Page title (h1)

This is a lede sentence.

Now that I am retired I have time to create the kind of site I wish I had encountered long ago – one that had practical ideas with nothing to market. Over the years since 1970 when I started learning about schools for young children, I developed resources for early childhood educators and families. I am making available as much as I can possibly put online for anyone to take forward in the way they wish. This site is my gift.

Section Heading (h2)

I offer a labyrinth of close to 100 pages. The content of each navigation subject on the left is briefly explained below to give you some sense of what is inside. Each page has links to further pages, videos, and downloadable files. If you wish to pursue a topic more deeply, you can follow those links into the depths below the grating.

Section Subhead (h3)

Everything at this site is open for you to use and duplicate. No permissions are needed. You can download anything you wish to use directly, keep for yourself, or give to others. I add or revise almost every day, so if you revisit a few months from now, you might find a new subject appear on the left or pages reworked to be more clear.

I wish to put up everything I have developed in my early childhood education courses. My benefit is to get all the stacks off my floor and files out of my cabinets. At this point I am about 60% done.

Hyperlink is the topic of Next up is the topic of Conversations about which I have many experiences for people to encounter. about which I have many experiences for people to encounter.

Quote style:

“I can’t allow you to hurt others.
“You knocked Alex on the head with that block.
“He cried because it hurt. it makes it hard to play when others might think that something bad may happen at any moment. Others may think you could be dangerous.
“I will have to explain to Alex’s mom what happened today.”
[pause]
“I love you, Mark. You are an amazing person and important to our class.”
[hug]

List styles:

I like to begin with my own interest in what the child has taken the initiative to do. When I talk about myself in the first person using “I…” I give a “voice” to me, the storyteller. An observer brings a personal perspective to the tale.
Then I describe what the child does and says from my perspective as someone who cares and is listening closely to discover what is happening. It is not totally objective: I am endeavoring to be present with my heart. I can only see the child from the outside. I try to pay close attention. This is the heart of the story.

At the end, I title a paragraph “What it means” and write about the significance of what I saw, but I am often weak at this part. I need help. This meaning-making is best done in a dialogue with other adults. Many perspectives can be included here. If the results of that meeting are voiced directly to the child, the child can hear educators speak educational words, even though they may be complex. “You…” You can see this change in voice from #2 to #3 in the examples. Great literature offers stories to be encountered again and again and re-constructed by readers and groups of readers over time.