Ready to build a culture of well-being in your early childhood program?
In this episode of the Child Care Business Podcast, we sit down with Wendy Turcotte and Dani Svantner, the dynamic duo known as The Play Coaches who have become leaders in implementing social-emotional learning from infancy.
They share why SEL should be the foundation of your curriculum — not just an add-on — and how this approach transforms classroom management and enhances child development.
In this episode, you’ll learn the following (with timing outlined below so you can fast-forward to the parts that most interest you!):
- (05:48) What social-emotional learning is and why it's the foundation for all other learning
- (06:55) Why it should start in infancy, not just in preschool or kindergarten.
- (12:35) Common myths about social-emotional learning, including the misconception that it excuses bad behavior
- (14:15) The role of a "calm corner" and how to use it for regulation, not punishment
- (16:10) Why educators must model emotional intelligence and do the personal work to teach it effectively
- (19:10) Practical tips to start incorporating social-emotional learning into your daily routines, such as during transitions
- (25:13) How to communicate the value of play-based learning and social-emotional learning to parents to ensure everyone is on the same team
- (29:45) The first step for directors who want to build a culture of well-being: start with yourself
Connect with Wendy and Dani through their website www.theplaycoaches.org and follow them on Instagram and Facebook!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
UNKNOWN (00:00):
music music
SPEAKER_01 (00:08):
Welcome to the Child Care Business Podcast, brought
to you by ProCare Solutions.
This podcast is all about givingchildcare, preschool, daycare,
afterschool, and other earlyeducation professionals a fun
and upbeat way to learn aboutstrategies and inspiration you
can use to thrive.
You'll hear from a variety ofchildcare thought leaders,
(00:30):
including educators, owners, andindustry experts on ways to
innovate to meet the needs ofthe children you serve, from
practical tips for managingLet's jump in.
SPEAKER_03 (00:53):
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Child Care
Business Podcast.
My name is Leah Woodbury, andI'm happy to have you join us
today.
We're thrilled to have WendyTurcotte and Danny Savatner with
us.
Wendy is the DevelopmentDirector, and Danny is the
Executive Director atWestminster Preschools in
Indiana.
Their center started usingProCare back in 2020 when it had
(01:15):
two schools, and now almost fiveyears later, they just opened
their sixth and seventh schools.
So many congratulations on that.
Wendy and Danny are building acoaching, training, and
consulting business called ThePlay Coaches.
And over the past three years,they've been doing various
training all over Indiana andaround the country, like Macy,
(01:37):
McCormick, and more.
And that's been around earlychildhood, social emotional
development, play, andcultivating a culture of
well-being within yourorganization, and a lot more.
So we're going to talk aboutthat social emotional
development component today Sowelcome, Wendy and Danny.
Thanks for having us.
(01:58):
Yeah, we're so glad to be here.
Yeah.
So we always like to start thesepodcasts getting a little bit of
background on our guests.
Could you tell us how you becameinvolved in ECE and chose it as
your career path?
SPEAKER_02 (02:12):
OK, well, honestly, it fell into my lap.
I started working in a childcare when I was 18 and fell in
love with that.
So very quickly started going toschool.
for my associate's degree.
That took a long time.
I was teaching all through that.
And then I ended up now I havemy master's degree.
So it's just progressed.
(02:33):
I've been in it for 18 yearsnow.
So I was a teacher for 10 yearsand then moved into an admin
role.
And I've been in that foralmost, I've been in that for 10
years now too.
So just crazy, just theevolution of wanting to learn
more and get better and betterat it.
I think you get that bug whenyou're young to teach But I
(02:54):
never thought it would involveit.
Sorry, let me restart that.
You get that bug to teach, but Inever thought it would evolve so
far into what I get to do now.
And this is the funnest job wehave, I think, is going out and
consulting and training withprograms.
So, yes, it's just been anevolution over time of growing
and adapting and making sureyour skill set is sharp.
(03:17):
You know, I never want to becompliant or complacent.
I never want to be complacent,you know, so always learning
more.
Thank you.
How about you, Wendy?
SPEAKER_03 (03:27):
A little different.
So I actually went into collegethinking I was going to be an
exercise science major.
But I had been working with kidsand doing things with kids my
whole entire life and helpingpeople and being a leader and
that kind of stuff.
And so my second semester, I washelping a friend with a math
(03:49):
class.
And she was like, you should bea teacher.
And I was like, you're probablyright, actually.
So I talked to my advisor andgot into the early childhood
education degree there and lovedit.
And then worked in someleadership roles in higher
education after I graduated.
And then I moved up here toMarion, Indiana, where Danny
(04:09):
hired me as a teacher and justgrew more love with it.
And also, and then decided like,wanted to continue to grow.
And so stepped into a leadershiprole at another program
temporarily.
And then we came back togetherin COVID to open a second
program and just continue to doit.
It's just that those little ahamoments that happen during this
(04:30):
age and that sense of joy thatis just contagious that you just
want to be around.
And I think we both have thatsense of like, too, like just
wanting to protect these littleones as best we can to have
their childhood, to be safe, tobe able to learn, to be able to
play.
SPEAKER_02 (04:49):
And yeah, so Wendy came back to me in 2020 and that
was when we started usingProCare and it was, a blessing
because Wendy and I justbalanced each other out so well.
I'm very much like the bigvisionary, like let's go do this
today.
And she's the one that's morelike step by step and how are we
going to do it?
So we really balanced each otherout.
So her coming back in when westarted using Procare was just
(05:09):
so helpful because she's the onewho can look at the details and
figure it all out and, you know,teach me how to do it.
SPEAKER_03 (05:16):
I'm the Procare guru of Westminster.
Well, you guys sound like thedream team.
Truly.
Okay, so let's jump into one ofthe topics at hand, social
emotional development in ECE.
So can you define that for ourlisteners?
Yeah, so we think of it as thisintentional process of helping
(05:39):
children, specifically that zeroto five, understand and manage,
regulate their emotions to buildhealthy relationships, to
develop empathy, to be able togrow in the confidence of who
they are, so that they can livea flourishing life.
That's the ultimate goal.
We believe that children learnbest when they're safe, loved,
(06:04):
and know that Jesus loves themin this environment, and that we
have to be able to provide thatin order for them to be, you
know, full human beings, to beable to be the full selves.
We think it's the foundation forall learning in general, because
we know that if you don't feelsafe, you know, going back to
even Vygotsky's, if you don'tfeel safe, you can't learn.
(06:24):
You can't learn the of yourability.
It's not going to integratefully into yourself and your
brain.
And we believe that healthyrelationships is super
important.
SEL builds those and that wholechild development just to be
able to understand.
Because I mean, many of usweren't taught this growing up
ourselves and we turned outokay.
But just thinking how evenfatter this next generation can
(06:47):
turn out because they're goingto be emotionally intelligent
and be able to share that moreclearly with those around them.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:55):
Yeah.
I'd say we kind of jokingly saythat our approach to this is
research.
It's research based, but we'recreating our own research
because we don't believe anybodyelse really starts at infancy.
Our kids start our programs ateight weeks and they're learning
co-regulation and breathingskills and just getting that
(07:16):
vocabulary built into theirbrains that will help them
learn.
You can tell when a kid has beenin our program for the full five
years and the pre-K classes oreven in the two-year-old
classes, you can tell, oh,they've been here.
They know our language.
They know how to self-regulate.
They're even helping their peershelp regulate.
(07:37):
So I think that's where themagic happens.
And I would say that we'reconducting our own research
every day to see what happens ifwe start at birth.
What if we don't wait until theyget into kindergarten and they
get help back because ofbehavioral issues or they're in
counseling for these things?
