Hilltop's Blog
Building on the Wonders of Childhood
When Kids Become the Teachers
As any guardian knows, combining work and family life can be challenging. Educating young children while working from home during a pandemic? Now that's a pretty monumental task. While there is no shortage of articles and resources aimed at supporting families as...
STEAM Ideas for Home
Sometimes as adults, we read these blogs and articles, or in my case, recipe books and try to follow each set of directions to a tee. We face enough stress in life without the need of putting more on ourselves. "Families shouldn't feel pressured to do 'exactly' what...
Talking to Toddlers During a Time of Crisis
Covid-19 descended upon Seattle, seeping in like a fog first in small ways, then eventually in signals we couldn't ignore. Stores were empty, hours at our center were limited. A constant state of interruption became the norm. Children were being told constantly to get...
Supporting Self-Directed Play
The suggestions below were written for families in one of Hilltop’s classrooms for two- and three-year-olds. We hope this may be useful to family members and parents who unexpectedly find themselves spending lots more time at home with young children. As many of us...
Creating Community Remotely
Here in Seattle, where all public and private K-12 schools are currently closed or practicing "remote learning" for the foreseeable future, some preschools have also closed temporarily, in accordance with statewide advisories for social distancing. At Hilltop, which...
Identifying Identity
Identifying our roots of identity can help us see where we came from, and most importantly, where we wish to go.
Toddler Scientist
This is science, and these children are practicing their scientific thinking. I smiled and asked myself: Where are these ideas coming from? What experiences do these children have that support their theories?
Food for Thought
How does food create meaningful interactions? I eat lunch and snack with the children in my class of 3-5 year olds every day, and have been thinking a lot about our relationship with food, as well as the connection between food and our relationships with each other....