Tomorrow is our Collaboration Corner live call at 1pm. We'd love to see you there and get to know all of you. If you have a question or a topic you'd like to discuss, please fill out the question form. To find it, go to the Classroom tab above, click the "start here" lesson, and find it under the Collaboration Corner page. While you're there, take a peek at The Ultimate Preschool Playbook introduction video! Looking forward to chatting tomorrow! Have a great day!

Movement builds attention. Predictable movement builds it faster. We’ve added a two-page Movement Break Menu — Quick Look to The Playbook Exchange. It’s a simple menu you can hand to staff so they choose a quick reset on purpose (not as an afterthought). Have a movement list that works at your site? Please post it for The Playbook Exchange so other directors can borrow it. Short and simple is perfect.

This week inside PDN, we’re focusing on building learning through movement — not just using movement before or after instruction. When you’re doing walkthroughs, try coaching with prompts like: - Where could children show the idea with their bodies instead of only with words? - What could we swap from “sit-and-tell” to “move-and-show” in the next 2 minutes? Then (this is the key) offer a tiny demo teachers can copy immediately. 1) Literacy: “Sound Switch Steps” (phonemic awareness + inhibition) - “When you hear /m/, take ONE step forward. When you hear a sound that is not /m/, freeze.” - Call quick words: mom, sun, milk, hat, map, fish - Add challenge: “Now let’s switch it up! This time, when you hear /m/, take ONE step backward. When you hear a sound that is not /m/, freeze right where you are.” - ✅ This teaches sound discrimination, listening, impulse control, and flexibility. 2) Movement & Science: “Animal Action Freeze” (gross motor + observation + self-regulation) - “Let’s move like animals we know! When I call an animal, show me how it moves.” - Call out: “Frog! Elephant! Bird! Snake!” - After a few seconds: “Freeze!” - Ask: “What do you notice about how your body feels? Which muscles did you use? How does a frog move differently from a bird?” - ✅ Builds body awareness, vocabulary, observation skills, and self-control through playful movement. (These work great even with wiggly groups because the movement is the instruction.) 📌 One line to share with staff:“Movement isn’t the break from learning — it’s one of the ways we teach it.” 💬 What’s one part of your daily routine that could become a “move-and-show” moment this week?

Katherine and I had the privilege of presenting to Naples Preschool of the Arts, and it was truly a joy to spend time with such an engaged, thoughtful team of educators. Thank you for the opportunity, @Jennifer Cashman Our training focused on sensory regulation and emotional regulation, with a strong emphasis on helping teachers: - read the room before reacting - understand how their own sensory system affects the classroom - make small, in-the-moment adjustments that support regulation and engagement The feedback from the team was incredibly positive (5/5), with many teachers sharing how helpful it was to have language and tools that felt realistic and usable in a busy classroom. If you’re curious about how this kind of support can extend beyond a single training, check out the introduction to The Ultimate Preschool Playbook (UPP) (under the classroom tab) to see how it can support your preschool as well. 💬 Directors — what are you noticing most in your classrooms right now when it comes to regulation and engagement?

As we wrap up our last two days before a two week winter break, I am thinking of my fellow directors and teachers. Thank you for the hard work you do every day, the preparations you do to make life wonderful for the tiny humans in your charge, the support you provide to families and the encouragement you offer to each other. Wishing you happy holidays. In the words of Tiny Tim (from A Christmas Carol), “God bless us, every one!”