15 Blogs Educators Loved This Year

2022 was a difficult year for many early childhood educators. Teachers across the country were dealing with staffing shortages, changing COVID policies, and increased sickness from a particularly bad cold and flu season. However, it was also a year that felt like a return to normal for many educators. Children were back in the classroom full-time, learning and growing alongside their peers. Educators, both new and veteran, looked to reestablish routines and support children at all stages of development.

Throughout the year, we’ve worked to provide blogs on best practices and new solutions to support educators everywhere as they return to normal in the classroom. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the blog posts that educators found most helpful in 2022.

The Physical Classroom Environment

Throughout 2020 and 2021, many of our classrooms had to reconfigure to accommodate new COVID and safety protocols. This year, many educators took time to evaluate how their physical classroom environments were working for the children in them. The physical classroom environment is often called the “silent teacher,” and these five blogs explore how to make the most of your space.

• Educating the Whole Child: 4 Steps for Setting Up the Classroom Environment
• Five Reflection Questions for Evaluating Your Classroom’s Physical Environment
• The Power of Environments
• Less But Better
• The First Six Weeks of School: Invitations to Learning

Developmentally Appropriate Practices

What is best for the children is at the core of each early childhood classroom. According to NAEYC¹, developmentally appropriate practices “promote each child’s optimal development and learning through a strengths-based, play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning.” These five blogs share best practices for the early childhood classroom.

• Studies vs. Themes: 5 Ways They Differ
• 5 Reggio Emilia Approach Values Reflected in a The Creative Curriculum Classroom
• Is It Art?: The Importance of Loving the Process
• Why I Don’t Have a “Letter of the Week” Anymore
• Why I Don’t Just Tell Children to “Share!” Anymore

New Solutions for Early Childhood Educators

2022 was also a busy and exciting year for us here at Teaching Strategies. Throughout the year, we were able to offer new solutions to our partners in the field that met their needs and made their days easier. Below, we share blogs highlighting five of those new solutions.

• Introducing Noni: Innovative Support for Unprecedented Times
• Introducing the Professional Development Teacher Membership
• You Belong Here: The Hub, an Early Childhood Education Professional Learning Community
• Introducing Classroom Materials From Teaching Strategies
• Introducing the Free Ready. Set. Go! Teacher Toolkit: Resources to Start the New School Year