EP 11 | Children’s Council + Honouring Children’s Voices
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Release Date: 07/29/2024
EP 38 | Is Sharing Really Caring? Why I Teach Turn-Taking Instead
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Forced sharing is out. Scaffolded turn taking is in. Eeeep - we’ve all said it - "sharing is caring". Two children are locked in battle over a toy, voices rising and out comes the phrase we hope will fix it fast. But what if “sharing is caring” is doing more harm than good? In this episode, I unpack the very real consequences of forced sharing, why it doesn’t teach what we think it does, and what to do instead. Spoiler: it’s not about children giving up the goods, nor is it about permissiveness. It’s about building trust, patience, and genuine empathy. 🦕 Why “sharing...
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EP 37 | Emotionally Intelligent Educators with Em Gentle
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Emotional intelligence is the cornerstone of effective teaching. This chat with Em Gentle will be like a hug for the parts of you telling you that you're not doing enough. Em shares so much of her wisdom in this discussion centred on emotionally intelligen edicators - what emotional intelligence is, why it's important, how we live it, and why it's the crux of all we do in our work with children (or should be!). Em is former teacher and Assistant Principal turned Emotional Intelligence Coach driven by a mission to transform the way we teach and lead. She helps educators and leaders prioritise...
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EP 36 | The Missing Link Between Boundaries + Behaviour
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Holding a boundary is not about ‘being the boss.’ Boundaries are often thrown around as one of those behaviour support tools that’s the magic bullet for getting children to do what you want. Womp womp, friend - magic bullets for behaviour don’t exist. The good news? When done well, boundaries can be an excellent tool for behaviour guidance and for showing children where our line is. You’ll hear: 🍎 What a boundary really is - and what happens when we confuse them with limits 🍎 The three most common traps we fall into when setting boundaries 🍎 Why big feelings in...
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EP 35 | Advocacy Through Everyday Practice: Choosing Courage Over Comfort with Anna Skates
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Children deserve to take up space. In this inspiring episode I speak with Anna Skates, a passionate advocate for children's rights, about the importance of truly seeing and listening to children. We unpack how adult discomfort, language, and societal structures can either uplift or silence children and how we make space for them. Anna Skates is a children’s advocate, entrepreneur, and creator on a mission to help the world take kids seriously - and treat them accordingly. Whether she's hosting kid book clubs, creating content, leading youth camps, or building experiences like The Story Booth...
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EP 34 | Honouring Neurodivergent Play with Simon Airey
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Play isn’t a warm-up to the real work. It is the work. In this energising chat with Simon Airey, we explore neurodivergent play through a radically affirming lens - one where movement, stimming, flow states, and autonomy aren’t side notes, but centre stage. If you’ve ever wondered how to support neurodivergent play without overriding it, this episode is for you. Simon is a neurodiversity and inclusion specialist with over 25 years of experience in education. Through his content, talks, and podcast, Simon shares practical strategies that support the diverse needs of neurodivergent...
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EP 33 | Whose Voice Counts? Children’s Rights in Education with Lauren Mittell
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Children's rights are not an 'add-on' - they're the foundation. In this powerful conversation with Lauren Mittell - a mother, teacher and advocate for children who embeds social justice and children's rights into her parenting and pedagogy - we dive deep into what it really means to uphold children’s rights in our practice. Beyond posters and policies, this episode is about how we show up every day - in our language, our decisions, and the way we hold space for children’s voices. Lauren shares how her teaching philosophy is grounded in children’s rights, social justice, and...
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EP 32 | Why ‘Low-Level Behaviours’ Aren’t Actually Low-Level
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Death by a thousand papercuts. If you’ve ever ended a school day feeling utterly drained by the tiny behaviours that chip away at your patience, this episode is for you. We're tackling low-level behaviours - the eye-rolls, the pencil taps, the incessant chattering - and unpacking why they're anything but low-impact. You’ll hear: 💫 Why I don’t actually like the term 'low-level behaviours' and what we should be calling them instead 💫 How small behaviours send big signals about disconnection, disengagement, or overwhelm 💫 Three common myths that stop educators from responding to...
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EP 31 | Is Your Calm Corner Just Time-Out in Disguise?
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
A beanbag and a poster do not make a calm corner. If your calm space is feeling more like a soft time-out than a supportive sanctuary, this episode will challenge everything you thought you knew. I unpack why calm corners often miss the markand what to shift so they actually support emotional regulation. You’ll hear: 💫 Why many calm corners become time-out in disguise 💫 The role of co-regulation and adult presence in calm corners 💫 What calm corners truly need to be effective (hint: it's more than breathing posters) 💫 How to build a calm corner with children, not just for...
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EP 30 | Supporting Behaviour Without Behaviour Charts
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Aaaaah, behaviour charts. Love them or hate them (I'm the latter), it feels like they're here to stay. I'm often met with exasperation - but HOW do we support behaviour without them? It feels impossible, but it isn't. I did it for most of my teaching career (bar one year). I cover: Why behaviour charts don’t actually teach behaviour and what they do instead. How children internalise their placement on behaviour charts, shaping their self-worth and peer relationships. The connection between behaviour charts and social bias, including their disproportionate impact on neurodivergent children...
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EP 29 | Overcoming Teacher Self-Doubt
The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Self-doubt creeps in when we least expect it. Whether it’s comparing yourself to other teachers, feeling like you’re not good enough, or questioning whether you really belong in this field - these thoughts can be exhausting. The thing is - you’re not alone. I'm convinced every teacher experiences self-doubt at some point. I cover: How social media, unrealistic expectations, and 'shoulds' impact teachers falling into the comparison trap. Looking at imposter syndrome and questioning where it might come from. How to challenge the thoughts that make you feel “not good enough” by...
info_outlineOn today’s episode I speak with Renee Mitchell (Director) and Charmaine Greenwood (Assistant Director) of Goodstart Early Learning in Red Hill, Queensland. I am in awe of Renee, Charmaine and their team as their dedication to honouring children’s rights in their practice is overwhelmingly inspiring.
Renee, Charmaine and I discuss:
🌸 Respecting + advocating for children’s rights.
🌸 What is a children’s council and how have they brought it to life?
🌸 The idea of slow pedagogy.
🌸 Supporting transitions with a Children’s Handbook.
🌸 Looking at a child’s complaints process.
🌸 Sharing the importance of rights with families and grown-ups.
🌸 Transforming practice and embracing the messy middle.
🌸 Making space for children’s voices to lead your work.
🌸 The importance of returning to your ‘why’.
As the Centre Director of Goodstart Red Hill for 21 years, Renee has attracted a team of like-minded thinkers. With the changing and evolving landscape of the world and our Sector, Renee’s Adaptive Leadership has led to the Centre’s Distributed Leadership model; creating a collaboratively rich professional space.
Embedding the WNDER project spanning 10 years to date, the Red Hill team and children have been Wandering and Wondering beyond their gates to engage with their local community, explore their surrounding wild spaces, and learning how to care for Country.
Connecting with each other, and the community, Renee advocates for the needs of Educators, children, and implementing Change.
Find out more about Goodstart in Red Hill:
💫 Send them an email: [email protected]
💫 Find them on Instagram: @goodstart_red_hill
💫 Find them on Facebook: Goodstart Early Learning Red Hill
💫 Watch a short clip about their Children’s Council
Join the Little Bloom community:
💫 Send me an email: [email protected]
💫 Find me on Instagram: @littlebloom.consultancy
💫 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Danica See
💫 Visit my website: Little Bloom Consultancy