An Ultimate Checklist of Baby and Toddler Learning Essentials? Or Nah.
On this episode of the Learn With Less® podcast, Ayelet discusses the ways in which early development, everyday routines, everyday materials, and simple activities (often in which we are already engaging) are powerfully interconnected.
If you are a new parent or caregiver wondering what you really need to support and connect with your baby or toddler… or you’re a professional who serves new families as a developmental therapist, early childhood educator, or other professional in the perinatal space, this episode and our related upcoming workshop is for you.
Many of us are searching for the ultimate checklist of items for young children, or for a list of go-to developmental activities for babies or toddlers to have in your back pocket. Ayelet makes the case that you already have the resources you need – and that if you’re spending your hard earned money on fancy developmental toys, that investment could go toward other places that are in line with your values.
In our upcoming Learn With Less® Family Enrichment Fundamentals Workshop, we’ll explore the basis for the four areas of early development, and connect these to a framework of play, language, music, and movement so you can support and connect with the tiny humans in your care using the time and energy you’re already expending, and the materials you’re already using. Find the magic in the mundane, everyday objects and routines. Join us in our upcoming workshop and discover all about how to Learn With Less®!
The Learn With Less® Curriculum is used in communities all over the world in a “caregiver & me” class setting, and has also influenced the philosophies and environmental considerations for play spaces and organizations serving families.
Not familiar with the term, “caregiver & me” classes? We use it as a more inclusive term instead of “mommy & me” classes. Our classes are open to – and meant for – ALL parents and caregivers: not just moms… but also dads, non-binary folks, grandparents, foster parents, babysitters, nannies, and other amazing grownups who care for tiny humans. We’re going to play the “search term” game here (so you can find this great content more easily!) and help shift the conversation from “mommy & me” classes to “caregiver & me” classes… to do our part to shape the more inclusive world in which we’d like to live.
Helpful Resources Related to This Episode
Register now for Learn With Less® Family Enrichment Fundamentals Workshop
Learn With Less® Bundle: get our favorite infant and toddler development resources (save 70%)! Discover how to support & connect with your tiny human, without having to buy a single toy.
Learn With Less® “Caregiver & Me” Classes: the magic of Learn With Less® lies in the communal aspect of coming together with our resources, in community with other families. Join us for a virtual or in-person class led by a licensed facilitator near you!
Learn With Less® Facilitator Training & Certification Program: Use your existing skills as an educator or therapist to serve families holistically with a high quality program that will provide lasting impact! Apply now to become a licensed facilitator Learn With Less®.
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Text Transcript of The Podcast Episode
Hi there, I’m Ayelet Marinovich and you’re listening to Learn With Less®. Today I wanted to share a little bit about an upcoming event that we are holding here at Learn With Less®, you can learn more about it at learnwithless.com/fundamentals. What this is, is a family enrichment workshop, all about the fundamentals of the Learn With Less® curriculum and program and philosophy.
It is a live workshop for parents, caregivers and professionals serving new families. The whole idea is to help you feel confident that you can support and connect with babies and toddlers without having to buy another toy. The event is being held this time around on April 29 2023, from 10am PST until 2pm PST. When you enroll before April 15, you’ll be able to enroll and save $50 on the ticket price. So again, that’s learnwithless.com/fundamentals.
What we’re trying to do with this workshop is to help support you to find confidence and connection through play language, music and movement. These are the four pillars of Learn With Less®: play, talk, sing and move. And you’ve heard me speak a lot about them on the podcast, and in all of our content and information that we put out into the world. Essentially, what we want you to do is to discover how to use the time, the energy and the materials that you already have to support young children — instead of buying all the fancy toys that you may be are being shown on social media.
Here’s the question that we all sort of ask ourselves: what do we really need to support and connect with tiny humans? When the internet feels like a firehose of information, Dr. Google and the baby industry create a sense of overwhelm and perceived incompetence in families… New parents and caregivers know the should’s, but they’re exhausted! Gathering internal resources to do anything extra for their children often feels impossible. And then on the other side, educators and therapists, as well as families, often feel pressure to go out and buy a bunch of toys to ensure that they’re doing the “right” thing, maximizing the precious time that they have with tiny humans.
