Little Big Ideas

Storypark

Join Lorrie and Anne Marie as they talk with incredible guests who are out there doing brave, thoughtful and often quiet revolutionary work. Thought-leaders, authors, teachers, dreamers. Together we’ll learn that doing little things across the field of early childhood can have a big impact on the world around us. If you’d like to receive email reminders for new episodes and exclusive subscriber only resources, sign up to the Storypark mailing list at https://lp.storypark.com/sa/podcast

Episodes

  1. Jul 14

    10. One-year anniversary special

    In this special one-year anniversary episode of Little Big Ideas, Anne Marie and Lorrie reflect on a year of ideas that have shaped how they think, teach, and show up, in their work and at home with their families. What themes resurface when you spend a year in conversation with early childhood education's most thoughtful practitioners? What does it take to build a classroom, and a life, around democracy rather than conformity? And what have Anne Marie and Lorrie learned about themselves along the way? They trace the threads woven through every episode this year: the rights of children, care as something we practice rather than feel, inclusion in the classroom and what it might look like to build with children's ideas rather than just around them. Join us as they explore some of these conversations further and celebrate the beautiful folks who have chatted with them on the pod so far.  Thank you to everyone who's been listening from the beginning or who have joined more recently, sharing episodes in team meetings, and bringing these ideas into your own communities.  Watch our podcast episodes on YouTube: @StoryparkApp  __________________________________________________ STORYPARK: Putting the child at the heart of childcare management Storypark is an all-in-one childcare management platform built to empower quality-focused early learning services to streamline operations, so they can focus on what matters most: nurturing every child’s unique potential. With all the tools you expect in a childcare management software, what makes Storypark special is our sector-leading family engagement and learning documentation tools that are at the heart of our platform. Shaped by early childhood education experts, and the only childcare software endorsed by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Storypark delivers proven impact you can depend on. Find out more on our website: https://ap1.hubs.ly/H015rtl0

  2. Apr 30

    09. Do we really know the meaning of play? - Suzanne Axelsson

    In this episode of Little Big Ideas, Anne Marie and Lorrie sit down with Suzanne Axelsson — author, pedagogical consultant, and one of the most generative thinkers in early childhood education, for a conversation that quietly dismantles everything we assume about children’s play, and rebuilds it into something far more profound. Learning to walk or playing to walk? What is the purpose of play in education? What is the purpose of the educator in play?  Joining from Stockholm, Suzanne explores the schoolification of play and what it really means to prepare children not just for school, but for life. She introduces the idea of deep pocket pedagogy (we'd not heard of that one either): the difference between equipping children with the exact tools for right now, and filling their pockets so deeply that they'll keep pulling from them for the rest of their lives. We hope this one stays with you. Watch our podcast episodes on YouTube: @StoryparkApp  __________________________________________________________________________ STORYPARK: Putting the child at the heart of childcare management Storypark is an all-in-one childcare management platform built to empower quality-focused early learning services to streamline operations, so they can focus on what matters most: nurturing every child’s unique potential. With all the tools you expect in a childcare management software, what makes Storypark special is our sector-leading family engagement and learning documentation tools that are at the heart of our platform. Shaped by early childhood education experts, and the only childcare software endorsed by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Storypark delivers proven impact you can depend on. Find out more on our website: https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0PBZq0

  3. 12/17/2025

    07. Care in community: A Live conversation

    More here >> https://lp.storypark.com/sa/podcast Live from The Home Child Care Association of Ontario (HCAAO) annual conference, this episode is a rich conversation about the beauty and necessity of care work. We explore the requirements and practices of quality care: humility, curiosity, community, and the willingness to slow down. Naming these practices strengthens our ability to stand firmly in the value of what we do. Together in a room filled with passionate in-home carers, we recognized the complexity and skill of this work. With thoughtful questions and insights from the audience, the conversation returned to something essential: when we can articulate the value of our work, we expand our capacity to advocate for care in all its forms. This episode affirms the work of caregiving, the wisdom it requires, and the collective strength it takes to build caring communities. STORYPARK Putting the child at the heart of childcare management Storypark is an all-in-one childcare management platform built to empower quality-focused early learning services to streamline operations, so they can focus on what matters most: nurturing every child’s unique potential. With all the tools you expect in a childcare management software, what makes Storypark special is our sector-leading family engagement and learning documentation tools that are at the heart of our platform. Shaped by early childhood education experts, and the only childcare software endorsed by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Storypark delivers proven impact you can depend on.

    07. Care in community: A Live conversation
  4. 11/05/2025

    06. Roots, resistance and possibility - Rukia Rogers

    In this episode of Little Big Ideas, we sit down with our dear friend Rukia Rogers—early childhood educator, activist, and founder of The Highlander School in Atlanta, Georgia. This single-site school stands as a beacon of hope, possibility, and social justice, nurturing empathy and critical consciousness in children while deeply honoring the histories and struggles of its community. Inspired by the legacy of the Highlander Folk School and the civil rights movement, Rukia has built an early learning community that is both a hub of activism and a sanctuary of care—a place where children, families, and the land are interconnected and valued. Rukia’s vision reminds us what’s possible when education, community, and justice come together. Her leadership offers a powerful example of how even a small early childhood program can become a space of resistance, hope, and transformative change. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss. STORYPARK: Putting the child at the heart of childcare management Storypark is an all-in-one childcare management platform built to empower quality-focused early learning services to streamline operations, so they can focus on what matters most: nurturing every child’s unique potential. With all the tools you expect in a childcare management software, what makes Storypark special is our sector-leading family engagement and learning documentation tools that are at the heart of our platform. Shaped by early childhood education experts, and the only childcare software endorsed by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Storypark delivers proven impact you can depend on.

    06. Roots, resistance and possibility - Rukia Rogers
  5. 05/19/2025

    01. A radical vision for children's right to participate and be heard - Marc Battle

    Join us for a fascinating discussion with Marc Battle about radically rethinking children’s rights. How can we ensure children are truly heard, even when it comes to the construction of their own early learning programs? Marc is an ECE instructor at Red River College in Winnipeg, who also works with Aboriginal Head Start programs. Marc first worked at Toronto’s Children Services, then at the child care centre at Durham College. For six years, he taught ECE at Northwest Community College in BC. Inspired by fellow ECE instructor Joan Turecki, he became interested in emergent curriculum, which builds on the children’s interests, and in incorporating a more artistic approach to child care programs. He has been at Red River College since 2002. Marc is a passionate speaker on a variety of topics including risky play, rich learning environments, quality interactions, inclusion, and guiding children toward discovery of their full potential. Storypark: Putting the child at the heart of childcare management Storypark is an all-in-one childcare management platform built to empower quality-focused early learning services to streamline operations, so they can focus on what matters most: nurturing every child’s unique potential. With all the tools you expect in a childcare management software, what makes Storypark special is our sector-leading family engagement and learning documentation tools that are at the heart of our platform.  Shaped by early childhood education experts, and the only childcare software endorsed by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Storypark delivers proven impact you can depend on.

    01. A radical vision for children's right to participate and be heard - Marc Battle

About

Join Lorrie and Anne Marie as they talk with incredible guests who are out there doing brave, thoughtful and often quiet revolutionary work. Thought-leaders, authors, teachers, dreamers. Together we’ll learn that doing little things across the field of early childhood can have a big impact on the world around us. If you’d like to receive email reminders for new episodes and exclusive subscriber only resources, sign up to the Storypark mailing list at https://lp.storypark.com/sa/podcast

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