What if they understand that sowhen they do have those hard
things come up in their life,they already have those in their
(07:59):
pocket from their preschoolprogram.
What a gift is that?
We integrate all of this throughour play-based learning, our
faith.
We are a faith-based program.
We use calm corners and gentleguidance, which I think we'll
talk about a little bit later.
We really think of it like SELisn't an extra.
We wrote our own curriculum thatall of our programs use.
(08:24):
SEL is built in to every aspect.
It's not like, oh, we do mathand science and reading and all
those things.
And then we do an SEL.
It's built into their day.
It's built into the academiclearning.
So it's not one extra thing.
It is the thing.
And the academic learning isbuilt on top of it, which I
think is very unique too.
SPEAKER_03 (08:42):
Is there an age that other centers or maybe the other
traditional thinking was thatyou do start with that social
emotional development versusthat as little bit I think a lot
of programs against them tostart with like a lot of early
childhood programs start withthe oldest ones because they
(09:03):
feel like they're the ones thatyou know because they're talking
most of the time or can verballycommunicate and and that kind of
thing and so that's good and ifwe start earlier and then a lot
of elementary schools typicallythat we know of like again is
that extra thing and so they'reat they might have it in like
maybe kindergarten and firstgrade or second grade but then
(09:24):
you know once they get intothird fourth, fifth grade.
It's like, well, you better, youshould probably figure this out.
You should probably know howyou're supposed to act.
No, but a lot of them do.
And so, uh, typically it's theolder ages when they can
communicate because it doesn'tseem like it's going to do
anything when they're, you know,little baby, their toddlers
SPEAKER_02 (09:41):
communicate.
And we have to like crying.
It's like communication.
SPEAKER_03 (09:46):
Yeah.
Verbally
SPEAKER_02 (09:47):
communicate.
Right.
That's a good.
So, um, I was talking to one ofmy friends over the weekend and
she, we were talking about, um,well-being curriculum.
And I was saying, and we startedtalking about the Vegas nerve.
I don't know how, but she wassaying, yeah, I love my kid's
new school.
He's a second grader because thecounselor comes in once a week
(10:07):
and they do SEO.
And that is the approach we'reusing.
And that is supposed to be ourmodel, our public schools.
And I'm not trying to tear themdown, but like, that is what it
is.
It's when the counselor comes inand does it.
Why isn't your teacher aware ofhow to do this?
You know, why isn't so part ofyour school's culture that it
doesn't have to be the counselorcomes in one thing.
(10:30):
So that's, I think, what we wereseeing.
And we thought this has to bedone better.
It has to be done differently.
That's where it all came from.
SPEAKER_03 (10:39):
So that jumps into the next question.
Is social emotional developmentsomething that most child care
centers and ECA programs areimplementing correctly?
And I'm guessing I know youranswer.
SPEAKER_02 (10:52):
We don't want to talk, you know, I just think
that people aren't used to.
We need to also say, I thinkthat we both are certified
coaches.
So we've learned a lot on likehow to work with people and we
got this for ourselves and wegot poured into.
And we learned how to beemotionally intelligent.
And then we thought, how do wedo this for everybody?
(11:12):
And we are the leaders.
Like we
SPEAKER_03 (11:13):
get to trickle this down into the
SPEAKER_02 (11:15):
staff
SPEAKER_03 (11:16):
rather than having to have it push up really hard.
SPEAKER_02 (11:19):
Yeah.
So yeah, what I think is peoplethink of starting SEL program
and early child, I think of likewatering down what they're
seeing in elementary schoolsinstead of making it
developmentally appropriate forwhat the kids need.
So for instance, like my kidsaren't gonna learn about their
vagus nerve and say, oh, hummingand chewing gum and all of these
(11:40):
things are good for your vagussystem.
But if I'm walking from theclassroom to the playground and
I'm humming a song and theystart humming with me, that's
developmentally appropriate.
And the two-year-olds are gonnado that.
So it's being intentional, Ithink, with the appropriateness
of how we're bringing this intoour classrooms.
That's so important.
SPEAKER_03 (12:03):
So before we jump into the benefits of emphasizing
this, we should probably dispelsome myths often associated with
it.
So what are some of the biggestmyths?
social-emotional development.
(12:44):
and their heart and their souls,then it's going to be even
stronger.
So whenever, so we think of itkind of as like, you are
planting a seed.
We might not in zero to five, wemight not see very many fruits
of our labor in this SELdevelopment.
Like, but we're planting thatseed and building their brain so
strong.
Like, you know, we call ourteachers brain architects.
(13:04):
So whenever the, like they buildoff that foundation as they go
throughout elementary school andjunior high and whatever else,
like, then it's like, oh, I havea really strong foundation that
might not show like the detailsof where I got that, but it's
there and I can continue tobuild even stronger and stronger
on top of that.
So I think that's one of thebiggest ones is that they can't
(13:27):
do it.
And I think too, that it's only,I think one of the other ones is
that SEL is this positive guide,like the pendulum.
Oh, how are you feeling?
SPEAKER_02 (13:39):
What is, oh man, I am so sorry.
I know you just hit Johnny, wow,that was a big feeling.
Right,
SPEAKER_03 (13:48):
it's the SEL doesn't have boundaries.
It doesn't excuse bad behavior.
Right, we say, so we have threesayings that we have at
Westminster.
We say, play is my work.
I can do hard things.
All my emotions are welcome.
And so with that third one, wesay all our emotions are
welcome.
What we do with those emotionsis not always okay, right?
So our job as teachers and aseducators is to say, all your
(14:11):
emotions are welcome.
What can we do with that emotionwhen it comes up how do we
regulate and that's also thewhole point of scl2 is like what
can we do with that emotionbecause emotion is just trying
to tell us what we're trying todo and i think that's another
misconception about scl2 is thatemotions are bad and that we're
not supposed to feel emotionsright like it's too much it's
(14:32):
too big um but it's not badright like it's those
misconceptions of what emotionsare too um yeah it's it's
there's a there's quite quite afew that we could probably
dispel.
I think one of the other onesthat we, we talk about a lot
with our, that we make sure inour trainings to go through is
that a calm corner, like aspecific space to have like for
(14:55):
regulation and sensory is not atimeout, right?
A lot of teachers like, Oh, justsend the kid over there.
It's a timeout.
SPEAKER_02 (15:01):
We'll fix themselves.
It's
SPEAKER_03 (15:05):
meant for regulation and connection, not a timeout
for discipline as well.
So
SPEAKER_02 (15:11):
yeah.
Making sure you're using thoseYeah.
So it's not permissiveparenting, I think.
And it's, it's gentle guidance.
So respecting them as people,because they are people, no
matter if they're six weeks old.
Right.
And I think we forget that andtreating them like people and
with respect and getting to knowthem on a personal level, not
(15:33):
thinking that SEL is a one sizefits all.
Like I have this new program,my, my admin gave me, and here's
what I need to do, you know, ofactually using it that fits the
child.
And I think that people thinkthat that's too much.
Why start it?
I can't do that.
I have too much on my plate.
But if you start with this onyour plate as the biggest thing
you focus on and then you buildthe rest off of it, you're going
(15:56):
to be in such a better place.
Right.
And in a month or two with yourclassroom management.
So making it at the forefront ofyour learning, like you said,
like it is the most importantthing.
The baseline is social,emotional learning and
everything else can be built offof that.
SPEAKER_03 (16:10):
I think, too, another misconception that if
you have a question, just pop itout to this is great this is
great i love it anothermisconception i think is
teachers think i don't have tochange that i can still continue
to be however i am with sellearning and social learning and
development and emotionalintelligence changes you as a
(16:30):
teacher you have to be becauseyou have to be the one that
models and if you're notmodeling that in the class like
i mean that's a misconception ifi can continue to be compliance
that's what i'm focusing on thatand the kids will figure it out
if I just put these like if Ijust do the acts rather than
modeling it.