Now, here’s the thing: supporting development and connection for young children can be simpler than we think! Families need to know how to make use of those natural routines and everyday interactions. The idea that there is an inherent developmental value in any object that’s classified as an educational toy is, quite frankly, a delusion.
You Already Have the Resources to Support & Connect With Your Young Child
So drumroll please, wait for it: the Emperor has no toys, folks. The truth is, you already have the resources to give young children the right stimulation, play and interaction to thrive. And that is true whether or not your toy closet is bursting at the seams. The items in our homes that we already have often hidden in plain view, are powerful learning tools that can support all areas of development. Now, again, I’m just going to break here and share with you that if you want to find out how to Learn With Less® with this workshop, you can go to learnwithless.com/fundamentals and sign up right now.
As a parent myself, I’m a mom, I have two young children, and I’m also as a professional serving new families. In my work with other educators and therapists, I know that the developmental value between a cardboard box and the fancy toy that might have come inside is often (ahem) exactly the same. And I also know that early learning does not happen only when I can eke out 15 minutes to provide undivided attention to my child.
I also know that it feels sometimes impossible to share succinctly about the simple and natural ways to support and form a deep and loving connection with a child. But when we can connect simple everyday interactions with early learning, we have a blueprint for parent support, partnering with families, and education. Because families already have the resources to give young children the “right” stimulation, play, and interaction to thrive and we can do it with the materials we already have. No extra time or energy needed.
Supporting Early Learning With Simple Activities
So I’d like to present to you the Learn With Less® Family Enrichment Fundamentals Workshop. We held this workshop in December of last year and it was very well received. We had a lot of great feedback from folks. This is a live workshop for parents and caregivers as well as professionals serving new families. And like many of you listening right now, you might actually be both – a new parent or caregiver, as well as a, say, developmental therapist or early childhood educator – or something in the perinatal space.
The Learn With Less® framework is built on four pillars, which each, in turn, support each of the four major areas of early development. In this live workshop, you will find out how to make use of what you know is special, precious time with tiny humans. You’ll discover ways to ensure you’re doing the “right” things for children at their developmental level. You’ll learn how to find that balance between structured play and free play. You’ll find out how to let a young child guide their own learning. You’ll discover new ways to use materials you already have, and also how to help a child communicate to, say, reduce negative behavior and minimize everyone’s frustration.
Now, this is a great workshop for families with or professionals serving children who are developing along a “typical” progression within, say, normal developmental limits. It is also a fantastic workshop for families or professionals with children who are not meeting developmental milestones, for instance. This is not about milestones. It is about helping you and discussing and showing you how this four pillar framework of the Learn With Less® curriculum (which again, play talk, sing, and move) actually addresses those four major areas of infant and toddler development, regardless of where a child is performing. Those four major areas are cognitive development, communicative development, motor/sensory development, and social/emotional development.
Interaction, Discussion, Observation, and Practice
What we’ll be doing is interacting, discussing and sharing about all of these ideas and information. You’ll come away with specific ways to support and connect with young children using what you already have through natural interactions and simple play ideas. Again, this is a workshop that’s occurring (this time around) on April 29 2023 at 10am Pacific. We will be providing a replay period to those who are registering for the live workshop. I do definitely recommend that you try your best to attend live because we’re going to have a whole lot of interaction, live Q*A, and interaction with other professionals who are using the Learn With Less® curriculum in their practices or in their families.
For instance, I wanted to share with you what one of our attendees in the past has shared about their learning in this workshop. This is from a father named Josh. He’s the parent of an infant and a toddler. After attending and after involving himself with this information, he shared the following. He said, “You’ve helped me see more clearly that we are already engaging in the kinds of activities that can make a huge impact on our children’s development. We already have the materials we need.” He said, “Ayelet’s words rang true for me. Pinterest can be helpful and fun. But it’s the experience of words, objects, people and ideas in a variety of contexts, settings and environments that support your child’s learning.” He said, “Ayelet helps you understand and knows way to do so – thank you.” So Josh, thank you for sharing all of that.
