How Play-Based Learning Can Save Early Childhood Education

How Play-Based Learning Can Save Early Childhood Education

How can early childhood educators prevent burnout and rediscover the joy of teaching?In this episode of Early Childhood Chats, host Andy Roszak sits down with Dr. Marisa Macy (University of Wyoming) and Amy Reyes-Hauff (Wyoming Department of Education) to explore practical ways educators can reconnect with purpose, improve classroom culture, and build sustainable careers in early childhood education.You'll learn:✔️ Why play-based learning is essential for both children and teachers✔️ How outdoor learning improves educator wellness✔️ Practical strategies to reduce burnout and compassion fatigue✔️ Leadership tips for creating joyful classroom environments✔️ Why nature, relationships, and authentic teaching matter more than perfection✔️ The impact of digital technology on young children's development✔️ Actionable ideas educators can implement immediatelyWhether you're a preschool teacher, childcare provider, Head Start professional, administrator, or early childhood leader, this conversation offers research-backed inspiration and practical advice to help you thrive in the classroom.Featured Guests• Dr. Marisa Macy – Professor, University of Wyominghttps://www.marisamacy.com/https://www.uwyo.edu/education/faculty-staff/marisa-macy.htmlhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-macy-970b3737/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marisa-Macyhttps://scholar.google.com/• Amy Reyes-Hauff – Early Learning Specialist, Wyoming Department of Educationhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-reyes-hauff-a1b15844/https://edu.wyoming.gov/https://www.facebook.com/WYOEducationIf you're passionate about early childhood education, teacher wellness, play-based learning, classroom management, outdoor education, preschool leadership, Head Start, or educator burnout prevention, this episode is for you.👍 Like this video🔔 Subscribe for more conversations about early childhood education, leadership, child development, and supporting educators.----------------------------Early Childhood Chats is hosted by Andrew Roszak - JD, MPA, EMT-PExecutive Director at the Institute for Childhood Preparedness. The Institute for Childhood Preparedness is proud to use its decades of experience to offer comprehensive and expert disaster and emergency preparedness trainings live in-person, via webinar, and on-demand online. // Visit: https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/ to find out more // Schedule your training today https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/trainingFOLLOW UShttps://www.instagram.com/childhoodpreparedness/ https://www.facebook.com/ChildPreparedhttps://twitter.com/ChildPreparedhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-for-childhood-preparedness© Institute for Childhood Preparedness 2026 all rights reserved

Every Child, Every Chance: Special Olympics, Inclusion, and the Early Childhood Connection

Ryan Miller, Senior Director of Program for Young Athletes and Elementary at Special Olympics New York, joins Andy Roszak to talk about what Special Olympics is actually doing in early childhood settings — and why it is almost nothing like what most people assume. They cover the Young Athletes and Junior Athletes curricula, how programs serving children with disabilities can check compliance boxes while delivering genuine developmental value, why Head Start is one of the most natural partnerships Special Olympics has ever found, and what it actually takes to get a program up and running in a matter of days.Connect with Special Olympics New York:➡️ https://www.specialolympics-ny.org/➡️ https://www.instagram.com/specialolympicsny➡️ https://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsNewYork➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/company/special-olympics-new-york/----------------------------Early Childhood Chats is hosted by Andrew Roszak - JD, MPA, EMT-PExecutive Director at the Institute for Childhood Preparedness. The Institute for Childhood Preparedness is proud to use its decades of experience to offer comprehensive and expert disaster and emergency preparedness trainings live in-person, via webinar, and on-demand online. // Visit: https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/ to find out more // Schedule your training today https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/trainingFOLLOW UShttps://www.instagram.com/childhoodpreparedness/ https://www.facebook.com/ChildPreparedhttps://twitter.com/ChildPreparedhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-for-childhood-preparedness© Institute for Childhood Preparedness 2026 all rights reserved