And so it changes you.
(16:51):
You have to like it.
You have to have a growthmindset
SPEAKER_02 (16:54):
and trigger you.
Yeah.
Right.
Because you didn't learn thisway.
Why didn't anybody do this forme?
I mean, there is, I think, apiece that you go through.
And I know I did.
And I love my parents.
They're excellent.
But you still go back and go,man, why didn't my teacher know
this?
Why was I sat in the hall inthird grade for being disruptive
when they could have just givingme a fidget or giving me another
(17:17):
option on how to learn that.
So there is a piece you have tolike kind of deal with in
yourself of, okay, but we'regoing to do better for the next
generation.
We're going to keep gettingbetter at it.
But it is hard.
And I think our teachers,especially that have trauma and
things like that, that come upin their bodies when they're
doing this, it is, they have towork through it for themselves.
But I also think that's thebeauty of what makes us so
(17:38):
different is in our curriculum,we've built it for teachers too.
So like, if we're learningbelief.
So for instance, one of ourmodules is belief, belief that
the world is a safe place andpeople, I can count on people to
help keep me safe.
That's what we want the kids tolearn.
Teachers have to be able toanswer who keeps me safe.
Where do I feel safe?
(17:59):
And that's
SPEAKER_03 (18:00):
the reaction we get from a lot of people.
SPEAKER_02 (18:02):
And what happens if it's nobody, then what, right?
So they have to be able to kindof have those self reckoning and
come to Jesus moments too,right?
Where am I?
Where do I need help in lifebecause i can't teach kids to
believe that people can keepthem safe and the world is safe
if i don't believe that or idon't have anybody that keeps me
safe um so again it just goesback it's full circle everybody
(18:25):
has to be on the same page anddoing the work the you know as a
culture as a teacher as anindividual the families tying in
the families into it too um itreally that's where the magic
happens and i think if you'remissing even one of those
components you're not it's notquite there you might be able to
teach the kids some things I'mnot saying you're not, but
(18:47):
you're not going to see thattransformation like we so often
get to see.
SPEAKER_03 (18:53):
So how do centers who've never used this, how do
they start incorporating thisinto their classrooms?
How about if they're startingfrom scratch or maybe they just
want to do a better job of it?
Any tips?
UNKNOWN (19:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (19:10):
I mean, building into your day.
So we always say that you can'twait until Wendy's having this
meltdown and she's having theworst moment of her life and
she's throwing toys.
And I go, Hey, remember thisbreathing thing?
I just learned about it.
We're going to do box breathing.
It's not going to work at thatpoint, right?
We have to build it in.
So I think that that would be myfirst thing is like, Hey, in
(19:32):
circle time, can we add abreathing exercise?
Or we love this book, breathelike a bear.
It's just full of differentactivities you can do.
Um, Making it part of yourroutine, though, is huge because
then the kids already have thatin their body.
Body remembers how to do it.
Like I said about humming in thehallway when we go outside or
what other ones doing songs andstuff that incorporate SEL or
(19:55):
having books, having a calmcorner, but really building it
into how you structure your day,not waiting until Johnny's
having this big behavior.
I get to use this new skill Ilearned.
Right.
It has to be have to build thatmuscle.
And I think not overcomplicatingit.
I think
SPEAKER_03 (20:13):
as we're talking, it can seem like this big deal and
it's like this big deal, likethis big thing.
But starting with a step oflike, even just having a basket
of sensory toys for a calmcorner, it doesn't have to be a
whole space, right?
So then you can start tounderstand what that looks like
and what that means.
Just having a basket, using acouple of techniques of the
(20:33):
breath is so easy.
We all breathe.
Our body's just going tobreathe, right?
Like so intentional breathingaround that.
Transitions, I think, are one ofthe easiest ones too.
Like you were saying, likecoming through the hallway from
classroom to playground orwhatnot, like you're going to do
something during the transitionanyway, hopefully.
So why not integrate somethingthat has to build their vagus
(20:54):
nerve and builds their sense ofcalm and builds their regulation
strengths around that?
SPEAKER_02 (21:00):
And that cues you, like, oh, transition time, I can
do something here.
And I think that another thingis modeling it yourself.
Like we have a teacher and she'samazing and she's really good at
vocalizing her.
emotions all the time.
Like you've heard like a sportscasting in early childhood,
right?
Like you're always like, Oh, I'mgoing to change your diaper now.
Oh, look at your new diaper.
We do that for other areas oflearning to learn literacy
(21:22):
skills and you know, all theseother things, but sports
casting, like, man, I am feelingreally overwhelmed right now
because it is really loud inthis room and I can feel it in
my body.
My heart is starting to race.
Oh man, I need to take some deepbreaths, just modeling it and
being honest with your kids.
And using your big girl words,like not using, you know, oh, I
(21:45):
feel just a little bit upset.
No, I'm frustrated and it's okayto be frustrated.
I'm not going to yell at thekids or hurt anybody.
I'm going to go take somebreaths because I am really
frustrated right now.
I think that that's the mostimportant thing too.
And they see that you see youdoing it.
Kids are going to do what we do.
They are always looking at us,right?
(22:07):
They're always watching us.
So let them watch like catchyou, right?
Using these skills yourself.
SPEAKER_03 (22:14):
Yeah.
I was just remembering.
So my, my daughter's eight now.
So other than what we're talkingabout, but I remember the first
time she said, she's like, youknow, she's like, this isn't
working right now.
I need to go have some time onmy own.
Yeah.
That is such, I never had thatkind of self-awareness.
Think how much that would havehelped like all throughout life.
(22:36):
It just, I need to step away alittle bit.
Or felt the ability to Just saythat you can say that.
Like, yeah, like it's like,it's, it's a, you know, like
that we have to ask forpermission around that.
It's like, no, like I can justsay that's what I need in this
moment.
And then that's what I can doright now.
Right.
Like, that's amazing.
And eight year olds, like it'scan start anytime.
(22:59):
So that's amazing that yourdaughter and that you've been
able to raise your daughter toknow that she is safe enough.
And there were a connection withyou through her emotional
intelligence to say, here's whatI need, mom.
And then to be able to do that.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (23:13):
Well,
SPEAKER_03 (23:14):
I wish I could, but I think it's her great teachers,
honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (23:20):
But it's just, it's so cool when you get to see it.
Like we said, like we don'talways get to see the products
of her labor, but we dosometimes like we have a little
girl and she'll be like goingaround to the kids.
Do you need to go to the compcorner?
You seem upset and walking themthere.
Like it happens.
Our two-year-olds do it too.
We have, we had a little boy whocame into one of our new
programs with big, big emotions.
(23:41):
And within two weeks, he wasusing the calm corner and taking
deep breaths.
And I mean, they catch onquickly because it's natural to
them.
As long as they have an adult, atrusted adult, that they can
vocalize
SPEAKER_03 (23:54):
that.
Or even the sense of empathy.
We've had like babies, likemaybe like a little over one in
the baby room who are likepatting another baby's bottom
because
SPEAKER_04 (24:03):
they're like,
SPEAKER_03 (24:03):
they've seen that sense of care and that emotional
touch.
Like, okay, I know when a baby'scrying, then I can come pat
their bottom And that's a senseof care and empathy towards
them.
Even though, you know, empathytends to build, builds off a
little bit later, but likethey're building that strength
of like recognizing something insomeone else.
SPEAKER_02 (24:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I have three boys too.
Oh, so yeah.
And I see it and it's so cool.