We also have from Megan, who’s a speech language pathologist, and she attended this workshop in the past. She said, “I loved seeing how easy it can be to incorporate music into everyday tasks. And I like how the class flowed and how each parent was able to be successful.” Now, she is actually referring to one of the components of this workshop. And so I’m going to share with you what all of those are.
What Are the 4 Components of the Workshop?
We have four components. The first is that you’ll learn and discover those four major areas of early development. So we’ll lay out these four areas of early learning. And then we’ll take a deep dive into a particular aspect of each area helping you to find simple, practical and fun ideas to support that learning, using the time, energy and materials that you already have. Then, we’ll also be sharing how to utilize those four pillars of learning with less so that you know you don’t have to expend your energy and resources worrying about what you really need to support tiny humans. Instead, you’ll discover how you can support the connection between caregiver and child.
And then that third component, which is what Megan the SLP who shared that quote was referring to. We’re going to then connect practical application to that theory with a live demonstration of activities. So you’ll actually get to experience a live demonstration of caregivers and children experiencing the Learn With Less® framework and working together in a group class that breaks down how to use this info very clearly – and definitely joyfully!
Finally, the fourth and potentially most impactful part of this workshop is that you will be able to find out answers to your most pressing questions with a live Q&A. So we’ll have access to a panel of early childhood professionals, early childhood educators, speech language pathologists, developmental therapists of all sorts, who use the Learn With Less® framework in their everyday practice, as well as often with their own children when applicable.
I’m going to just share with you some details about this workshop. It is, again, on April 29 2023, at 10am Pacific – that’s 1pm Eastern. You can expect to reserve up to four hours of your day. If you are a speech language pathologist who is registered in the United States, you will receive professional development hours as well.
When you purchase before April 15, you will also save $50 on the price of your registration. This workshop will be held on our private Zoom room, and the link will be emailed to you prior to the session. Space is limited. We are capping this workshop it’s going to be small in an effort to create an intimate community learning experience for everyone. Once it fills up, we will consider adding more dates. As I said, we held this workshop successfully in December of last year and it was very, very well received. So that’s why we’re doing it again.
Pertinent, Evidence-Based, Bite-Sized Information & Ideas For New Parents and Professionals Working With Families
You will also have bonus access to the recording for seven days should you want to review the information, or say, if you were unable to attend for part of the day. So again, who is this for? This is for parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers, expecting and seasoned parents alike. This is also for professionals working with tiny humans and their families. So those working in the perinatal space, those who are early childhood educators, developmental therapists, doulas, mental health practitioners. Also professionals who are, in addition, parents and caregivers, so people who are looking for high quality, evidence based information and ideas to support your tiny humans, as well as those on your caseload.
There is no complicated activity planning, there’s no required materials from say a particular parenting philosophy. This is just about you. It’s about the tiny humans in your life and the everyday objects and everyday routines already happening around you. We will be sharing what the baby industry doesn’t want you to know or to understand. When you learn to recognize the tools that you already have to boost an infant or toddlers development, you’re able to maximize the time you have with young children, you’re empowered to get it right. And you’re able to unlock the power of everyday routines and everyday objects to figure out how to play with the little ones in your life while also supporting their learning.
You’ll discover how to take simple everyday items and use them in different ways. exploring them with the children in your care and guiding that child to explore with you. There is a simpler, more equitable way to support tiny humans without needing the fancy toys subscriptions. Here’s another quote from Sue, who is a pediatric occupational therapist. She said, “I often went into houses with my magic bag of toys. The Learn With Less® framework is making me rethink the way I interact with the family. For instance, interacting with family as a whole, or at least the caregiver and child dyad – versus interacting predominantly with the child.”
