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Your hub for free resources, tools to support early childhood development, and community engagement

Celebrating Neurodiversity
Parenting, Development, Behavior Jodi Huffman Parenting, Development, Behavior Jodi Huffman

Celebrating Neurodiversity

In a world that constantly strives for conformity, celebrating neurodiversity is a crucial step toward fostering inclusivity and understanding. Neurodiversity acknowledges that there is a wide spectrum of neurological differences, and it emphasizes the value of embracing these diversities rather than trying to fit everyone into a single mold.

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Stages of Play
Development Jodi Huffman Development Jodi Huffman

Stages of Play

When children play it helps them develop a wide range of cognitive and social skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. The stages of play are 6 developmental play stages that children go through during early childhood.

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Joint Attention
Development, Parenting Jodi Huffman Development, Parenting Jodi Huffman

Joint Attention

Joint attention is when two people are interested in an object, event, or something in the environment and there is an understanding that they are both interested in that thing. For example, a child may look at a toy, look at their parent and then look back at the toy. This shows that they are aware of and enjoy knowing their parent is looking at the same thing.

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Parenting shy children
Behavior, Development, Parenting Jodi Huffman Behavior, Development, Parenting Jodi Huffman

Parenting shy children

All children have different temperaments. Unfortunately, many educational settings are geared towards outgoing, extroverted children. As a therapist, kids yoga teacher and former preschool teacher I have seen this play out so often in classrooms I’ve been in. It’s easy to focus on the children who are commanding our attention and just as easy to overlook the child who is keeping to themselves.

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How Kids Learn Color: A preschool cognitive milestone
Development Jodi Huffman Development Jodi Huffman

How Kids Learn Color: A preschool cognitive milestone

Learning about color is an important part of a child’s development and is big milestone for preschoolers. True color recognition means that children are able to match, identify and name colors. Learning colors is an abstract concept that takes time. Learning colors follows a developmental progression that includes a variety of foundational skills that children need to master before they are able to truly understand color.

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Early Signs of Autism
Development, Behavior Jodi Huffman Development, Behavior Jodi Huffman

Early Signs of Autism

Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, usually appear by 2-3 years of age and it can be diagnosed even earlier in children. Developmental delays are often present prior to diagnoses. Although autism impacts individuals throughout their lifespan diagnoses and early intervention are important and lead to positive outcomes and improved quality of life for people with autism.

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Preschool Cognitive Development: Pre-Academic Skills
Development Guest User Development Guest User

Preschool Cognitive Development: Pre-Academic Skills

Pre-Academic skills are the foundation of your child’s academic learning.  They are the building blocks that your child needs for future academic success.  Research shows that strong pre-academic skills lead to academic competence once a child reaches school age, and that academic competence leads to higher levels of motivation and self esteem.  

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