Like, I just think it's such aresponsibility to raise kids and
to raise boys that have thisemotional awareness.
So anyway, yeah, my, my, he'seight actually just turned
eight.
He is, yeah, I got all theskills my five-year-old too.
And my five-year-old is like themost empathetic.
(24:43):
So this little boy, I hurt myback last week and he was
following me around the housewith this hand on my back,
helping me.
And yeah, the way they're ableto articulate their feelings.
And like, that's the thing I'mmost proud of, you know,
everything else.
Oh, they can write their name.
That's awesome.
You know, you're learning thingsin school.
That's great.
But are you a good person?
You know, are you able to domore good in the world than
(25:06):
harm?
You know, I think as a parent,that's how I see it.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (25:12):
And do you think most parents understand the
importance of this type of playand the importance in the
curriculum?
Or how do you explain it tothem?
Because like, you know, I'molder than you guys, but our
generation didn't learn that,you know, it's something kind of
new.
Yeah, I think we also alwaysassume the best about our
(25:34):
families.
And so we believe that they dounderstand and see the
importance of it.
I think how it plays out looksdifferently because we, I mean,
it's hard when you've gotmultiple parents working in the
home and then you come home andit takes a lot of work.
That's the thing is that it iswork and it takes time.
But over time, if you continuethat habit consistently with how
(25:57):
you talk to your child, how youengage with them and how you
stay on the same page with theteacher too, because you're on
the same team, if you continueto do it over and over, then it
does get easier because thatsynopsis in the brain continues
to build and get stronger andstronger.
And I think some of the mostimportant things we want our
parents to remember is that playis learning.
(26:19):
And like I said, we have play asour work is one of our key
beliefs and what we say.
It's not just fun time or freetime.
There is intentionality aroundpracticing problem solving,
language skills, creativeskills, social skills,
self-regulation through all ofthat.
So when you see a kiddo who'sfree drawing or free painting,
(26:41):
there's like problem solving andsequencing and they're thinking
through what they want to do andthey're also expressing
themselves creatively andregulating themselves at the
same time or whenever they areuh running in the class like
running inside or outside rightor they're like jumping from
side to side or they're likeyeah yeah yeah right right then
(27:02):
you know then their body isbuilding and regulating itself
you know when we cross thatmidline too right then we're
actually engaging both sides ofour brain which actually senses
tells our body that we're safeand we're okay so we can take a
breath and we can be fullypresent and be fully there and
yeah I think it's just ithappens through relationships
and the biggest like the biggestthing that we want our teachers
(27:25):
and parents to remember is againthat we're always on the same
team like we're team fill in thechild's name right that is whose
team we are both on and we aregoing to work together whatever
that way looks and we alsobelieve I believe I think it's a
Reggio Emilia belief I Theparent is a child's first
teacher.
And so, of course, we're goingto partner with you because, you
(27:48):
know, we can do whatever we cando here at school, but they're
your child and we want topartner with you so you can do
your best, do better, do yourbest and we'll do our best.
So this child can be better thanboth of us as adults.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_02 (28:05):
I think when you said the resume, I think it
reminded me that like we alsouse the classroom as a third
teacher in the room.
So the intentionality of how weset up our classrooms and the
toys that we offer, you know,that's not by accident.
That is, we're changing thingsout to fit the theme or, hey,
our kids are having a reallyhard time to find motor skills.
So we're adding more of that.
(28:26):
It's the intentionality thatgoes behind everything.
And it is hard for parents.
See, if I wasn't in this field,I mean, as a parent, I would
probably walk in a room.
You can feel the energy, right?
And you can see if it's clean ornot, or if the kids are being
well taken care of.
But am I going to know that likewhat a provocation is or what a
calm corner is.
I'm going to have to further,you know, further my education,
(28:48):
ask questions and get curiousabout it.
So I do think it's veryimportant to, you know, all be
on the same terminology too, asa program of how we explain
play-based learning to parents.
So they're able to grasp itbetter because I do think that
is a problem too, as we all, orwe use early childhood words
(29:08):
that we assume everybody knows,right?
Like provoke, auction I justsaid it we assume that people
know what that is and they don'tright and so using it using
terminology that parents canunderstand and being on the same
page with how we explain thingsis huge for programs to get that
message out clearly yeah
SPEAKER_03 (29:28):
well that is all the questions I had did I is there
anything I should have asked youand I didn't or that you'd like
to end on or you want directorsteachers anybody listening to to
know or take away from our timetogether?
It's a big one.
I know.
I know.
I think it would
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
be like what you were talking about earlier is
like, it starts with them.
Like you have to be willing todo the work yourself, to pass it
onto your staff, your staff,pass it on to the kids and the
families.
Like if you want to see that bigchange, you've got to be willing
to do the work yourself.
And I think the importance tolike culture care and you might
need to bring an outside personto look at your culture because
(30:07):
you might not be able to see itand see where are those, as I
can say we have a well-beingcurriculum but if our culture is
toxic it's not a well-beingright it's not a well-being
curriculum it's not working soum being really honest with
yourself of where you're at andwhat you're putting out because
it starts with you and you haveto set the tone for your program
(30:28):
um and that's hard it's reallyhard it's hard work but it's
worth it um i would say too wehave an awesome training called
taming the tiger that it's awork And it's about, you can go
either like three hours, we cando a whole day on it.
It's amazing.
And it's very, explains all ofthis stuff in depth of how to
(30:51):
use these skills practically.
It's not a slideshow of boringstuff.
We play and we practice them andwe do them together.
So I think that's an excellentresource too.
And you can find us atwww.theplaycoaches.org.
And we'd be happy to help youout.
(31:11):
I'm happy to connect, even justemailing us and letting us talk
through some things or ideas youmight have or questions that
still might be lingering.
We want to make ourselves veryaccessible because I think we're
both in this to like change theworld.
Honestly, we want we want kidsto flourish.
It's not just about ourprograms.
We love our programs, but wewant all kids to have access to
(31:32):
these things and to this type ofcare, because I do think this is
how we change the world.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (31:40):
So can you say that one more time how um people can
get a hold of you if they wantto learn more about the work
you're doing in your yourorganization
SPEAKER_02 (31:47):
yeah so if you want to connect with us um request
training or just ask usquestions get to know a little
bit about what what we do umwe're at www.theplaycoaches.org
we're also on instagram andfacebook yeah the play coaches
one word on instagram we'rehilarious so enjoy enjoy um the
(32:08):
content we post there but we'retrying to also like we are
playful people and you can't dothis work without joy.
I don't think either.
And I think we're so, we alwayssay that if you come into
school, like, what do you say?
And you look for,
SPEAKER_03 (32:21):
you find evidence for the day you want to have.
And so, yeah, we, well, we alsojust think too, like if we
expect you to be playful in yourclassroom and live a play-based
learning out fully in yourclassroom, then why would we
make your, why would we wantyour trainings and workshops not
to be play-based or not to beplayful?
You know what I mean?
(32:42):
And not that, sorry, not to saythat the ones that aren't,
aren't beneficial, but we wantto engage with the whole body,
mind, spirit, heart, becausethat is when in all so much
research nowadays, even more soit tells it like that is when
learning actually integrates andgoes deeper into your body, into
your brain and build strongerconnections because then it's so
(33:04):
many, it's all the sensory, it'sall the heart, it's the belief,
it's the joy.
And that means the learning isgoing to last longer.
and go deeper.
And so we, that's what we bringinto our workshops and our
trainings because we want you tobe like that in the classroom.
So we're going to be like thatfor you.
Oh, that's
SPEAKER_02 (33:21):
wonderful.
We don't want to do boringtraining.
We want to play too.
