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Love

A Suitcase for Stories

By | Creativity, Education, Family, Joy, Learning, Love, Music, Play, Prayer, Spirituality, Uncategorized | No Comments

A few years ago, I read “The Boy who Would Be a Helicopter” by Vivien Gussin Paley. This was her description of her work in Chicago around storytelling and story-acting. She describes how she worked with children to “scribe” their stories, recording them word-for-word as told by the children. The story was then acted out by the child and friends…

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Child in grass

A US environment for Twos

By | Creativity, Education, Family, Joy, Learning, Love, Music, Play, Prayer, Spirituality | No Comments

Creating a successful 2-year-old environment takes a lot of planning, prioritizing and organization. Transitioning from infancy to a 2-year-old preschool can be a big adjustment. These children are usually very attached to their caregivers. It is important for the child to feel secure when they are away from home. Your classroom should offer a place for parents and children to be greeted and feel welcome. I always offer a hug and a…

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Jesus and Twos

By | Creativity, Education, Family, Joy, Learning, Love, Music, Play, Prayer, Spirituality | No Comments

Jesus well understood the vulnerability of toddlers. When He was Himself about two He was taken by Joseph and His mother Mary to Egypt as a refugee. There is nothing new about the flight of families from hardship, persecution and threat of death. In fact the movement of a great people group (the Hebrews) plays a crucial role in the history of Moses. The flight from…

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Case Study: Twos and Involvement

By | Creativity, Education, Joy, Learning, Love, Play, Spirituality, Uncategorized | No Comments

The responses of two-year-olds starting at nursery may be very different. The unfamiliarity of the setting will evoke a wide range of behaviours. Some, being overwhelmed, may simply ‘go into their shell’; some are distressed by the moment of separation from mums; others are attracted by everything in turn as it comes to their attention and they flit from one activity or centre to another. The toddler, who…

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Kids in field

Love That Knows No End

By | Love, Spirituality | No Comments

By the time this edition of Early Days goes to print I will have celebrated 30 years of marriage with my wonderful husband, Pete. So perhaps it is fitting that “Professional Love” is the theme of this magazine. There have been times in those thirty years when loving and sticking together has been a decision and commitment rather than a…

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