Educational resources to support our youngest learners, from birth to five

Powered by UVA-CASTL

August, 2025

Teaching with Love and Joy

We hope you're enjoying our summer selections and enjoying time with the kids in your care! This month, we have 5 more highlights from the Hub to share. See our selections for the Core Skills Relate and Regulate below.

"The love and joy behind your teaching is perhaps the strongest impression you will leave with your students."

— Meena Srivivasan,
Author of Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness in and out of the Classroom

Making the Most of Moments

Your learning environment is humming with activity all day as children play, think, learn, wonder, make friends, solve problems, move, and grow! Thanks to you, it's a wonderful place to be. We're happy to partner with you and excited to share more ideas to help you make the most of your time together.

1. Bubbles
Activity Card

Bubbles naturally invite curiosity and wonder. Check out our Activity Card, and get some new ideas for playing with bubbles that also encourage children's development in the Core Skill Regulate.

2. Freeze
Activity Card

When it's hot outside, try this game of Freeze! It's a great, quick activity that lets children practice Move and Regulate skills.

3. Kicking Goals
Activity Card

The World Cup may be over, but soccer players of all ages and abilities can keep focused on their Regulate goals with this Activity Card. See our suggestion for how to incorporate it into morning circle.

4. Thank You, Omu
Book

Making memories with friends is a great way to spend summer days! Bring your learning community together with this story about small acts of kindness and work on the Core Skill Relate. We'll bring the lesson plan; you bring the learners!

5. Sense of Self Take-Home Strategies
Take-Home Strategies Page

Summer is full of celebrations. Add to the festivities by encouraging families and caregivers to celebrate their child's unique Sense of Self, part of the Relate Core Skill. This Take-Home Strategy page is full of ideas they can do together.

Share the Hub

The Hub was recently featured in an article by UVA Today as a free resource for families to bookmark! Share it today!

Let friends, colleagues, or providers know about the Hub by forwarding this email and/or sending them the link to the article.

About Us

In partnership with VDOE Office of Early Childhood, the University of Virginia’s Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) provides free resources you can use to foster children's development and learning.

The ECE Resource Hub is created by the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) at the University of Virginia with funding from the Virginia Department of Education.