We're going
SPEAKER_03 (33:28):
to have fun.
Yeah, that sounds, that soundsfun than watching slides.
So thank you so much, Wendy andDanny for joining us, sharing
your expertise.
Super great to talk with youguys.
And also thank you to everybodylistening out there for making
time in your day.
We know how busy ECE providersare, and we are so grateful for
(33:50):
the work you do.
So we're saying thank you fromus at ProCare Solutions.
And thank you for me as aworking mom.
Always throw that in because youare invaluable that we could all
do the things we need to do.
And we're all better for it.
So have a great day, everyone.
We hope to see you next time.
SPEAKER_01 (34:12):
Until next time.
music music
SPEAKER_01 (00:08):
Welcome to the Child Care Business Podcast, brought
to you by ProCare Solutions.
This podcast is all about givingchildcare, preschool, daycare,
afterschool, and other earlyeducation professionals a fun
and upbeat way to learn aboutstrategies and inspiration you
can use to thrive.
You'll hear from a variety ofchildcare thought leaders,
(00:30):
including educators, owners, andindustry experts on ways to
innovate to meet the needs ofthe children you serve, from
practical tips for managingLet's jump in.
SPEAKER_03 (00:53):
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Child Care
Business Podcast.
My name is Leah Woodbury, andI'm happy to have you join us
today.
We're thrilled to have WendyTurcotte and Danny Savatner with
us.
Wendy is the DevelopmentDirector, and Danny is the
Executive Director atWestminster Preschools in
Indiana.
Their center started usingProCare back in 2020 when it had
(01:15):
two schools, and now almost fiveyears later, they just opened
their sixth and seventh schools.
So many congratulations on that.
Wendy and Danny are building acoaching, training, and
consulting business called ThePlay Coaches.
And over the past three years,they've been doing various
training all over Indiana andaround the country, like Macy,
(01:37):
McCormick, and more.
And that's been around earlychildhood, social emotional
development, play, andcultivating a culture of
well-being within yourorganization, and a lot more.
So we're going to talk aboutthat social emotional
development component today Sowelcome, Wendy and Danny.
Thanks for having us.
(01:58):
Yeah, we're so glad to be here.
Yeah.
So we always like to start thesepodcasts getting a little bit of
background on our guests.
Could you tell us how you becameinvolved in ECE and chose it as
your career path?
SPEAKER_02 (02:12):
OK, well, honestly, it fell into my lap.
I started working in a childcare when I was 18 and fell in
love with that.
So very quickly started going toschool.
for my associate's degree.
That took a long time.
I was teaching all through that.
And then I ended up now I havemy master's degree.
So it's just progressed.
(02:33):
I've been in it for 18 yearsnow.
So I was a teacher for 10 yearsand then moved into an admin
role.
And I've been in that foralmost, I've been in that for 10
years now too.
So just crazy, just theevolution of wanting to learn
more and get better and betterat it.
I think you get that bug whenyou're young to teach But I
(02:54):
never thought it would involveit.
Sorry, let me restart that.
You get that bug to teach, but Inever thought it would evolve so
far into what I get to do now.
And this is the funnest job wehave, I think, is going out and
consulting and training withprograms.
So, yes, it's just been anevolution over time of growing
and adapting and making sureyour skill set is sharp.
(03:17):
You know, I never want to becompliant or complacent.
I never want to be complacent,you know, so always learning
more.
Thank you.
How about you, Wendy?
SPEAKER_03 (03:27):
A little different.
So I actually went into collegethinking I was going to be an
exercise science major.
But I had been working with kidsand doing things with kids my
whole entire life and helpingpeople and being a leader and
that kind of stuff.
And so my second semester, I washelping a friend with a math
(03:49):
class.
And she was like, you should bea teacher.
And I was like, you're probablyright, actually.
So I talked to my advisor andgot into the early childhood
education degree there and lovedit.
And then worked in someleadership roles in higher
education after I graduated.
And then I moved up here toMarion, Indiana, where Danny
(04:09):
hired me as a teacher and justgrew more love with it.
And also, and then decided like,wanted to continue to grow.
And so stepped into a leadershiprole at another program
temporarily.
And then we came back togetherin COVID to open a second
program and just continue to doit.
It's just that those little ahamoments that happen during this
(04:30):
age and that sense of joy thatis just contagious that you just
want to be around.
And I think we both have thatsense of like, too, like just
wanting to protect these littleones as best we can to have
their childhood, to be safe, tobe able to learn, to be able to
play.
SPEAKER_02 (04:49):
And yeah, so Wendy came back to me in 2020 and that
was when we started usingProCare and it was, a blessing
because Wendy and I justbalanced each other out so well.
I'm very much like the bigvisionary, like let's go do this
today.
And she's the one that's morelike step by step and how are we
going to do it?
So we really balanced each otherout.
So her coming back in when westarted using Procare was just
(05:09):
so helpful because she's the onewho can look at the details and
figure it all out and, you know,teach me how to do it.
SPEAKER_03 (05:16):
I'm the Procare guru of Westminster.
Well, you guys sound like thedream team.
Truly.
Okay, so let's jump into one ofthe topics at hand, social
emotional development in ECE.
So can you define that for ourlisteners?
Yeah, so we think of it as thisintentional process of helping
(05:39):
children, specifically that zeroto five, understand and manage,
regulate their emotions to buildhealthy relationships, to
develop empathy, to be able togrow in the confidence of who
they are, so that they can livea flourishing life.
That's the ultimate goal.
We believe that children learnbest when they're safe, loved,
(06:04):
and know that Jesus loves themin this environment, and that we
have to be able to provide thatin order for them to be, you
know, full human beings, to beable to be the full selves.
We think it's the foundation forall learning in general, because
we know that if you don't feelsafe, you know, going back to
even Vygotsky's, if you don'tfeel safe, you can't learn.
(06:24):
You can't learn the of yourability.
It's not going to integratefully into yourself and your
brain.
And we believe that healthyrelationships is super
important.
SEL builds those and that wholechild development just to be
able to understand.
Because I mean, many of usweren't taught this growing up
ourselves and we turned outokay.
But just thinking how evenfatter this next generation can
(06:47):
turn out because they're goingto be emotionally intelligent
and be able to share that moreclearly with those around them.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:55):
Yeah.
I'd say we kind of jokingly saythat our approach to this is
research.
It's research based, but we'recreating our own research
because we don't believe anybodyelse really starts at infancy.
Our kids start our programs ateight weeks and they're learning
co-regulation and breathingskills and just getting that
(07:16):
vocabulary built into theirbrains that will help them
learn.
You can tell when a kid has beenin our program for the full five
years and the pre-K classes oreven in the two-year-old
classes, you can tell, oh,they've been here.
They know our language.
They know how to self-regulate.
They're even helping their peershelp regulate.
(07:37):
So I think that's where themagic happens.
And I would say that we'reconducting our own research
every day to see what happens ifwe start at birth.
What if we don't wait until theyget into kindergarten and they
get help back because ofbehavioral issues or they're in
counseling for these things?
What if they understand that sowhen they do have those hard
things come up in their life,they already have those in their
(07:59):
pocket from their preschoolprogram.
What a gift is that?
We integrate all of this throughour play-based learning, our
faith.
We are a faith-based program.
We use calm corners and gentleguidance, which I think we'll
talk about a little bit later.
We really think of it like SELisn't an extra.
We wrote our own curriculum thatall of our programs use.
(08:24):
SEL is built in to every aspect.
It's not like, oh, we do mathand science and reading and all
those things.
And then we do an SEL.
It's built into their day.
It's built into the academiclearning.
So it's not one extra thing.
It is the thing.
And the academic learning isbuilt on top of it, which I
think is very unique too.
