By Regina Wright I may be confessing my age, but let’s let our imaginations wander. Think about the time in your life when you were a child. What made your free time fun time? When I imagine, I think about long summer days and how I spent endless hours jumping rope. I had so much...Read More

By Amy Hoffman   There are days in my life as a program quality assessor when I have the joy of seeing children take the lead in an activity. It’s especially fun to watch the teachers join in with the play while the children direct it. I spent time outside with a school-age group last August...Read More

Megan Pittsinger Wondering what you should do when you take children outside on snowy days? Here are FIVE fun ideas:Read More

Lisa Mulliken In many programs, indoor or outdoor gross motor space is limited which affects the type of equipment that can be used in the space. Stationary equipment takes up more space, may need impact absorbing surfacing underneath and is often more expensive than portable gross motor equipment. In small indoor or outdoor gross motor...Read More

By Lisa Mulliken During the snowy weather and cold winter months, do you find it more challenging to get the children in your classroom outside? Here in Pennsylvania, wintertime may feel like a difficult time of the year for children to engage in daily outdoor play. From the additional time it takes to put on...Read More

Patty Carroll Many child care facilities struggle with taking infants outside. They wonder why it is so important and included as part of the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale. During the first few years of life, infants are trying to make sense of their world. One of the ways they do this is by soaking...Read More

Leah Zabari Mud pies, hide and seek, climbing trees, grass stains, and ripped jeans. Oh! The fun childhood memories when freedom to explore the world through adventures and imagination went on from sun up to sundown. But sadly, with computer, TV and the push for more developmentally inappropriate academics in early childhood, these adventures seem...Read More