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The Everything ECE Podcast

Carla Ward

The Everything ECE Podcast is for early childhood educators, preschool teachers, and childcare professionals who want to grow intentionally and take meaningful action. Host Carla Ward shares real-life insights, expert interviews, and practical strategies to support your work in childcare centres, preschools, and kindergartens. From play-based learning to leadership, each episode helps you stay inspired, confident, and connected to your purpose.

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  • 23 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 26 min
  • English

Episodes 23

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  • June 12 · 14 min

    #244: The 5 Types of Self-Care | Why Educators Can't Afford to Ignore Their Well-Being 

    Self-care is often reduced to bubble baths, spa days, and treating yourself, but true self-care goes much deeper than that. In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward shares a personal story about how years of ignoring her own well-being led to a panic attack that landed her in the hospital. Through honest reflection and practical insights, she explores why self-care is not a luxury for educators. It's a necessity. Carla breaks down the five essential types of self-care Whether you're an early childhood educator, teacher, leader, or parent, this episode will help you identify which area of self-care may need your attention and offer simple ways to begin prioritizing yourself again. Topics Discussed: Why self-care is more than bubble baths The consequences of ignoring your own needs Boundaries and professional self-care Emotional wellness for educators Building sustainable self-care habits How self-care impacts children, families, and teams SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE. See you next week! shape their early years. CONNECT WITH CARLA Email Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠ Website: carlatheece.com Instagram: @carlatheece

  • June 5 · 30 min

    #243: Why Movement Comes Before Mindfulness with Lisa Danahy

    #243: Why Movement Comes Before Mindfulness with Lisa Danahy In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward sits down with educator, author, yoga therapist, and founder of Create Calm, Lisa Danahy, to explore the powerful connection between movement, emotional regulation, and learning. Together, they discuss why movement is often the pathway to mindfulness, how educators can support their own regulation before helping children, and why calm and compliant are not the same thing. Lisa shares practical strategies that can be implemented immediately in early childhood settings while challenging traditional ideas about behaviour management and mindfulness. In this episode, you'll learn:• Why movement fuels brain development and emotional regulation• The difference between mindfulness and mind control• How educator regulation impacts classroom dynamics• Why connection must come before correction• Practical strategies to support co-regulation and well-being LISA DANAHY Lisa Danahy (C-IAYT, YACEP, MS) is an educator, author, and leader in social-emotional learning focused on supporting emotional regulation, resilience, and well-being in early childhood and school communities. Through her nonprofit, Create Calm, she has helped facilitate meaningful cultural shifts in hundreds of schools nationwide, supporting students, educators, and families since 2016. With advanced training in yoga therapy, psychology, and over 30 years of experience in education and SEL curriculum development, she creates accessible, evidence-based practices that support whole-child development. Lisa specializes in working with neurodiverse, disabled, and underserved children and partners with educators and caregivers to bring sustainable self-care and regulation tools into early learning environments. LINKS Website: createcalm.org Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Book: Creating Calm in Your Classroom Radiant Child: www.childrensyoga.com Monday Mindfulness: www.MondayMindfulness.com INA Wellness: www.INAwellness.com SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE. See you next week! shape their early years. CONNECT WITH CARLA The ECE Latte Lounge Email Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠ Website: carlatheece.com Instagram: @carlatheece

  • May 29 · 9 min

    #242: Who Raised You Musically? The Hidden Influence of Music on Childhood Development

    What if the music we grow up around shapes more than just our memories? In this reflective solo episode, Carla Ward explores the powerful role music plays in childhood development, emotional regulation, identity formation, and the environments we create for children. From Linda Ronstadt and Carole King to Cher, Madonna, and the Spice Girls, Carla reflects on the soundtrack of her own childhood and asks an important question: What are children absorbing from the music around them today? This episode dives into: music as part of the learning environment emotional associations and memory identity and self-expression nervous system regulation classroom atmosphere and intentionality why music is far more than background noise Whether you are an educator, parent, or someone reflecting on your own childhood soundtrack, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about the songs shaping children’s worlds. RESEARCH & REFERENCES Saarikallio, S., & Erkkilä, J. — The Role of Music in Adolescents’ Mood Regulation https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735607068889 Effects of the Educational Use of Music on Children’s Emotional Development https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350545306_Effects_of_the_Educational_Use_of_Music_on_3-to_12-Year-Old_Children's_Emotional_Development_A_Systematic_Review North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J. — Music and Adolescent Identity https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232523022_Musical_Preference_and_Taste_in_Childhood_and_Adolescence Janata, P. — The Neural Architecture of Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2758676/ Routledge, C. — Research on nostalgia and psychological connectedness https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/nostalgia SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE. See you next week! shape their early years. CONNECT WITH CARLA The ECE Latte Lounge Email Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠ Website: carlatheece.com Instagram: @carlatheece

Showing 21–23 of 23 episodes