Think Outside the Box When It Comes to Early Learning
With this workshop, I want you to discover how to think outside the box. Parents and professionals alike are often caught up in the lure of fun new toys, only to start to feel a strong sense of overwhelm each time they idle down the toys and games aisle. Cut the overwhelm: let’s play in the box instead! So we’re going to help you connect loose parts and open ended play with straightforward developmental concepts that you’re often already supporting… without having to spend time, energy and money setting up a bunch of crafty activities. Again, space is extremely limited. We are creating an intimate atmosphere for learning and community. So I urge you to save your spot today. That’s learnwithless.com/fundamentals.
I also want to say that the Learn With Less® Facilitator Training & Certification Program is a complete plug and play system for using the popular Learn With Less® curriculum in one’s community as an additional offering for new families. That is a four figure investment. It includes a complete training program and certification process in addition to access to all of our licensed materials, ongoing Q&A and coaching calls, and a professional sounding board. But I want to invite you to join me for a complete workshop around the framework, a panel of other educators and therapists who have integrated the Learn With Less® framework into their practice to answer your questions around the concepts, and a live demonstration of the Learn With Less® curriculum in action.
Right now this workshop is just $99. You can save $50 on the price of the workshop before April 15. After that, it will go up to $149. So go ahead and register now to save your spot. We have also a quote from pediatric speech language pathologist and a parent of a toddler, Meryl, who said, “I like that it makes things feel simple. It feels like you’re going back to the basics, the Learn With Less® framework is accessible, use what you have. I really like it because it feels relatable, like anybody can do it.”
Who Is the Creator of the Learn With Less® Framework?
Finally, I just want to introduce myself in case you don’t know who I am, and if you’ve made it this far, I am Ayelet. I’m a pediatric speech language pathologist and a parent educator and I’ve been running caregiver and me classes using the Learn With Less® infant and toddler curriculum since 2014. I’ve served thousands of families all over the world, both virtually and in person, helping new families to feel confident that they can support and connect with their babies and toddlers without having to buy another toy.
And since early 2020, I’ve helped dozens of educators and therapists to do the same by creating lasting impact leading, marketing, and filling caregiver and child classes to supplement their income and to provide education and support families in their communities. I wanted to share, in case you’re wondering, a few things. First of all, you will have the tools and guidance to promote learning and connection using existing time, energy and materials. And again, if you are a US based speech language pathologist, you’ll get more certified maintenance hours of continuing education.
FAQ’s About the Family Enrichment Fundamentals Workshop
A couple of FAQs, in case you’re wondering, what if I want a training that provides me with in depth knowledge and support integrating these concepts into everyday life. So here’s what this workshop will not cover. It will not cover access to and training around our full curriculum as a parent coaching and support and a family enrichment offering. It will not cover coaching and guidance around using the Learn With Less® curriculum in your community. It will not include ongoing support for your questions and challenges frustrations regarding early parenthood and early childhood, and it will not include ongoing access to a community of like minded caregivers or educators. If you want more in depth training or mentorship and support, here’s what we recommend.
For parents and caregivers, we recommend that you grab the Learn With Less® Bundle, which includes all of our best resources, including our best selling books, our musical album, a recorded class, as well as caregiver handouts. That can be found at learnwithless.com/bundle. We also recommend that you participate in a Learn With Less® caregiver and child class in your community, either virtually or in person, led by a licensed Learn With Less® facilitator. You can find those over at learnwithless.com/classes.
And for educators and therapists, if you are looking to create lasting impact leading caregiver and me classes with a high quality evidence-based “plug and play’ program. then we would love to see your application come through over at learnwithless.com/certification. And then here is the rest of the fine print, because I always want to be up front with you.
So number one, no refunds for this workshop will be granted for any reason. Space is limited, which means that if you decide to take one of those spots, it’s yours, even if you don’t attend live! This session will be recorded. You will still learn a ton from watching the recording after the live workshop is over, and you’ll have access to it for a seven day replay period.
