Dynamic Directors Series

January brings pressure to reset, reorganize, and recommit from leadership magazines and emails to big box stores offering so many containers that promise to transform your life. But many leaders are simply continuing forward after a full season. In this month’s blog, we explore how choosing intention over urgency can support steady, effective leadership without […]

December is one of the most beautiful—and most exhausting—months in early childhood leadership. It’s a swirl of family events, holiday celebrations, licensing deadlines, employee absences, budget decisions, end-of-year paperwork, and the emotional labor of taking care of everyone else. Directors, managers, and administrators step into December carrying a full load, yet the expectations don’t pause

As a child care or preschool director, August is your marathon. You’re onboarding new teachers, organizing classrooms, welcoming families, calming nerves, ordering supplies, and solving problems before anyone else even notices them. You are the steady hands guiding your program, even when things feel overwhelming. And yet, in the flurry of scheduling, licensing, and paperwork,

If you work in early education, you know the feeling: a long to-do list, the sound of children’s laughter (and sometimes tears), and the constant pull between being helpful and feeling drained. When you care deeply, you give deeply — and that can sometimes lead to burnout. Burnout isn’t a weakness. It’s a sign that

Even though we live in an era of childcare centers almost everywhere and most of us work or have worked in at least one type of care setting, we don’t often think of the women who actually began this phenomenon in our country. Read along for some of the earliest efforts to care for young

One of our family’s military assignments was in Athens, Greece. The base there was small and there was no housing for families so we lived “on the economy” in an apartment that overlooked the Aegean Sea. We had Greek neighbors (who thankfully spoke English!), we shopped at Greek markets, we attended church in a Greek

As the days grow shorter and the pace of the season picks up, it’s easy for the weight of winter to settle in. But light—both literal and figurative—has the power to transform our environments, our moods, and even our mental health. In early childhood centers, where the tone set by directors and staff ripples through

As we approach the end of another year, there’s no better time to reflect on what we’ve built, the systems that help us operate, and the potential waiting to be unlocked. In child care, each day is a testament to our dedication, filled with small but powerful moments of growth, connection, and discovery. November brings