You want to provide the best early childhood experience for children and their parents. But you don’t have easy access to high-quality training. We provide you with relevant, research-based, and Biblically-sound training and on-demand courses so that you and your staff can confidently care for and teach young children.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… You’re Really Learning About Children
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Hey Reader! It’s week 2 of our summer book series! Few books capture the beautifully busy minds of young children quite like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Have you ever thought about that? One simple cookie quickly turns into milk, straws, mirrors, haircuts, sweeping, drawing, naps, and eventually… another cookie. Children laugh because the story feels familiar—and honestly, every early childhood teacher smiles because it feels familiar to them too! LOL! Young children are naturally curious, imaginative, and constantly connecting one idea to the next. What may seem like distraction is often the incredible process of learning unfolding in real time. This story reminds us that childhood is filled with wonder, exploration, and relationship. The little boy continues responding patiently to the mouse’s requests, meeting needs along the way. In many ways, this mirrors the work early educators do every day. Every question, conversation, and unexpected moment can become an opportunity to nurture trust, connection, and learning. There’s also a sweet spiritual connection hidden within the story. Did you see it? Children have endless needs—and sometimes educators do too. Yet God meets us with patience, provision, and care again and again. Just as the little boy keeps showing kindness to the mouse, we can be reminded of the grace and provision that God extends to us daily. Scripture tells us: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” — Psalm 103:8 As teachers, we have the opportunity to reflect that same patience and compassion in our classrooms, even during the busiest moments. Need some easy ideas to extend the learning with this fun book? TODDLERS Milk & Cookie Pretend Play TWOS What Comes Next? Game PRE-K Mouse Cause-and-Effect Chart KINDER Class Book Creation Bind the pages together into a classroom book full of creativity and humor. This would be a wonderful addition to a classroom library! Cheering you on this week! -Your ECCN team P.S. If you don't want to receive these weekly emails anymore, no hard feelings. Click HERE to be removed from this list. (You'll still receive other emails from us based on past preferences.)
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Early Childhood Christian Network
You want to provide the best early childhood experience for children and their parents. But you don’t have easy access to high-quality training. We provide you with relevant, research-based, and Biblically-sound training and on-demand courses so that you and your staff can confidently care for and teach young children.
Hey Reader! We’re starting a summer newsletter series with a focus on early childhood books. We’re starting today with a Super Simple Science Series by Brock Eastman. I also got to interview him on the podcast. It was WILD! You might want to check it out on our YouTube Channel because we even did some live science experiments!! Bridging the Gap Between Science and Faith Science and faith are often viewed as being at odds with each other. However, for young children, these fields can be...
Hey Reader! In the busyness of our classrooms, sometimes it’s hard to pause long enough to reflect on what’s actually happening. There are diapers to change, lessons to prepare, parents to update, and children who need our constant care and attention. Taking a few moments to reflect each day may be one of the most important habits/practices that a teacher can do. Reflection (pausing to intentionally consider) helps you move beyond simply “doing activities” (aka, babysitting) to intentionally...
Hey Reader! This transition into summer doesn't always feel like a vacation does it? Instead, you might find yourself feeling "at your wits' end" and "dragging a burden" that feels far heavier than you were meant to carry. After a long school year, it’s easy to default to "leaking trust systems" like hustle, control, or silence. (Curious about where this terminology came from? Listen in to the conversation with Debbie Simmons in this week’s podcast episode – just click the graphic below. We...