The workshop is for parents and caregivers with or expecting infants and toddlers, and also for professionals supporting new families or who are in the perinatal space like developmental therapists, early childhood educators doulas, mental health professionals, etc. If you’re not sure really whether this workshop is right for you, please do reach out to me at admin at strength in words.com and we will get back to you ASAP. If you want to know, “how do I sign up to host a Learn With Less® group?” That’s another question I wanted to answer. We would be thrilled if you’re interested in becoming a Learn With Less® facilitator. We are accepting applications now. So if you get yours in today, you can do so by applying aat learnwithless.com/certification.
Another quote or testimonial I wanted to share from Miranda Zoumbaris who we’ve had the podcast a bunch, who is a licensed Learn With Less® facilitator and early childhood educator, and who will be on the panel on the upcoming workshop. She said, “what could be better than sharing with families the gift of joy? It has always been a goal of mine as a parent educator to take away worry, provide education and infuse joy into everyday activities, teaching parents to have joy with their babies and toddlers. What could be better than helping them have that gift?”
Learn With Less® Values: Showing Up In Our Space
So again, you can go ahead and enroll now to secure your seat at our upcoming workshop on April 29, you can do that today, it’s learnwithless.com/fundamentals. And if you are wondering what the experience of the workshop will be like, I wanted to just share a little bit about our values and how those play into the way that we hold events and the way we run our communities. Here at Learn With Less, we are a relationship and values based company. To us, that means that we prioritize and make decisions based on the values that we hold. We hope that learning more about these values and how they show up in the company will give you a good sense of what to expect.
The first one is simplicity. As professionals, we know that everyday materials and routines hold the utmost developmental value, we always encourage you to use what you already have, you don’t have to go out buying more stuff. We also want to encourage you to remember that you already have everything you need. Play and interaction do not require expensive toys or lots of time.
The second value that I want to share with you is community. To us, that means communal learning. So facilitation versus hierarchical learning. We value the idea of learning together, and alongside one another. We value communal support, meaning we’re here for each other even when we don’t have the same professional backgrounds, or hold the same identities, or parent in the same way.
Our third is inclusivity. We respect and accept diverse thought and practice, these are valued. We want to help our audience with access: you don’t have to have oodles of supplies to support families or your baby. We provide access to information throughout our podcast books, workshops, and programs. We honor, create, and uphold space for those holding a diversity of social identities.
Next is education. So we value the power of learning and knowledge, shared learning. Once you know what you’re doing is supportive of a young child, you’re motivated to keep doing it. You’ll be participating in the educational information that we’ll be sharing in this workshop, but you’ll also, at times, be co-creating it.
And then finally playfulness. We value playfulness. And we define this in terms of exploration, musicality, and love. Play with your baby, play with your style, play with materials, play in a group with others, play with me. Those are the values that we define in our company and how they show up. I wanted to share with you what that feels like and looks like, and how that might present itself within this workshop.
Join Us In Community With the Learn With Less® Framework
Again, we are holding a wonderful workshop. It’s a Learn With Less® Family Enrichment Fundamentals workshop for parents, caregivers and professionals. It will be held on April 29th 2023 at 10am Pacific / 1pm. Eastern. You can expect to reserve up to four hours of your day, and you will receive professional PD hours (professional development hours) if you’re an SLP – a speech language pathologist. If you purchase your ticket before April 15, you will save $50 on your registration. Currently the price of the ticket is $99 and that goes up to $149 on April 15. You will also, once you purchase your ticket, have bonus access to the recording for seven days if you want to review the info, or if you were unable to attend part of the day, for instance. I do want to again reiterate this is a ticket to a live virtual event and there will be no refunds, so make sure you understand fully: we do have no refunds policy when you purchase.
We can’t wait to see you. It’s going to be so fun. We have a wonderful panel of early childhood professionals and it’s just going to be a great day, so please go ahead and reserve your ticket now. I can’t wait to see you go ahead and reach out to me a great place to do that would be @learnwithless on Instagram in the DMs. I would love to hear your thoughts questions, and I can’t wait to see you at the workshop on April 29th. Talk to you soon. Bye!
