Stacy Benge on The Whole Child Alphabet

Stacy Benge is an early childhood speaker from Texas, who approaches learning in the early years with practicality and common sense. Standing firm on the truth that children learn best through simple, authentic experiences, Stacy advocates for child-led play to build solid foundations for child development. In addition to a Master of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Stacy spent 10 years in the early childhood classroom teaching children ages birth to five. As she has for the past 20 years, Stacy shares her passion for child development with fellow early learning professionals with enlightening and informative presentations.

Stacy is the author of The Whole Child Alphabet: How Children Actually Develop Literacy published by Exchange Press.

In this fascinating session, Stacy shares a revolutionary approach to early childhood education that nurtures the whole child. She explains how the Whole Child Alphabet provides an innovative framework for supporting every aspect of a young learner’s growth and development; and why traditional approaches like “Letter of the Week” might not be the most effective to respect children’s natural development and interests.

In this episode you’ll discover:

• Why labelling everything in your setting might actually be counterproductive for literacy development
• How children can learn multiple letters simultaneously when they connect to their personal interests
• The crucial role of physical development in handwriting – from core strength to crossing the midline
• Why being “available” rather than “directive” supports deeper literacy learning
• The power of recording children’s exact words rather than correcting their grammar

Watch this episode to understand how child-led play builds the vital foundations for literacy development, and gain practical strategies to explain this approach to parents and stakeholders.

This episode was originally broadcast on 3 May 2024.

Episode Links:

http://www.StacyBenge.com
http://www.ExchangePress.com/abc (Link to book. At the bottom of this page is the link to the Kindle version)
https://www.instagram.com/stacybengems/ (IG account)

NEW!! Free guide available to download NOW on www.stacybenge.com “5 Mistakes Early Childhood Professionals Make When Teaching Literacy (and How to Fix Them)”

https://www.stacybenge.com/5mistakes