Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Center time is a major staple of a preschool program. And if you are running a play-based classroom like I am… free-play centers is the key ingredient! But have you ever wondered…. how long should I schedule time in centers? Tune in and I will walk you through what the recommendations are for scheduling center time.

Topics Discussed:

• ECERS (Early Childhood Environmental Education Rating System) recommendations.
• Recommendations based on length of day
• How to schedule center time so it doesn't feel so overwhelming

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Schedule Workbook

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• Blogpost: How Long to Schedule Centers - With a helpful simplified scheduling chart!

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

Setting up a preschool classroom is both exciting and daunting.

This is the space where new little young minds will explore, learn, and grow. As a play-based classroom, my classroom truly is the second teacher. But, I truly believe we can’t just ‘wing it’.

There are some important factors to take into consideration when setting up your preschool classroom – and I’m sharing them all here with you! Tune in!

Topics Discussed:

• The 7 key factors to think about before setting up your preschool classroom

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Classroom Set Up Workbook

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

You know the centers in your classroom that your preschoolers rarely go to? The centers that when they do get students, those students rarely stay for too long? I call those the "un-popular" centers. I've found a way to liven up those centers! Tune in!

Topics Discussed:

• Un-popular centers - writing, math, science, literacy
• How to make the un-popular centers fun and appealing

Resources Mentioned:

• Preschool Science Centers Bundle - Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources
• Writing Invitations Bundle - Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• Blogpost: Free Play + Playful Learning = Engaged Centers
• Podcast: Episode 14- Free Play + Playful Learning = Engaged Centers
• Blogpost: Level Up your Preschool Science Centers
• Blogpost: Why we Change out our Drama Center
• Podcast: Episode 62 - Why we Change out our Drama Center
• Podcast: Episode 48- Preschool Centers: Free Choice or Rotation?

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

We all know the magic of center time: a room buzzing with creativity, exploration, and little minds learning through play. But let's be honest, sometimes center time can feel more like...chaos erupting.

Keeping children engaged can be challenging. Today I want to share with you 5 strategies that have helped guide me to making my free play centers more enjoyable for all!

Topics Discussed:

• Change it up
• Use hands-on materials
• Put it on the table
• Use novelty
• Play in the center

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• Blogpost: Free Play + Playful Learning = Engaged Centers
• Podcast: Episode 14- Free Play + Playful Learning = Engaged Centers
• Blogpost: Preschool Centers: Free Choice or Rotation?
• Podcast: Episode 48- Preschool Centers: Free Choice or Rotation?

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

The end of the school year is definitely bittersweet. It's exciting for our current students to be headed to new adventures and hard to let go of the littles we have had in our classrooms all year! One thing I do at the end of each year is spend some time reflecting. What worked in my classroom and what do I want to change for that new group of students coming in!

Topics Discussed:

• The importance of reflection
• Several key areas to reflect on (wins and needs work)
• Setting goals for next school year

Resources Mentioned:

• Get your Yearly Planning On (free training)
• Circle Time Games
• Interactive Read Alouds
• Shared Reading
• Interactive and Shared Writing

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• Setting Up your Preschool Classroom (video)

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

While conferences are a great time to connect with parents, celebrate student achievements and also provide a space to express concerns - it's not easy. Most of us are extremely comfortable talking to young children, but talking to parents can feel like a totally different experience! In this episode of the Lovely Preschool Teachers podcast, you will get tips on how to make conferences go more smoothly and actual examples that you can use when talking to parents!

Topics Discussed:

• Positivity First
• Giving Specifics
• Focusing on Skills
• Providing Support

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

I’ve done a lot of required assessments in my day. And when I think back, I can confirm that I didn’t actually use the results from the assessments. I just got the assessment done and called it a day.

But, the purpose of assessing is to check progress and if there is a discrepancy, to use that data to create lessons and learning opportunities to help teach that missing skill.

Tune in to this episode to hear the why, how, and what behind data collection and the system I created!

Topics Discussed:

• Why assessment data should be analyzed
• The system I created and how to use it
• What can be learned from collecting assessment data

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Quick Data Collector
• Free Assessment Guide

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• Episode 26: Do This, Not That - Assessment Edition
• Episode 27: Making Preschool Assessment Engaging
• Episode 31: Streamline your Preschool Assessment Process

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

We all know the importance of preschool assessment – it helps us understand our little learners and tailor our teaching to their needs. But traditional assessment periods can sometimes feel overwhelming. Testing all of the skills multiple times per year is exhausting and unnecessary! What if you were only focusing on specific skills to assess for each testing period? You'd be doing LESS assessing. Now you can use that time saved to TEACH those missing skills in small group! Let me introduce you to 'The Storybook Method'.

Topics Discussed:

• Why use the Storybook Method for Preschool Assessment?
• The Skill Break-Down
• What to do about Re-Assessing
• The 4 Step Process to Storybook Your Assessments

Resources Mentioned:

• FREE Storybook Method Assessment Guide

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• Blogpost: Making Assessments Engaging
• Podcast Episode 31: Streamline your Preschool Assessment Process

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

Circle time is a great way to review skills and grow class community! However, what do you do when circle time feels like more of a hassle than it's worth? Is it hard to keep the students engaged? Is your circle time becoming boring? In this episode I will help you bring joy into your circle time!

Topics Discussed:

• Why circle time might need a refresh
• Ways to keep circle time lively

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Circle Time Plan

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• Quick & Easy Circle Time Games - Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com

Raise your hand if you struggle to ‘fit it all in’.

Relying on small group time to fit in all the things that preschoolers need to know just wasn’t cutting it.

The problem is… since small group time often occurs during free play, there are many distractions. Not only do some children not want to leave their play to come to the small group table, teachers are often needed for conflict resolution.

But, while teachers are taking the time to help students in the social setting, they are struggling to fit in all of the other things!

That's where quick and easy circle time games come in!

Topics Discussed:

• What is a circle time game?
• How do you use a circle time game?
• Do they really help?

Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for a Sample of FREE Circle Time Games
• Circle Time Games Bundle
• 6 Principals of How Children Learn

Related Episodes or Blogposts:

• How to Use Circle Time Games

Connect with Ashley

• Follow on Instagram @lovelycommotion
• Join the Lovely Preschool Teachers Facebook Group

More About the Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Are you a busy preschool teacher who loves gaining new ideas, perspectives, and inspiration for your classroom? The Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast is here to help you up your confidence in educating early learners in a quick, actionable way!

As an early educator who is still in the classroom, Ashley Rives will share the ins and outs of how she runs her classroom in a play-based, child-centered way. Each week, expect a new episode focused on actionable strategies to level up your abilities and confidence as a preschool teacher.

Ashley Rives is an early educator with over 17 years of experience and a strong passion to help teachers implement child-centered learning in preschool classrooms all over the world. You can follow her on Instagram @lovelycommotion or learn more at the Lovely Commotion Preschool Resources website: www.lovelycommotion.com