Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Not Just Cute

Whole Child Development

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Contact
  • New? Start Here.

A Patchwork Philosophy

September 20, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Uncategorized 8 Comments

“Are you a homeschooler?”

[Read more…]

Preschool Reading Instruction and Developmentally Appropriate Practice. Can You Have Both?

August 16, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Child Development & DAP 3 Comments

What does “teaching reading” look like in a developmentally appropriate early childhood classroom?

[Read more…]

The Serve and Return of Responsive Interactions

June 1, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Uncategorized 1 Comment

family-1784371_960_720

I loved playing volleyball in high school.  I took pride in being a scrappy player.  “Ball first, body second” was the motto that led me to be colorfully adorned with bruises all over my elbows and hips during each season.  It’s also the reason I wound up in the ER (twice) for stitches in my chin.  In my view, the ball wasn’t unplayable until the second it hit the ground.  Up until that point, I did everything I physically could to get my body to the ball.

[Read more…]

Real Help for Childhood Fears

May 9, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

child

We all have fears.  Fear of spiders, fear of the dark, fear of being left out.

[Read more…]

12 Powerful Parenting Phrases that Make Talking to Kids Easier (Even When the Situation is Anything But Easy…)

May 3, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Positive Guidance and Social Skills, Uncategorized 23 Comments

family

Talking to kids can come so easily.  They have thoughts about everything and stories for miles.  They see the world in a completely different light, and could ask enough questions to fill an afternoon.  I, for example, could ask my second oldest son to tell me what he thinks about Star Wars, and I’ll have to schedule out the next four days to listen to his stories, conjectures, questions, analyses, and highlights.  My contribution will be simply to say, “Yes!”, “Wow!”, and “I hadn’t thought of that.”

[Read more…]

Friendship in the Culture of Childhood

April 26, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Positive Guidance and Social Skills, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

friends

 

I have really been enjoying my podcast conversations with Emily Plank, author of Discovering the Culture of Childhood.  Because her book is the NJC Read Along Book this year, we’ve had the chance to have several in-depth discussions about the observations she writes about.

(If you’re new to the Read Along, read more about it here.  Catch up on the podcasts here.)

I wasn’t surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed talking with Emily, but I was surprised by some of the feedback I got about our conversation in Episode 5, specifically about friendships in early childhood.  Listeners mentioned that they had several light-bulb moments as Emily flipped their perspectives of childhood friendships, so I wanted to address that topic here on the blog as well. [Read more…]

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…]

What I’m NOT Saying When I Speak About Developmentally Appropriate Practice

March 28, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP 12 Comments

When I get the chance to speak to groups about DAP I cover a lot of ground.

swing

I talk about things like: [Read more…]

Creative Genius: Tinkering and Problem Solving

March 14, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Create Leave a Comment

baby

In this article from the Wall Street Journal, as well as in this TED Talk, Steven Johnson tells a fascinating story of an Indonesian city, devastated by the tsunami in 2004. This city had received eight high-tech neo-natal incubators from relief organizations to aid them in caring for their youngest patients. Several years later, a researcher visited the hospital in Indonesia and found that not one of those incubators was still in working order. And so they sat, broken, and in storage.

[Read more…]

Social Competency or Competition? What Young Children Really Need.

March 3, 2017 by notjustcute Filed Under: Child Development & DAP, Uncategorized 1 Comment

friends

When Rae Pica asked if I’d like to join her and Ellen Booth Church for a discussion about the balance between cooperation and competition in our early childhood environments, it didn’t take me long to reply that I’d LOVE to.

[Read more…]

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 28
  • Next Page »

search this site

Privacy & Cookies: This site may use cookies to customize your experience. Learn more by reading our Privacy Policy.

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

Get Our Newsletter & Developmental Guide

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2026 · Swank WordPress Theme By, PDCD

Loading Comments...