The Educational Toy Every Parent Should Know About

In this episode of Early Childhood Chats, host Andy Roszak sits down with Drew Vernon from Tonies to talk about a product that has become a staple in his own household and is making waves in early childhood classrooms across the country. Tonies is a screen-free audio system designed for young children, featuring a soft, portable speaker box and magnetic character figures that trigger stories, songs, and educational content when placed on top. Drew shares the origin story of the company, which began in Dusseldorf, Germany, when two dads on a preschool board saw teachers still using CDs and streaming devices that kids could not operate on their own. He walks through his own journey from Procter and Gamble to LEGO to leading the education program at Tonies in the United States.The conversation covers the growing body of research on screen time and child development, the L.A. school district’s recent decision to restrict screens through first grade, the power of audio-based learning in building vocabulary and creative visualization, and the many ways teachers can integrate the Toniebox into classroom centers. Drew also talks about Creative Tonies, the blank recordable figures that let parents, grandparents, and even incarcerated fathers record personal messages and stories for their children. Andy shares his own experience using Creative Tonies to connect his one-hundred-and-one-year-old grandmother with his daughters, and the two discuss the Toniebox 2’s new features including Bluetooth, a sunrise alarm, and a screen-free game system called Tonie Play.Learn more about Tonies: https://us.tonies.com/https://www.instagram.com/tonies.us/Episode Timestamps0:00 Introduction and Andy’s experience as a Tonies parent1:30 Drew Vernon’s background: from P&G to LEGO to Tonies3:30 The origin story of Tonies in Dusseldorf, Germany5:15 How the Toniebox works: magnets, RFID, and kid-friendly design6:30 My First Tonies for ages one and up7:00 Licensing partnerships: Disney, Paw Patrol, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and more8:30 The philosophy behind screen-free audio and creative visualization10:30 Screen time research and the impact of COVID on children’s media habits13:00 The L.A. school district restricting screens through first grade14:30 Creative Tonies: recording your own voice for your children16:00 Incarcerated fathers staying connected through Creative Tonies17:30 Using Tonies during travel, road trips, and at Great Wolf Lodge18:30 Integrating Tonies into the classroom: five learning centers model20:30 Age range: from My First Tonies at age one to audiobooks at age ten21:30 Bluetooth headphones, external speakers, and classroom ratios22:30 Battery life and portability (eight hours)23:00 What’s next: Pokemon partnership and Tonie Play game system25:00 Where to buy and the twenty percent teacher discount26:00 Drew’s favorite Tonie: the LeVar Burton Reading Rainbow collaboration28:00 Wi-Fi and connectivity explained30:00 Drew’s closing thoughts on giving kids the right tools for one childhood----------------------------Early Childhood Chats is hosted by Andrew Roszak - JD, MPA, EMT-PExecutive Director at the Institute for Childhood Preparedness. The Institute for Childhood Preparedness is proud to use its decades of experience to offer comprehensive and expert disaster and emergency preparedness trainings live in-person, via webinar, and on-demand online. // Visit: https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/ to find out more // Schedule your training today https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/trainingFOLLOW UShttps://www.instagram.com/childhoodpreparedness/ https://www.facebook.com/ChildPreparedhttps://twitter.com/ChildPreparedhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-for-childhood-preparedness© Institute for Childhood Preparedness 2026 all rights reserved

