curious

February 1, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience, Uncategorized 7 Comments

einstein child

I was once asked during a presentation for a parents’ group what it is that preschoolers need most to prepare them academically.

[Read more…]

Best of 2016 and Great Things to Come!

December 30, 2016 by notjustcute Filed Under: Celebrate!, Learning through Play and Experience, Quick Thought, Uncategorized 8 Comments

new-year

As another year gets ready to close, I’ve been spending a little time reflecting.  2016 has had plenty of turbulence, but there’ve been some great things going on here at Not Just Cute and some exciting things to look forward to in the year to come.  I’m so grateful to have some of the best readers to be found on the internet, and I’m thrilled to have you with me for the adventures up ahead. [Read more…]

The Danger of Performance Hang Ups in Early Education

November 17, 2016 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience 3 Comments

A few years ago, the Gesell Institute, named for developmental pioneer Dr. Arnold Gesell, decided to test the premise that kids today develop more quickly than they used to.  They took the developmental norms established by the work of Dr. Gesell in the 1940s and launched a three year study concluding in 2010 to gauge whether or not the same framework still holds up.  What they found, of course, is that even over the span of decades, the developmental norms remain the same.

[Read more…]

Recess Responses: Challenging 5 Common Excuses for the Removal of Playtime

October 4, 2016 by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Uncategorized 8 Comments

recess

Quirky confession. 

[Read more…]

Problem Solving Circle Time

September 21, 2016 by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Uncategorized 4 Comments

problem-solving-circle-time

The idea of guiding a large group of children can send some adults into a cold-sweat panic.  What they may have envisioned as an idyllic reading of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” or a thoughtful conversation about the life cycle of the butterfly begins to look more like a full-scale mutiny as serene children on the rug bounce around like popcorn kernels and contribute thoughts to the group discussion that range from what they did on Wednesday (“or maybe that one other day that wasn’t yesterday but wasn’t a long, long time ago…..”), to the dead frog discovered in their driveway, and on to an impromptu performance of a funny commercial they saw this morning.

[Read more…]

Hit this Reset Button on Grumpy Days

July 13, 2016 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills 4 Comments

reset with play

I don’t remember what it was that set him off in the first place.  But he had passed annoyed and had clearly moved on to angry.

[Read more…]

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I’m Amanda Morgan. Here’s what I’m about…

In early education, there is too much distance between what we know and what we do. I bridge the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early education while also respecting and protecting the childhood experience.

Content Copyrighted (2008-2025), Amanda Morgan, All Rights Reserved

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