
Episode 85: Making the Case for Joy in Playful Early Learning
Joy is one of those concepts that everyone understands until you try to define it. And yet, the research is remarkably clear about what it d...
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Not Just Cute, the Podcast shares conversations about topics related to whole child development to support teachers and parents in serving young children. Hosted by Amanda Morgan.

Joy is one of those concepts that everyone understands until you try to define it. And yet, the research is remarkably clear about what it d...

Agency — the ability to make choices, act on them, and feel that those actions matter — is key to play and learning. In this episode, we dig...

Professor and early childhood advocate Heather Bernt-Santy is widely known from her podcast as That Early Childhood Nerd. In this episode, H...

In this episode, we revisit one of the most-read pieces published on Not Just Cute: "There's Good in the World. And It's Worth Fighting For....

Is play the missing piece in today's educational puzzle? That's the question we wrestled with during a three-part book study I hosted this s...

Unlock the secrets to transforming early childhood education by focusing on the actions — not just the topics — that captivate young minds....

This episode explores the transformative blended pre-K program at Prosper Independent School District in Texas, championed by Michelle Scogi...

I had an experience a few months ago that began with a fantastic workshop with one of my favorite schools, and *seemed* to end with a broken...

Rae Pica has been a fierce advocate for children and childhood for over 40 years. And during that time she's written a whole bookshelf full...

When Amber Unger (also known as the Cream City Teacher) began her career in education, she thought she'd be working with teenagers. As her p...

In episode 74, I introduced you to Michele Dineen-White, the creator of Play Smart Literacy in Chicago. Play Smart Literacy is a truly mobil...

Michele Dinneen-White was working in an early education outreach program when she realized something. The program wasn't actually reaching o...

Challenging behaviors seem to be on the rise in preschool classrooms. Prerna Richards, of Together We Grow, specializes in supporting educat...

Once upon a time..... ...Happily ever after. These are common fairy tale phrases. But they're more than just staid story stems. These common...

Most people associate the library with silence. But what if we associated it with play? In this episode, I'm talking with Tammie Benham, You...

We started this series with the overall argument for why play is essential for human development. The next three episodes dug deep into thre...

What does fingerpainting have to do with the Space Race? In this episode, we're talking about art and creative play and their role in learni...

This episode's focus is the dress-up area and dramatic play. We'll talk about the powerful developmental support that comes from preschooler...

This episode's focus is sensory play. We'll take a look at why these bins full of rice, water, goop, and other media aren't just a big mess...

This episode's focus is the block area. We look at what's going on in those busy building centers of the early childhood classroom, and why...

While some schools may claim they're moving away from play and toward more direct academic instruction as a way to prepare children for thei...

This is the third episode in a nine-episode series! (Find them all here.) In this episode, we're digging into why we play for brain developm...

In this episode, we're digging into why we play for mental health. It's not just something we think is true or that sounds nice, it's a clai...

I'm excited to be kicking off something special today. For years, I've been speaking at workshops and conferences about the power of play in...

Find Show Notes Here Dr. Dale Farran has spent the better part of the last 50 years researching early childhood education. But some of her m...

Challenging behaviors are nothing new in early childhood education. And yet, there's something different going on. For a variety of reasons,...

I'm talking to someone I've wanted to share with you for a long time. One of my best friends from grad school, Kelli Barker. She's now the d...

Malia Hollowell is the author of The Science of Reading in Action and the creator of the site Playdough to Plato. She's a National Board Cer...

Have you been asked how your preschool room aligns with the Science of Reading? Or maybe you've seen videos of two year olds reading and the...

I've talked and written a lot about early literacy over the years, but I've avoided one very popular term: The Science of Reading. I decided...

Rae Pica is a force. As a speaker, consultant, and the author of over 20 books in addition to articles in many popular publications, Rae Pic...

Childcare Resources of Indian River in Vero Beach, Florida began with three tenacious educators going out of their way to create something b...

When holistic psychologist Dr. Nicole Beurkens attends to a brain-based challenge, she doesn't look only at the ways she could change the br...

I'm talking with Dr. Rachel Romeo about her follow up research to Hart & Risley's famous 30 million word gap. She's sharing how language sha...

In this episode, I'm talking with Dr. Dana Winters, executive director of the Fred Rogers Institute about how the work of Fred Rogers contin...

Early last month, NPR published an article with the title, "A top researcher says it's time to rethink our entire approach to preschool". Ma...

Find Show Notes at notjustcute.com/podcast/episode49 This episode comes from a livestream I did with Leaders Lounge summit organizer, Beth C...

If you've spent much time listening to children's music, you've likely heard of Laurie Berkner. And if you haven't, you'll be thanking me fo...

I'm talking with Vanessa Levin of PreK Pages and Teaching Trailblazers about how we can better support each other as educators!

Meghan Fitzgerald has combined her many professional and personal experiences with her passion for learning, play, and nature, to create Tin...

I had a great conversation recently with my friend, Rae Pica, about how and why we should get parents on board with play-based, developmenta...

You may be familiar with Sally Haughey's amazing work through Fairy Dust Teaching, a site committed to respecting the whole child, community...

Matis Miller is the author of the new book, The Uncontrollable Child . He's a licensed clinical social worker and therapist and the founder,...

Dr. Borba's newest book, THRIVERS: The Surprising Reason Why Some Kids Struggle While Others Shine , combines scientific studies, input from...

One year ago, Allison McDonald was teaching preschool in the state of Washington and writing her popular blog, No Time for Flash Cards. Like...

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode40 After the U.S.- based National Association for the Education of Young Children – or NA...

Several years ago, Pat Rumbaugh was nicknamed "The Play Lady." And the nickname stuck. After spending 25 years getting young people to play...

I'm so excited for you to meet Heather Jackson, director of the Reggio-inspired Sunflower School. In this episode she shares her thoughts on...

Rae Pica is a force to be reckoned with. With her unapologetic straight-talk, she has been advocating for children and for whole child educa...

Today I'm talking with Dr. Nefertiti Poyner of the Devereaux Center for Resilient Children and I'm going to to tell you right now, she is an...