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! As a new school year begins, it's the perfect time to focus on one of the most important parts of your classroom—not your lesson plans or classroom décor, but your relationships with families. For many children, you'll spend as many waking hours with them as their parents do. That's why it's so important to build a true partnership from the very beginning. Take time to learn about each family. Ask about siblings, grandparents, pets, favorite activities, family traditions, or...
Hey Reader! The first few weeks of school are some of the most stressful (I mean, who can blame those littles for crying a little in such a “strange” place!) and also some of the most critical in setting the trajectory of your year. We often want to jump quickly into curriculum and “teaching”. Afterall, we’ve got 26 letters to teach and about 500 great ideas for crafts, math games and read-alouds ready to go! Stop for a moment and take a breath. We’re giving you permission (actually, we’re...
Hey Reader! Have you ever had one of those days when you've been patient...kind...smiling...and showing incredible self-control—and then one little thing happens, and you just want to slam a cabinet door or stomp your feet? We've all been there. After hours of solving problems, answering questions, and caring for others, sometimes we just need a quiet moment to reset. What if that's exactly how some of the children in our classrooms feel? The difference is that young children don't yet have...