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: in the mood of love
Welcome to storytime with Kate!I am glad you are here! Grab a cuppa, settle in, and let’s dive into another Storytime with Kate. Hey Educators!
How have you been? It has been a bit of a challenging time for me, as I had an operation on my voice cords to get on top of the chronic dysphonia. The thing is it stops me from singing with children, teaching face-to-face classes. It turns out, that losing voice while teaching is quite a common professional risk (remember WHS unit of study?) Whether I want it or not, it is changing my priorities. I am optimistic, though. I hope my voice will get back or I will be able to adjust to my abilities and find resilience in this experience. To cope, I walk a lot, drink camomile tea, stretch a lot using a pilates bar and take magnesium and turmeric. How do you support your well-being as an educator? ☕ Kate's story from practiceNot my story, but inspired by the dialogue with one of my pre-service early childhood education students, who grew up in China. 'Growing up in China, I was taught that schoolwork was far more important than outdoor play. Even now, when I encourage my nephews to explore nature, their parents often say, “It’s too dirty,” “What’s the point?” or “You should spend your time doing more homework.”' She said: 'Over time, the children themselves lose interest in nature. This experience made me reflect on the fact that the attitudes and behaviours of caregivers and educators play a crucial role in fostering a child's early love for nature.' How do you nurture a lifelong love and connection with nature in young children? Felt story of the month The song of the month 🎶 Hop, little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! I love this song, as it is universally appealing to different age groups. It helps to gather children on the mat or around the circle and it is an active song to move their little bodies. From my experience, this song is also one of toddlers' favourites. 🎵 Hop Little Bunnies Lyrics 🎵 (Verse 1) (Chorus - Wake Up!) (Verse 2 - Optional) (Repeat Chorus) What does it develop?
Theorist of the month: Froebel "Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." – Friedrich Froebel. I like Froebel for two reasons: he valued childhood play as learning and he encouraged outdoor play and gardening. He also founded kindergarten, which literary means garden of children. A beautiful metaphor for early childhood education and learning, as it supports our role as nurturing. It also respects the child's timelines in developing. Froebel gifts are still popular among educators and few preschools around the world follow his method.
Resource of the month
I call this resource a hundred table and a number line. I used it a lot with children in groups and one-to-one. It is AMAZING! Trust me. It is very similar to Montessori maths materials, e.g. her hundred board, but it is more active and supports big muscles and movement. Here is a demonstration of the material for my pre-service educators. And here is a video about the resource. Game of the month: Hop, Little Bunnie🐇 Encourage children to lie down quietly during the “sleeping” part and then jump up and hop energetically when prompted. This is a great way to develop listening skills, gross motor movement, and energy regulation. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RESOURCE, BOOK OR GAME FOR YOUNG CHILDREN? Thanks for reading, and I hope these resources spark new ideas in your classroom. Stay tuned for next month’s edition; remember, creativity is key to keeping the joy in learning! 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! Check out my channel Kate's story from practice I once worked with a child who had a hard start in life. He was anxious and on edge, so we let him move between two rooms to feel safe and know what to expect. He was four and a half, still in nappies, with sore skin that needed care. One day, he walked to the easel. I always set one up with jars of paint. He asked to paint. He chose a dark, muddy colour and covered the whole page. The paint was...
Welcome to storytime with Kate! Hey Educators! Check out my channel Kate's story from practice During my second teaching placement, I thought I was on the right track. New ideas, engaging activities, and materials matched to each child. My placement was at a council-run early childhood centre near home. I was using a scooter to get there. Mixed age groups, strong relationships, a security-based approach. I enjoyed it! I had a focus on a 1.5-year-old toddler, who loved red cars, so I brought...
Welcome to storytime with Kate! Hey Educators! Inviting play space celebrating imaginative play Kate's story from practice Because of my short height and somewhat childlike face, postmen and delivery people often ask me if my parents are home. Well, of course — who would think to call this person a mum? Now I’ve grown up, quit smoking a long time ago, stopped eating meat, and stopped snowboarding and surfing. But I managed to do so many fun and interesting things while I was in that mum-teen...