Storykate: an early childhood teacher and trainer, armed with ukulele and the gift to generate endless curriculum ideas.
Hello, fellow educators!👋🏻 I'm Kate, an experienced early childhood teacher and tertiary education instructor passionate about enriching early learning. With extensive experience across various roles—from nanny and storyteller to educational leader and early childhood trainer—I bring a wealth of knowledge and innovative teaching strategies to the table. At Storykate, I'm dedicated to sharing engaging educational practices through stories, puppet shows, action songs, ukulele, mind maps and circle games. Whether you're teaching young children or training future educators, you'll find invaluable resources here. I offer a treasure trove of free resources, creative ideas, and digital products designed to enhance your teaching methods and pedagogy. I helped hundreds of students and educators achieve their professional goals. 👇Why Subscribe? Subscribe to get your hands on exclusive content that blends storytelling, puppetry, and music with effective teaching techniques. These resources are perfect for keeping your programs lively and educational, especially during circle time. 🐞Join me at Storykate to explore new ways to jazz up your teaching style and connect with a community of like-minded early childhood educators. Let’s make learning fun and meaningful together!
Storykate Stories: April
Welcome to storytime with Kate!Hey Educators!
Kate's story from practiceMy little boy just turned 25 years old. Fully grown up man, a big milestone... When I was pregnant, for some reason, I just knew who I was going to have. The ultrasound confirmed it: a boy. Over time, our home filled up with toy cars. We collected building sets and toy guns. We also gathered a whole bag of little mates. Child psychologist Kathy Walker says raising boys is a special kind of art. I still agree, but now I would add that it is also a practice that asks for reflection.
The old debate about what comes first in child development, genes or upbringing, is still going. What has shifted is how we understand that relationship. Research now clearly points to an interaction between the two. As Lise Eliot explains in Pink Brain, Blue Brain, the differences we see early in life are often small. They are quickly shaped by experience, relationships, and expectations. So yes, biology matters. But it does not write the whole story.
There are some patterns we see again and again. Boys, on average, tend to be more physically active. Studies of infants already show slightly higher activity levels in boys. They often gravitate towards movement, rough and tumble play, and toys that involve building or motion. Research by Simon Baron-Cohen has explored these early preferences.
I have seen this myself. I still remember my friend and me trying to separate two toddlers. They were one and a half years old and happily wrestling each other. With love, of course. But this is where I would pause now in a way I did not before.
Because alongside these patterns sits another body of research that reminds us to be careful. Janet Hyde, through the Gender Similarities Hypothesis, shows that most psychological differences between boys and girls are actually small. There is often more variation within each group than between them.
In other words, not all boys are the same. Not even close.
Here is shy and introverted Lauchlan, who prefers to play alone; Bries, who likes dinosaurs and is very sensitive; Maksim, who is very confident and is a leader; and Matt, who prefers to play with dolls. It is hard to ignore how strongly culture shapes what we expect from boys. From a very early age, boys are often nudged, sometimes gently, sometimes not, towards a narrow version of masculinity. Be strong. Do not cry. Do not be like a girl.
If a boy reaches for dolls, they are often replaced with cars. If he prefers quieter play or the company of girls, adults may try to redirect him towards sport or competition. Without even noticing, we start to close some doors while opening others. Research does not tell us to treat boys and girls as the same. It tells us to stay attentive to the child in front of us, rather than the category we place them in.
Some practical ideas still make sense, and I hold onto them:
Make sure they are listening before you speak. Keep instructions clear and simple. Offer a wide range of role models, not just athletes, but artists, writers, and thinkers. Allow reasonable risk and independence. Notice when they withdraw. It may be stress, not just a need for space. Limit screen time and talk about what they are seeing. Teach and model how to listen, how to ask, how to care
Quote of the monthMaryanne Wolf, the neuroscientist studying the importance of deep reading: Most of us think we are exercising critical thinking, but if we are honest with ourselves, we realise that we are doing so less than we imagine.
Resource of the month
Observation method of the monthSnapshots are one of the easiest ones to learn. A snapshot observation is: a short, focused record of a moment in time that captures what a child is doing, saying, or experiencing. It is like taking a “freeze‑frame” of learning. Instead of writing a long, detailed observation, you:
How?A snapshot observation is typically:
A small intention for this month related to slow pedagogyWhat is one small change that would make your teaching days feel calmer this term? I am going to work at Forest School, and my main goal is to get more attuned to children's inquiries and ideas, not just my intentions or teaching goals. It is a new environment, and I need new tools. What are your intentions? All the best,
P.S. Share the Love! Explore More on Storykate What would you like me to make articles and videos about? What resources would you like me to create? Send me a message via DM or FB, and I will try my best to make it. |
Storykate: an early childhood teacher and trainer, armed with ukulele and the gift to generate endless curriculum ideas.
Hello, fellow educators!👋🏻 I'm Kate, an experienced early childhood teacher and tertiary education instructor passionate about enriching early learning. With extensive experience across various roles—from nanny and storyteller to educational leader and early childhood trainer—I bring a wealth of knowledge and innovative teaching strategies to the table. At Storykate, I'm dedicated to sharing engaging educational practices through stories, puppet shows, action songs, ukulele, mind maps and circle games. Whether you're teaching young children or training future educators, you'll find invaluable resources here. I offer a treasure trove of free resources, creative ideas, and digital products designed to enhance your teaching methods and pedagogy. I helped hundreds of students and educators achieve their professional goals. 👇Why Subscribe? Subscribe to get your hands on exclusive content that blends storytelling, puppetry, and music with effective teaching techniques. These resources are perfect for keeping your programs lively and educational, especially during circle time. 🐞Join me at Storykate to explore new ways to jazz up your teaching style and connect with a community of like-minded early childhood educators. Let’s make learning fun and meaningful together!
Welcome to storytime with Kate! Hey Educators! I hope the year has begun kindly for you. The start of a new term can feel noisy. New routines. New children. New expectations. This month, I want to slow things down a little and focus on presence rather than productivity. You don’t need to do everything. You only need to do one thing well.My news - I left my Vocational Education Teacher's job and may now look into bush playgroup positions... New year , new beginnings! Check out my channel...
Welcome to storytime with Kate! Hey Educators! From my teacher's heart, I wish you all an amazing New Year 2026, and I hope you will stay safe and achieve more in your careers as educators. Let kindness and community connections spread, and let it be peace in the world. This year, I’m not aiming for more. I’m aiming for clearer, calmer and more intentional. One small step is enough. A 10-minute goal-setting activity for educators January does not need big resolutions. This short activity is...
Welcome to storytime with Kate! Happy Holidays! Hey Educators! Check out my channel Kate's story from practice Indoor Gym I went into the Toddler Room during the rain, and it was clear the children had so much bottled-up energy. There was screaming, there were behaviour issues, and you could see the educator was trying to run an activity. She even pulled out some sort of balancing cushion for them to walk on. But it was obvious that many of the children just wanted to jump and run. One girl...