Joni's Family Childcare

01/26/2026

12/10/2025

When you play hide-and-seek, but you’re limited on places to hide.

11/14/2025

Early Childhood is Neuroscience, Not Handprint Crafts.

Don't get us wrong...

Handprints are super sweet.
They’re truly sentimental.
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with capturing one once or twice a year to remember how small their hands once were.

But what’s happening now goes far beyond that.

In so many classrooms, handprint crafts are being mass produced for every holiday, weekly theme, and event. These are not learning experiences. The child’s only role is getting their hand pressed into paint while the adult does the rest, adding decorations, details, and even “quotes” to the finished product. What’s left behind isn’t learning, it’s a display of adult effort and approval.

All of this burns valuable time and materials that could be used to offer real, brain-building experiences. The hours spent creating “ cute projects” could be spent exploring, experimenting, and discovering. The paints, papers, and tools could serve genuine sensory play and scientific inquiry.

If we want early childhood education to be taken seriously, we have to stop leading with what’s cute and start prioritizing what’s meaningful. When classrooms are filled with crafts children aren’t truly creating, we overshadow the deep and powerful work of early development.

And if capturing a handprint once or twice a year was all it was, this wouldn’t even be a topic for discussion. But when these prints fill classrooms year-round, it’s time to have the conversation and raise the bar.

Join us for our upcoming webinar, “Rethinking Early Learning: More Than Crafts and Worksheets,” where we’ll explore how to shift from product-focused activities to authentic, brain-aligned experiences that truly honor how children learn. (Nov 26, 2025 12:00 PM EST)

FREE REPLAY FOR EVERYONE WHO SIGNS UP!

Join for FREE: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DfJ26HjERJSlS4BOhSgQ8w #/registration

Get CERTIFIED: https://www.weskoolhouse.com/store-webinars

11/07/2025

Fall 🍂🍁-themed Artwork for Learning and Exploration

11/07/2025

Young children might confuse cattail plants with hot dogs due to their similar appearance. After finding some, we explored them and observed the explosive release and wind dispersal of their seeds.

10/31/2025

We had an enjoyable experience creating with flexible and unstructured materials.

10/31/2025

Hydro Dip pumpkins with nail polish.

https://youtu.be/NKoM46n_Ewg?si=BJswN_D5cMuAoj_u

10/24/2025

I love this fun math game using blocks and 🎲🎲

10/24/2025

How old were your children when you started reading to them?

10/23/2025

I love reading, even to our sweet babies.

10/20/2025

I love using solution cards to prompt children in solving problems, which promotes independence.

See link for more information on this wonderful tool.

https://thediscoverysource.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DS-Pyramid-Model-Tool-Kit-Problem-Solver-kit.pdf