Ep. 26: Building a Nurturing School Family: Fostering Early Childhood Development Through Love, Safety, and Community with Kathy Wymer

For over 30 years, Kathy's passion has been early childhood education. She has an education degree from Texas Tech University and taught for Coppell ISD and Hurst Euless Bedford ISD right here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area before starting her true love of teaching and directing weekday early childhood programs. She led a faith-based school in Fort Worth for several years and recently shifted her day-to-day life to provide consulting, training, and mentoring. In this podcast episode, Kathy discusses the importance of building a school family and the impact it has on early childhood development. She defines a school family as a place where children feel loved, cared for, and safe, emphasizing the role of relationships in brain development and learning. Kathy suggests creating a safe and loving environment in the classroom, where children have important roles and responsibilities. She also highlights the significance of routines and intentional connections in fostering a sense of safety and community. With this, she shares practical strategies such as job assignments, recognition of acts of kindness, and a calm corner for children to regulate their emotions. Overall, she emphasizes the importance of creating a positive and nurturing environment that supports the social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children.  If this concept is new to you, it may seem a bit overwhelming. Let me encourage you…you don't have to change everything you're doing in your classroom today. Pick one thing – maybe you want to try adding a personalized greeting to your day.  Or maybe you just want to add some classroom jobs so every child helps your classroom function every day.  Or maybe you just want to start using the "family" terminology as you talk to your students to help yourself and them shift your mindset into a community mindset.  God has created us for community.  He is the ultimate family-builder as He invites us to be a part of His family!   Kathy's email is [email protected] As always, we would love to connect with you on Instagram HERE and on Facebook HERE.