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S2 E5: Democratic, Progressive and Play-Based Pedagogy with Teacher Tom
About this Episode
"Children will be motivated if their learning is based upon their own curiosities and passions." - Teacher Tom
You may have come across Teacher Tom’s blog on Facebook, but something you may not know is that he has blogged every single day for a decade, sharing his observations and insights from his work at the Woodland Park Cooperative School in the rain soaked Pacific Northwest. Settle in, this episode is full of gold nuggets.
👉 Teacher Tom Touches On
- How he found his calling in pre-school teaching
- The benefits, beauty and joy of a multigenerational shared learning space, co-creating alongside your child.
- The profound meaning behind his democratic, progressive and play-based pedagogy
- The most insightful observation he has made through working with children (you are going to want to hear this! )
- His inspiration for starting his famous daily blog and his reflective process
- The best and worst parts of being a blogger
- His experiences with a parent owned and operated school
- Never letting the weather stop you from having fun
- School readiness and the 3 characteristics that really matter
👉 Guest Details
Tom "Teacher Tom" Hobson is an early childhood educator, international speaker, education consultant, teacher of teachers, parent educator, and author. He is best known for his namesake blog "Teacher Tom's Blog," where he has posted daily for over a decade, chronicling the life and times of his little preschool in the rain soaked Pacific Northwest corner of the US. For over two decades, he has been the sole employee of the Woodland Park Cooperative School which is a parent owned and operated school and all pulled together by Teacher Tom’s democratic, progressive play based pedagogy.
Today, Teacher Tom shares his play-based pedagogy through online e-courses for early childhood educators; produces online early childhood conferences; consults with organizations about his "Family Schools" program; and inspires early years audiences around the world both virtually and in-person with his engaging views on early childhood education, play, and pedagogy.
He was pressured by his blog readers to author his first book, aptly named Teacher Tom’s First Book, and recently released Teacher Tom’s Second Book.
👉 Resources and References
Book Recommendation
Human Kind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman
Free Downloadable
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👉 Wil
Welcome back to Raising Wildlings — where we explore raising brave, resilient, curious kids who feel at home outdoors.
If you're an educator ready to bring more nature play and child-led learning into your Early Years program, our Bush Kindy Professional Development Workshops are for you. You'll walk away with practical tools, risk-benefit strategies, and the confidence to take learning outside in a way that's safe, meaningful, and genuinely exciting for
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Hosts & Guests
No transcript available for this episode.