SPEAKER_03 (08:42):
Is there an age that other centers or maybe the other
traditional thinking was thatyou do start with that social
emotional development versusthat as little bit I think a lot
of programs against them tostart with like a lot of early
childhood programs start withthe oldest ones because they
(09:03):
feel like they're the ones thatyou know because they're talking
most of the time or can verballycommunicate and and that kind of
thing and so that's good and ifwe start earlier and then a lot
of elementary schools typicallythat we know of like again is
that extra thing and so they'reat they might have it in like
maybe kindergarten and firstgrade or second grade but then
(09:24):
you know once they get intothird fourth, fifth grade.
It's like, well, you better, youshould probably figure this out.
You should probably know howyou're supposed to act.
No, but a lot of them do.
And so, uh, typically it's theolder ages when they can
communicate because it doesn'tseem like it's going to do
anything when they're, you know,little baby, their toddlers
SPEAKER_02 (09:41):
communicate.
And we have to like crying.
It's like communication.
SPEAKER_03 (09:46):
Yeah.
Verbally
SPEAKER_02 (09:47):
communicate.
Right.
That's a good.
So, um, I was talking to one ofmy friends over the weekend and
she, we were talking about, um,well-being curriculum.
And I was saying, and we startedtalking about the Vegas nerve.
I don't know how, but she wassaying, yeah, I love my kid's
new school.
He's a second grader because thecounselor comes in once a week
(10:07):
and they do SEO.
And that is the approach we'reusing.
And that is supposed to be ourmodel, our public schools.
And I'm not trying to tear themdown, but like, that is what it
is.
It's when the counselor comes inand does it.
Why isn't your teacher aware ofhow to do this?
You know, why isn't so part ofyour school's culture that it
doesn't have to be the counselorcomes in one thing.
(10:30):
So that's, I think, what we wereseeing.
And we thought this has to bedone better.
It has to be done differently.
That's where it all came from.
SPEAKER_03 (10:39):
So that jumps into the next question.
Is social emotional developmentsomething that most child care
centers and ECA programs areimplementing correctly?
And I'm guessing I know youranswer.
SPEAKER_02 (10:52):
We don't want to talk, you know, I just think
that people aren't used to.
We need to also say, I thinkthat we both are certified
coaches.
So we've learned a lot on likehow to work with people and we
got this for ourselves and wegot poured into.
And we learned how to beemotionally intelligent.
And then we thought, how do wedo this for everybody?
(11:12):
And we are the leaders.
Like we
SPEAKER_03 (11:13):
get to trickle this down into the
SPEAKER_02 (11:15):
staff
SPEAKER_03 (11:16):
rather than having to have it push up really hard.
SPEAKER_02 (11:19):
Yeah.
So yeah, what I think is peoplethink of starting SEL program
and early child, I think of likewatering down what they're
seeing in elementary schoolsinstead of making it
developmentally appropriate forwhat the kids need.
So for instance, like my kidsaren't gonna learn about their
vagus nerve and say, oh, hummingand chewing gum and all of these
(11:40):
things are good for your vagussystem.
But if I'm walking from theclassroom to the playground and
I'm humming a song and theystart humming with me, that's
developmentally appropriate.
And the two-year-olds are gonnado that.
So it's being intentional, Ithink, with the appropriateness
of how we're bringing this intoour classrooms.
That's so important.
SPEAKER_03 (12:03):
So before we jump into the benefits of emphasizing
this, we should probably dispelsome myths often associated with
it.
So what are some of the biggestmyths?
social-emotional development.
(12:44):
and their heart and their souls,then it's going to be even
stronger.
So whenever, so we think of itkind of as like, you are
planting a seed.
We might not in zero to five, wemight not see very many fruits
of our labor in this SELdevelopment.
Like, but we're planting thatseed and building their brain so
strong.
Like, you know, we call ourteachers brain architects.
(13:04):
So whenever the, like they buildoff that foundation as they go
throughout elementary school andjunior high and whatever else,
like, then it's like, oh, I havea really strong foundation that
might not show like the detailsof where I got that, but it's
there and I can continue tobuild even stronger and stronger
on top of that.
So I think that's one of thebiggest ones is that they can't
(13:27):
do it.
And I think too, that it's only,I think one of the other ones is
that SEL is this positive guide,like the pendulum.
Oh, how are you feeling?
SPEAKER_02 (13:39):
What is, oh man, I am so sorry.
I know you just hit Johnny, wow,that was a big feeling.
Right,
SPEAKER_03 (13:48):
it's the SEL doesn't have boundaries.
It doesn't excuse bad behavior.
Right, we say, so we have threesayings that we have at
Westminster.
We say, play is my work.
I can do hard things.
All my emotions are welcome.
And so with that third one, wesay all our emotions are
welcome.
What we do with those emotionsis not always okay, right?
So our job as teachers and aseducators is to say, all your
(14:11):
emotions are welcome.
What can we do with that emotionwhen it comes up how do we
regulate and that's also thewhole point of scl2 is like what
can we do with that emotionbecause emotion is just trying
to tell us what we're trying todo and i think that's another
misconception about scl2 is thatemotions are bad and that we're
not supposed to feel emotionsright like it's too much it's
(14:32):
too big um but it's not badright like it's those
misconceptions of what emotionsare too um yeah it's it's
there's a there's quite quite afew that we could probably
dispel.
I think one of the other onesthat we, we talk about a lot
with our, that we make sure inour trainings to go through is
that a calm corner, like aspecific space to have like for
(14:55):
regulation and sensory is not atimeout, right?
A lot of teachers like, Oh, justsend the kid over there.
It's a timeout.
SPEAKER_02 (15:01):
We'll fix themselves.
It's
SPEAKER_03 (15:05):
meant for regulation and connection, not a timeout
for discipline as well.
So
SPEAKER_02 (15:11):
yeah.
Making sure you're using thoseYeah.
So it's not permissiveparenting, I think.
And it's, it's gentle guidance.
So respecting them as people,because they are people, no
matter if they're six weeks old.
Right.
And I think we forget that andtreating them like people and
with respect and getting to knowthem on a personal level, not
(15:33):
thinking that SEL is a one sizefits all.
Like I have this new program,my, my admin gave me, and here's
what I need to do, you know, ofactually using it that fits the
child.
And I think that people thinkthat that's too much.
Why start it?
I can't do that.
I have too much on my plate.
But if you start with this onyour plate as the biggest thing
you focus on and then you buildthe rest off of it, you're going
(15:56):
to be in such a better place.
Right.
And in a month or two with yourclassroom management.
So making it at the forefront ofyour learning, like you said,
like it is the most importantthing.
The baseline is social,emotional learning and
everything else can be built offof that.
SPEAKER_03 (16:10):
I think, too, another misconception that if
you have a question, just pop itout to this is great this is
great i love it anothermisconception i think is
teachers think i don't have tochange that i can still continue
to be however i am with sellearning and social learning and
development and emotionalintelligence changes you as a
(16:30):
teacher you have to be becauseyou have to be the one that
models and if you're notmodeling that in the class like
i mean that's a misconception ifi can continue to be compliance
that's what i'm focusing on thatand the kids will figure it out
if I just put these like if Ijust do the acts rather than
modeling it.
And so it changes you.
(16:51):
You have to like it.
You have to have a growthmindset
SPEAKER_02 (16:54):
and trigger you.
Yeah.
Right.
Because you didn't learn thisway.
Why didn't anybody do this forme?
I mean, there is, I think, apiece that you go through.
And I know I did.
And I love my parents.
They're excellent.
But you still go back and go,man, why didn't my teacher know
this?