Should Child Care Programs Have Cameras? Childcare Experts Discuss

In this episode of Early Childhood Chats, host Andy Roszak talks with Kevin Wright from Watch Me Grow about a topic that generates a lot of opinions and not enough informed conversation: cameras in childcare settings. Watch Me Grow is a video platform built exclusively for the early childhood education industry, offering commercial-grade camera integration, secure parent viewing, long-term footage retention for compliance, and a growing suite of AI-powered features designed to support proactive program management rather than reactive crisis response.Kevin walks through his own path into early childhood technology, including his time at a childcare management platform before joining Watch Me Grow during the merger with PB&J TV. The conversation covers how parent viewing actually works in practice, including the data showing that average parent viewing time is less than a minute per day or week, how centers are using cameras as coaching and professional development tools rather than surveillance, the legal and insurance value of reliable footage retention, and how programs are offsetting costs by offering camera access as a value-added service to families. Kevin also previews Watch Me Grow’s active supervision AI feature, which detects when an adult is not present in a classroom and flags the event for director review. Andy and Kevin discuss the shift in perception from cameras as punitive “big brother” tools to proactive instruments for quality improvement, staff support, and family trust.Learn more about Watch Me Grow:https://watchmegrow.com/Episode Timestamps0:00 Introduction: cameras at the intersection of early childhood and technology1:00 Kevin Wright’s background and how he ended up at Watch Me Grow2:30 The PB&J TV and Watch Me Grow merger3:30 Why Watch Me Grow is built exclusively for early childhood education4:30 What Watch Me Grow actually is: the platform explained6:30 Parent viewing: how it works and how centers customize access8:30 The data on parent viewing: enrollment boosts, retention, and average viewing time under one minute10:30 Cameras as a professional development and coaching tool13:00 The hockey film analogy: watching to build best practices, not to catch mistakes14:30 Myths and misconceptions about cameras in childcare16:30 The story of a director who could not produce footage when it mattered18:00 Camera placement: classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, parking lots, and exteriors20:00 Offsetting costs: charging a technology fee for parent viewing access22:00 The legal value of reliable footage: discovery, insurance claims, and the jury argument24:00 The shift from reactive to proactive: using video to identify trends before incidents escalate26:00 The iPad story: how video revealed a staffing need, not a teacher failure28:00 Active supervision AI: detecting when an adult is not present in a classroom31:00 What’s next: ratio tracking, smart observations, and emotional learning features33:00 Security benefits: after-hours surveillance, vandalism, vehicle incidents35:00 The vehicle-into-building story from Canada and why footage matters for insurance37:00 How to reach Watch Me Grow and the discovery conversation process39:00 Closing thoughts on transparency and the future of video in early childhood----------------------------// Visit: https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/ to find out more // Schedule your training today https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/trainingFOLLOW UShttps://www.instagram.com/childhoodpreparedness/ https://www.facebook.com/ChildPreparedhttps://twitter.com/ChildPreparedhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-for-childhood-preparedness

Why Preschool Behavior Is Getting Worse (Real Solutions Inside)

In this episode of Early Childhood Chats, we tackle one of the most urgent challenges in early education today: the growing gap in mental health support for young children.Host Andy Rozak sits down with Dr. Neal Horen and Shai Idelson from the Thrive Center at Georgetown University to discuss rising behavioral challenges in classrooms, increasing preschool expulsion rates, and why early childhood educators are facing unprecedented stress and burnout.We dive into:* Why infant and early childhood mental health matters more than ever* The reality of challenging behaviors in today’s classrooms* The shortage of mental health consultants and why programs struggle to access support* Innovative solutions to build internal capacity and expand the workforce* Practical strategies for educators and directors to manage stress and support childrenIf you work in early childhood education, Head Start, childcare, or behavioral health, this conversation is a must-watch.Learn more about the Thrive Center: 👉 https://thrivecenter.georgetown.edu/👉 https://www.facebook.com/GUUCEDD👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/thrive-center-at-georgetown-university/👉 https://www.instagram.com/guthrivecenter/👉 https://www.iecmhc.org/👉 Georgetown Thrive Center: thrivecenter.georgetown.edu👉 Practical Certificate in IECMH Consultation: thrivecenter.georgetown.edu/training-and-education/certificates/practical-certificate-in-infant-early-childhood-mental-health-consultation/👉 Head Start East Partner Events: headstarteast.org/event#EarlyChildhoodEducation #MentalHealthSupport #Childcare #HeadStart #TeacherBurnout----------------------------Early Childhood Chats is hosted by Andrew Roszak - JD, MPA, EMT-PExecutive Director at the Institute for Childhood Preparedness. The Institute for Childhood Preparedness is proud to use its decades of experience to offer comprehensive and expert disaster and emergency preparedness trainings live in-person, via webinar, and on-demand online. // Visit: https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/ to find out more // Schedule your training today https://www.childhoodpreparedness.org/trainingFOLLOW UShttps://www.instagram.com/childhoodpreparedness/ https://www.facebook.com/ChildPreparedhttps://twitter.com/ChildPreparedhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-for-childhood-preparedness© Institute for Childhood Preparedness 2025 all rights reserved