Dallas Chapter- Texas Aeyc

Kathleen Connors Karl, one of our rockstar Playmakers, helped this boy design his own Life is Good shirt! And we gotta say that it came out pretty awesome.

Looking for a fun activity to do with the kiddos in your life?

It’s super simple:

(1) Kids create art.
(2) If parents choose, they can snap a pic and upload to our website.
(3) Life is Good makes the tee and sends parents a link.
(4) 100% of net profits from these tees are donated to help kids heal from trauma through play.

Get started here:
https://lifeisgood.com/kidsdesignathon

There is no such thing as kindergarten readiness.

At least, there shouldn't be.

The very idea of "kindergarten readiness" assumes we need to prepare children for the next thing before they've fully lived the thing they're in right now. Isn't that odd?

If we follow that logic, then we should also have first-grade readiness, second-grade readiness, third-grade readiness, and so on. Children become trapped in a constant pursuit of what's next, always preparing, always catching up, always being pushed ahead.

But what if, for once, we simply met children exactly where they are developmentally?

What if childhood wasn't viewed as a race to the next milestone, but as a stage of life worthy of being fully experienced?

Yet that is exactly what we've created. Children are increasingly expected to prepare for the next stage before they've fully developed in the current one.

Adding insult to injury, much of what we are preparing them for isn't even developmentally appropriate in the first place. We rob children of precious years that should be filled with play, movement, exploration, wonder, relationships, and hands-on experiences - you know, experiences that actually build the brain most optimally (including cognition). Meanwhile, kindergarten expectations continue to creep downward into preschool, preschool expectations creep into toddlerhood, and childhood itself gets squeezed in the process.

By the time children arrive in kindergarten, many are being asked to do things that were once expected years later.

How are we doing this to our children?

We continue raising the bar while simultaneously reducing the very experiences that build the foundation for learning. Less play. Less movement. Less outdoor time. Less exploration. More sitting. More worksheets. More academic pressure.

And somehow we're surprised when children struggle.

The problem isn't that children aren't ready for kindergarten.

The problem is that many adults still don't understand how children actually learn and develop.

And children are paying the price for it.

Congrats !!

🍎 Teacher Appreciation Week 🍎

This week, we want to give back to the teachers who pour so much into our kids and community. 🤍

For every purchase made for a teacher or by a teacher this week, we will be taking 25% off. We will cover that 25% ourselves, and at the end of the week, we will add up those totals and gift that amount to one special teacher that YOU nominate! 🍎✨

The teacher will be chosen by a random drawing on Friday. COMMENT YOURS BELOW. (Name, grade & School).

If you place an order with us Monday–Friday, please make sure to let us know if it is for a teacher or by a teacher so we can keep track and make sure those totals go toward our giveaway.

We will also be making deliveries to the schools all week! 📚✏️

🍎 Tuesday — Baker School delivery
🍎 Wednesday — Crestview schools delivery
🍎 Thursday - Baker School
🍎 Friday- OPEN

If you’d like to be part of those deliveries, or know a teacher who would, tag them below so we can get their orders in!

To place an order, just message our business page with the teacher’s name and what school they are at, and we will handle the rest. 🤍

Thank you to all of our teachers for everything you do! 🍎

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!! ✏️🫶🏾 Teachers, y’all are some of the loveliest members of this community and I’m so thankful for you! My life was changed by teachers who treated their classrooms like gardens, tending to each of us and helping us bloom 🌻