Why was I sat in the hall inthird grade for being disruptive
when they could have just givingme a fidget or giving me another
(17:17):
option on how to learn that.
So there is a piece you have tolike kind of deal with in
yourself of, okay, but we'regoing to do better for the next
generation.
We're going to keep gettingbetter at it.
But it is hard.
And I think our teachers,especially that have trauma and
things like that, that come upin their bodies when they're
doing this, it is, they have towork through it for themselves.
But I also think that's thebeauty of what makes us so
(17:38):
different is in our curriculum,we've built it for teachers too.
So like, if we're learningbelief.
So for instance, one of ourmodules is belief, belief that
the world is a safe place andpeople, I can count on people to
help keep me safe.
That's what we want the kids tolearn.
Teachers have to be able toanswer who keeps me safe.
Where do I feel safe?
(17:59):
And that's
SPEAKER_03 (18:00):
the reaction we get from a lot of people.
SPEAKER_02 (18:02):
And what happens if it's nobody, then what, right?
So they have to be able to kindof have those self reckoning and
come to Jesus moments too,right?
Where am I?
Where do I need help in lifebecause i can't teach kids to
believe that people can keepthem safe and the world is safe
if i don't believe that or idon't have anybody that keeps me
safe um so again it just goesback it's full circle everybody
(18:25):
has to be on the same page anddoing the work the you know as a
culture as a teacher as anindividual the families tying in
the families into it too um itreally that's where the magic
happens and i think if you'remissing even one of those
components you're not it's notquite there you might be able to
teach the kids some things I'mnot saying you're not, but
(18:47):
you're not going to see thattransformation like we so often
get to see.
SPEAKER_03 (18:53):
So how do centers who've never used this, how do
they start incorporating thisinto their classrooms?
How about if they're startingfrom scratch or maybe they just
want to do a better job of it?
Any tips?
UNKNOWN (19:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (19:10):
I mean, building into your day.
So we always say that you can'twait until Wendy's having this
meltdown and she's having theworst moment of her life and
she's throwing toys.
And I go, Hey, remember thisbreathing thing?
I just learned about it.
We're going to do box breathing.
It's not going to work at thatpoint, right?
We have to build it in.
So I think that that would be myfirst thing is like, Hey, in
(19:32):
circle time, can we add abreathing exercise?
Or we love this book, breathelike a bear.
It's just full of differentactivities you can do.
Um, Making it part of yourroutine, though, is huge because
then the kids already have thatin their body.
Body remembers how to do it.
Like I said about humming in thehallway when we go outside or
what other ones doing songs andstuff that incorporate SEL or
(19:55):
having books, having a calmcorner, but really building it
into how you structure your day,not waiting until Johnny's
having this big behavior.
I get to use this new skill Ilearned.
Right.
It has to be have to build thatmuscle.
And I think not overcomplicatingit.
I think
SPEAKER_03 (20:13):
as we're talking, it can seem like this big deal and
it's like this big deal, likethis big thing.
But starting with a step oflike, even just having a basket
of sensory toys for a calmcorner, it doesn't have to be a
whole space, right?
So then you can start tounderstand what that looks like
and what that means.
Just having a basket, using acouple of techniques of the
(20:33):
breath is so easy.
We all breathe.
Our body's just going tobreathe, right?
Like so intentional breathingaround that.
Transitions, I think, are one ofthe easiest ones too.
Like you were saying, likecoming through the hallway from
classroom to playground orwhatnot, like you're going to do
something during the transitionanyway, hopefully.
So why not integrate somethingthat has to build their vagus
(20:54):
nerve and builds their sense ofcalm and builds their regulation
strengths around that?
SPEAKER_02 (21:00):
And that cues you, like, oh, transition time, I can
do something here.
And I think that another thingis modeling it yourself.
Like we have a teacher and she'samazing and she's really good at
vocalizing her.
emotions all the time.
Like you've heard like a sportscasting in early childhood,
right?
Like you're always like, Oh, I'mgoing to change your diaper now.
Oh, look at your new diaper.
We do that for other areas oflearning to learn literacy
(21:22):
skills and you know, all theseother things, but sports
casting, like, man, I am feelingreally overwhelmed right now
because it is really loud inthis room and I can feel it in
my body.
My heart is starting to race.
Oh man, I need to take some deepbreaths, just modeling it and
being honest with your kids.
And using your big girl words,like not using, you know, oh, I
(21:45):
feel just a little bit upset.
No, I'm frustrated and it's okayto be frustrated.
I'm not going to yell at thekids or hurt anybody.
I'm going to go take somebreaths because I am really
frustrated right now.
I think that that's the mostimportant thing too.
And they see that you see youdoing it.
Kids are going to do what we do.
They are always looking at us,right?
(22:07):
They're always watching us.
So let them watch like catchyou, right?
Using these skills yourself.
SPEAKER_03 (22:14):
Yeah.
I was just remembering.
So my, my daughter's eight now.
So other than what we're talkingabout, but I remember the first
time she said, she's like, youknow, she's like, this isn't
working right now.
I need to go have some time onmy own.
Yeah.
That is such, I never had thatkind of self-awareness.
Think how much that would havehelped like all throughout life.
(22:36):
It just, I need to step away alittle bit.
Or felt the ability to Just saythat you can say that.
Like, yeah, like it's like,it's, it's a, you know, like
that we have to ask forpermission around that.
It's like, no, like I can justsay that's what I need in this
moment.
And then that's what I can doright now.
Right.
Like, that's amazing.
And eight year olds, like it'scan start anytime.
(22:59):
So that's amazing that yourdaughter and that you've been
able to raise your daughter toknow that she is safe enough.
And there were a connection withyou through her emotional
intelligence to say, here's whatI need, mom.
And then to be able to do that.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (23:13):
Well,
SPEAKER_03 (23:14):
I wish I could, but I think it's her great teachers,
honestly.
SPEAKER_02 (23:20):
But it's just, it's so cool when you get to see it.
Like we said, like we don'talways get to see the products
of her labor, but we dosometimes like we have a little
girl and she'll be like goingaround to the kids.
Do you need to go to the compcorner?
You seem upset and walking themthere.
Like it happens.
Our two-year-olds do it too.
We have, we had a little boy whocame into one of our new
programs with big, big emotions.
(23:41):
And within two weeks, he wasusing the calm corner and taking
deep breaths.
And I mean, they catch onquickly because it's natural to
them.
As long as they have an adult, atrusted adult, that they can
vocalize
SPEAKER_03 (23:54):
that.
Or even the sense of empathy.
We've had like babies, likemaybe like a little over one in
the baby room who are likepatting another baby's bottom
because
SPEAKER_04 (24:03):
they're like,
SPEAKER_03 (24:03):
they've seen that sense of care and that emotional
touch.
Like, okay, I know when a baby'scrying, then I can come pat
their bottom And that's a senseof care and empathy towards
them.
Even though, you know, empathytends to build, builds off a
little bit later, but likethey're building that strength
of like recognizing something insomeone else.
SPEAKER_02 (24:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I have three boys too.
Oh, so yeah.
And I see it and it's so cool.
Like, I just think it's such aresponsibility to raise kids and
to raise boys that have thisemotional awareness.
So anyway, yeah, my, my, he'seight actually just turned
eight.
He is, yeah, I got all theskills my five-year-old too.
And my five-year-old is like themost empathetic.
(24:43):
So this little boy, I hurt myback last week and he was
following me around the housewith this hand on my back,
helping me.
And yeah, the way they're ableto articulate their feelings.
And like, that's the thing I'mmost proud of, you know,
everything else.
Oh, they can write their name.
That's awesome.
You know, you're learning thingsin school.
That's great.
But are you a good person?
