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: February
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!
Kate's story from practiceThere was a year in my career as an early childhood educator that I now recognise as particularly difficult. At the time, I did not think of it that way. That was also the year I became a single mother. I had just moved into a new long-daycare role and was trying to understand how things worked in a new setting, with new people. I was also made redundant from another position during that period. Alongside paid work, I was tutoring part-time and writing, while caring for an eight-year-old who needed stability more than explanations. Physically, I was unwell more often than usual. I developed asthma, allergies to almost everything, and had flare-ups. Migraines became frequent. Sleep stopped being restorative. I would fall asleep watching tv or even while visiting friends. Now, I can see it more clearly. This was burnout. It was a nervous system overload. It was anxiety. What helped was a change in how I interpreted what was happening to me. I began reading Brené Brown, mostly because her work named things I could feel but had never articulated. It helped me understand how much shame had crept into my self-talk. I was also listening to talks and audiobooks by Kristin Neff and Pema Chödrön. I’m still a huge fan of these ladies. How are you, really?
Quote of the month
“Nothing without joy.”
— Loris Malaguzzi Joy does not mean constant excitement.
Sometimes it means calm focus, shared attention, and feeling safe enough to explore. Story of the month: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?This is a story I come back to again and again. Why?
It works beautifully with:
You can pause. Observation method of the monthHave you heard of webbing for planning and observing children? I found it is such a great way to come up with loads of ideas for inquiry projects, experiences, play and learning ideas. It helps to see all your planning on ONE page.
A small intention for this monthWhat is one small change that would make your teaching days feel calmer this term? Choose one:
Small is enough. 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! 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...
Hey, lovely educator, If you have been eyeing off a few StoryKate resources and thinking, “I’ll grab that later,” this is your week. 🖤 Black Friday Sale: 50% off 51 StoryKate products From 22 November to 29 November 2025, you can get 50% off a curated collection of 51 resources in my StoryKate Payhip store. Perfect if you want to get organised for next year, polish your documentation or add a few new ideas to your curriculum without staying up till midnight making it all from scratch. 👉 Use...