About

I'm Amanda and I love caring for young children. I love reading picture books out loud. I love playing in the mud. I love snuggling babies and dancing with toddlers. I even love helping children work through conflict. BUT loving kids is not enough. In order to treat children with the kindness and respect they deserve, in order to be developmentally appropriate and provide quality care, we also have to understand child development. 

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In my early years as a teacher, I knew intuitively that the type of care I was observing was not quality. I knew deep within my bones that all children deserve patience, understanding, autonomy, and so many other things I did not see provided by the teachers I was supposed to be learning from. I was lucky enough to take child development classes with some amazing instructors and then, years later, to learn from some of the most wonderful preschool teachers (I believe) in the world. I'm still learning all the time. 

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On my teaching journey I learned from the voices and teachings of Mister Rogers, Lisa Murphy, Teacher Tom, Bev Bos, Janet Lansbury, and Mr. Chazz. This blog is my small attempt to share some of the things I've learned, to write about the things I'm still working on, and to connect with the many important people who also love caring for young children and also know how important it is to understand them.