You know, are you able to domore good in the world than
(25:06):
harm?
You know, I think as a parent,that's how I see it.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (25:12):
And do you think most parents understand the
importance of this type of playand the importance in the
curriculum?
Or how do you explain it tothem?
Because like, you know, I'molder than you guys, but our
generation didn't learn that,you know, it's something kind of
new.
Yeah, I think we also alwaysassume the best about our
(25:34):
families.
And so we believe that they dounderstand and see the
importance of it.
I think how it plays out looksdifferently because we, I mean,
it's hard when you've gotmultiple parents working in the
home and then you come home andit takes a lot of work.
That's the thing is that it iswork and it takes time.
But over time, if you continuethat habit consistently with how
(25:57):
you talk to your child, how youengage with them and how you
stay on the same page with theteacher too, because you're on
the same team, if you continueto do it over and over, then it
does get easier because thatsynopsis in the brain continues
to build and get stronger andstronger.
And I think some of the mostimportant things we want our
parents to remember is that playis learning.
(26:19):
And like I said, we have play asour work is one of our key
beliefs and what we say.
It's not just fun time or freetime.
There is intentionality aroundpracticing problem solving,
language skills, creativeskills, social skills,
self-regulation through all ofthat.
So when you see a kiddo who'sfree drawing or free painting,
(26:41):
there's like problem solving andsequencing and they're thinking
through what they want to do andthey're also expressing
themselves creatively andregulating themselves at the
same time or whenever they areuh running in the class like
running inside or outside rightor they're like jumping from
side to side or they're likeyeah yeah yeah right right then
(27:02):
you know then their body isbuilding and regulating itself
you know when we cross thatmidline too right then we're
actually engaging both sides ofour brain which actually senses
tells our body that we're safeand we're okay so we can take a
breath and we can be fullypresent and be fully there and
yeah I think it's just ithappens through relationships
and the biggest like the biggestthing that we want our teachers
(27:25):
and parents to remember is againthat we're always on the same
team like we're team fill in thechild's name right that is whose
team we are both on and we aregoing to work together whatever
that way looks and we alsobelieve I believe I think it's a
Reggio Emilia belief I Theparent is a child's first
teacher.
And so, of course, we're goingto partner with you because, you
(27:48):
know, we can do whatever we cando here at school, but they're
your child and we want topartner with you so you can do
your best, do better, do yourbest and we'll do our best.
So this child can be better thanboth of us as adults.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_02 (28:05):
I think when you said the resume, I think it
reminded me that like we alsouse the classroom as a third
teacher in the room.
So the intentionality of how weset up our classrooms and the
toys that we offer, you know,that's not by accident.
That is, we're changing thingsout to fit the theme or, hey,
our kids are having a reallyhard time to find motor skills.
So we're adding more of that.
(28:26):
It's the intentionality thatgoes behind everything.
And it is hard for parents.
See, if I wasn't in this field,I mean, as a parent, I would
probably walk in a room.
You can feel the energy, right?
And you can see if it's clean ornot, or if the kids are being
well taken care of.
But am I going to know that likewhat a provocation is or what a
calm corner is.
I'm going to have to further,you know, further my education,
(28:48):
ask questions and get curiousabout it.
So I do think it's veryimportant to, you know, all be
on the same terminology too, asa program of how we explain
play-based learning to parents.
So they're able to grasp itbetter because I do think that
is a problem too, as we all, orwe use early childhood words
(29:08):
that we assume everybody knows,right?
Like provoke, auction I justsaid it we assume that people
know what that is and they don'tright and so using it using
terminology that parents canunderstand and being on the same
page with how we explain thingsis huge for programs to get that
message out clearly yeah
SPEAKER_03 (29:28):
well that is all the questions I had did I is there
anything I should have asked youand I didn't or that you'd like
to end on or you want directorsteachers anybody listening to to
know or take away from our timetogether?
It's a big one.
I know.
I know.
I think it would
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
be like what you were talking about earlier is
like, it starts with them.
Like you have to be willing todo the work yourself, to pass it
onto your staff, your staff,pass it on to the kids and the
families.
Like if you want to see that bigchange, you've got to be willing
to do the work yourself.
And I think the importance tolike culture care and you might
need to bring an outside personto look at your culture because
(30:07):
you might not be able to see itand see where are those, as I
can say we have a well-beingcurriculum but if our culture is
toxic it's not a well-beingright it's not a well-being
curriculum it's not working soum being really honest with
yourself of where you're at andwhat you're putting out because
it starts with you and you haveto set the tone for your program
(30:28):
um and that's hard it's reallyhard it's hard work but it's
worth it um i would say too wehave an awesome training called
taming the tiger that it's awork And it's about, you can go
either like three hours, we cando a whole day on it.
It's amazing.
And it's very, explains all ofthis stuff in depth of how to
(30:51):
use these skills practically.
It's not a slideshow of boringstuff.
We play and we practice them andwe do them together.
So I think that's an excellentresource too.
And you can find us atwww.theplaycoaches.org.
And we'd be happy to help youout.
(31:11):
I'm happy to connect, even justemailing us and letting us talk
through some things or ideas youmight have or questions that
still might be lingering.
We want to make ourselves veryaccessible because I think we're
both in this to like change theworld.
Honestly, we want we want kidsto flourish.
It's not just about ourprograms.
We love our programs, but wewant all kids to have access to
(31:32):
these things and to this type ofcare, because I do think this is
how we change the world.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (31:40):
So can you say that one more time how um people can
get a hold of you if they wantto learn more about the work
you're doing in your yourorganization
SPEAKER_02 (31:47):
yeah so if you want to connect with us um request
training or just ask usquestions get to know a little
bit about what what we do umwe're at www.theplaycoaches.org
we're also on instagram andfacebook yeah the play coaches
one word on instagram we'rehilarious so enjoy enjoy um the
(32:08):
content we post there but we'retrying to also like we are
playful people and you can't dothis work without joy.
I don't think either.
And I think we're so, we alwayssay that if you come into
school, like, what do you say?
And you look for,
SPEAKER_03 (32:21):
you find evidence for the day you want to have.
And so, yeah, we, well, we alsojust think too, like if we
expect you to be playful in yourclassroom and live a play-based
learning out fully in yourclassroom, then why would we
make your, why would we wantyour trainings and workshops not
to be play-based or not to beplayful?
You know what I mean?
(32:42):
And not that, sorry, not to saythat the ones that aren't,
aren't beneficial, but we wantto engage with the whole body,
mind, spirit, heart, becausethat is when in all so much
research nowadays, even more soit tells it like that is when
learning actually integrates andgoes deeper into your body, into
your brain and build strongerconnections because then it's so
(33:04):
many, it's all the sensory, it'sall the heart, it's the belief,
it's the joy.
And that means the learning isgoing to last longer.
and go deeper.
And so we, that's what we bringinto our workshops and our
trainings because we want you tobe like that in the classroom.
So we're going to be like thatfor you.
Oh, that's
SPEAKER_02 (33:21):
wonderful.
We don't want to do boringtraining.
We want to play too.
We're going
SPEAKER_03 (33:28):
to have fun.
Yeah, that sounds, that soundsfun than watching slides.
So thank you so much, Wendy andDanny for joining us, sharing
your expertise.
Super great to talk with youguys.
And also thank you to everybodylistening out there for making
time in your day.
We know how busy ECE providersare, and we are so grateful for
(33:50):
the work you do.
So we're saying thank you fromus at ProCare Solutions.
And thank you for me as aworking mom.
Always throw that in because youare invaluable that we could all
do the things we need to do.
And we're all better for it.
So have a great day, everyone.
We hope to see you next time.
SPEAKER_01 (34:12):
Until next time.
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