Mindfulness with Maylis and Katherine

Mindfulness has been a part of Old Firehouse School's work with children for many years. Alex talks with Katherine Peck (OFS Mill Valley)and Maylis Treuil (OFS Lafayette) about how and why they use mindfulness in their classroom, both for the children and for themselves. Being able to be present in the moment is a skill that you can develop at any age. They share some activities they use with children and also some other resources.

Some of the resources they mentioned are here: 
Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents)
I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness by Susan Verde
What Does It Mean to Be Present? by Rana DiOrio and Eliza Wheeler
Go Noodle (YouTube channel with some yoga and self-regulation exercises)

Self Regulation

For young children, self regulation is a skill they are developing. They are still working on understanding how to respond to both positive and negative moments. Dorothy and Alex talk with Cheryl, an OFS Walnut Creek teacher and MFT, about how to help children develop self regulation and what our role is as parent or teacher.

Discipline Part 1

Ever wonder how preschool teachers manage so many children throughout the day? Judy, OFS Walnut Creek director and Alex, OFS Lafayette director discuss some of our tried and true strategies that help make the day go better for everyone! They also share some child development knowledge that helps to understand what is happening in those little brains.

The Importance of Relationships

OFS Mill Valley Director Amy Baker interviews Dorothy, who discusses the importance of attachment. People have an innate need to feel love and be connected to others, and these attachments are formed in the earliest years in our lives. Dorothy talks about how our parenting is affected by how we were parented, as well as how advancements in neuroscience support attachment relationships.

Potty Training

Ever wonder what potty training is like when teachers do it? Listen to 4 directors chat about their experience potty training their own children as well as working with families in the midst of the process. Understanding the individual children's development and following their physical and emotional cues are the keys to success during this big transition!

Darcy Campbell Creativity

Darcy Campbell, director of Cow Hollow School in San Francisco, discusses with us the value and necessity of creativity -- specifically in how children can be creative thinkers. The early years are crucial times in which to allow children to explore, think creatively and critically, and to be okay with "not-knowing." Building the children's capacity for creativity means that we are giving them skills to be problem solvers and to not shy away from challenges.

Lizz Cohen Perspective Taking

Lizz Cohen Perspective Taking

Join Dorothy and Alex as they talk to Lizz Cohen, an Old Firehouse School Mill Valley teacher, who recently presented a workshop on perspective taking with young children. How children are able to understand the world beyond their own wants is something that we can help develop with very careful and thoughtful language.

Anti-Bias Education →

Fireside Chat on the Young Mind: Anti-Bias Education with Nadiyah Taylor

Welcome to our first podcast! Here you will find conversations on topics that affect young children in school and at home. In this podcast, you will hear Dr. Dorothy Stewart and Alexandra Dutton talk with Nadiyah Taylor about anti-bias education. Nadiyah discusses how to talk about prejudice with children and help them be open to the many ways that people live in our world.