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All posts by Amy Benson May

Hispanic Heritage Month: Migrant Farm Work and Quality Early Childhood Education Experiences


Guest Blogger Post: Treehouse Learning edu-carer Candice M. writes about a side of Hispanic culture not always acknowledged within early childhood education programs: migrant work, food systems, and the impact of migrant work on quality early childhood learning experiences. Candice 
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Creative Arts in Quality Early Childhood Education: Vulnerability, Intelligence, Resilience, and Whole-Person Learning and Development


What does a young child’s painting project have to do with helping humans thrive and creating the kind of world we want to see? Everything! All possible and impossible things begin first with imagination. We believe our world needs creative 
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Play-Based Movement with a Purpose! Beyond Exercise: Joyful Learning for Whole-Person Development


Do humans need exercise to be healthy? Not exactly!  Children were designed by nature to move and wired to learn through playful movement. Far more than any exercise regime, children simply need invitations and opportunities to playfully move, with abundant 
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Wired by Nature- How outside playtime optimizes whole-person development


The research is clear and overwhelming that children were designed by nature to benefit from immersion and experiences in nature. Ample outdoor time for children functions effectively as a multivitamin for our brains, bodies, and souls.  In his seminal work, 
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Sexual Abuse Prevention Strategies, Systemic Change, and Caregiving Needs


In our work with young children, we are actively engaged in creating a world where sexual abuse doesn’t exist! Today, however, it is still an unfortunate reality that gender-based violence, including sexual abuse of children, exists within systemic power structures 
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Spatial Awarenss, Objects in Space, and Gendered-Play


Playful learning and intentional, play-based learning experiences are the foundational cornerstones for whole-person development and supporting humans to thrive. Our role as adults in the lives of young children is to empower them to build the skills, knowledge, experience, and 
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Not Just Lunch- Mealtime as Curriculum


In a quality early childhood education program, mealtime is in itself a curriculum that supports our objective of whole-person development. While the quality and nutritional value of the food itself is one essential component to children’s well-being, so too is 
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The Importance of Early Childhood Experiences on Brain Development


Never in a lifetime does a human brain develop as rapidly as the period of birth- 5 years old. When we think about investment in early childhood education, we usually think in terms of financial returns, with research supporting a 
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Consent Culture + Body Safe Policies for Sexual Abuse Prevention


At Treehouse Learning, the purpose of our sexual abuse prevention and body safe policies is to create a culture of consent and bodily safety based on trust and respect. While not all children will be sexually abused, all children are 
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Celebrating a Visionary of Play: Dr. Nancy L. Benson | Aug. 23, 1948 – Aug. 11, 2012


Ten years ago, on August 11, 2012, Treehouse Learning founder and visionary, Dr. Nancy L. Benson, laughed her last laugh and smiled her last smile and her human body ceased to live and breathe. Her legacy at Treehouse Learning endures, 
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