Thanksgiving is a very special holiday, often associated with turkey, football (for some of you!), and time spent with loved ones. It can also be an incredibly chaotic day between meal preparation and ensuring children burn all their energy off before sitting at the table. We know that it can be a challenging task [...]
Children were made for outdoor play I don’t know about you, but growing up, my parents had to force us inside. We were “four-season” kids; every day, no matter the weather or temperature, we were outside for as long as possible. In fact, playing with the neighborhood kids on our street was my parents' [...]
Too much screen time? Your kids don’t like sports? Guess what? Kids DO like to run, move, and play, even if they don't like the competition and intensity of sports. How do you know? Open the gate to your local playground, open the door to the classroom at pickup, open your back door, and [...]
Summer break has officially come to an end, and the brand new school year has begun! Preparing classrooms, writing up lesson plans, and meetings galore- all the excitement and overwhelm of welcoming a fresh group of students who eagerly await beginning a new chapter in their lives. While this can be a huge adjustment, [...]
A new study, conducted by the University of South Australia, found that regular exercise could be “a powerful intervention” in the ongoing efforts to better support children and young people’s mental health. Researchers determined in the largest meta-analysis involving 38,000 young people that consistent, structured movement improved symptoms of both anxiety and depression. More specifically, the study discovered: Anxiety- [...]
Before my work with Preston Blackburn, I was an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Teacher, working most of my decade-long career with two and three-year-olds. When I explain to other educators, I understand how difficult it can be to manage AND meet the standards required of us, I truly do. However, what if I could [...]
Opening gifts on Christmas morning or your birthday is something special and thrilling. It is the culmination of the anticipation of knowing you will receive toys you’ve wanted for so long. You imagine yourself opening a gift, peeling open the paper, and tearing at the box filled with pure excitement and the rush of [...]
Heavy Work, Learning, and Behavior Heavy work helps kids' brains understand their bodies through a tricky little thing called the proprioceptive system. When they don't get enough information through this essential system, their brains make their bodies move anyway to fill this developmental need. It may look like bad behavior, or an inability to [...]
My name is Kelsey Schmidt, and for those of you who may not know who I am, I’m the Director of Sales, Marketing, and Social Media for both Pivot to Play and Pop Hop and Rock. If you’re unaware, April is Autism Awareness Month. Every year, beginning on April 2nd, those who have or [...]
We have to lay it out: the case for structured play during the school day Unstructured play, aka recess, is considered far more sexy than structured play, aka PE. Of late, recess is the darling of play advocates who point to its developmental necessity. If you googled: “How much time do children spend in [...]
