Paul Mackie
Early Childhood Educator Specialist
Speaker | Coach | Author
Empowering Teachers and Children to Thrive
- Supporting teachers in managing in-the-moment stress for themselves and their students.
- Teaching values, love, and compassion in the classroom.
- Guiding children to read and write with ease.
- Ensuring smooth child transitions from preschool to grade school.
- Helping children struggling in the school system.
"Stress Management For Teachers"
Addressing Your Stress Challenges
- Feeling overwhelmed with managing classroom stress?
- Struggling to maintain a calm and empowering classroom environment?
- Lacking time and resources for self-care?
- Facing burnout, loss of passion for teaching; and losing compassion towards your learners?
- An Ebook tailored for Early Educators: Specifically designed for teachers of children aged 2-8 years old.
- Proven Strategies: Backed by research and real-world application.
- Holistic Approach: Combines stress management, emotional intelligence, and classroom management.
- Easy Integration: Activities and tips that fit seamlessly into your daily routine.
Discover how "The Learning Bridge" can transform your approach to kindergarten preparation and early childhood development.
This essential guide offers educators and parents early childhood education materials that support children’s transition from preschool to early grade school.
- Play-Based Learning Meets Academics: Discover the 6 step technique that transforms play into learning opportunities, building both foundational academic and life skills.
- Whole-Child Development: 6 Activities that support social-emotional growth, creativity, and problem-solving by engaging both sides of the brain.
- Balanced Learning for Teachers: 6 Practical strategies to balance curriculum demands with nurturing emotional intelligence, independence, and a love of learning.
- Smooth Transitions from Preschool to Grade School: Tools and tips for ensuring every child feels confident, supported, and ready for their next step.
- Helping Children Realize Their Full Potential: A comprehensive guide for parents and educators to awaken and nurture each child’s innate abilities from ages 2 to 8.
Welcome to
"The Learning Bridge"
The New Approach To Early
Childhood Education."
A practical guide to transitioning preschool children into a play-based academic model using
a 6-Step Process.
This book is a call to action for educators, administrators, parents, and anyone passionate about nurturing the minds and hearts of young children.
The traditional education system often focuses on curriculum and teaching specific skills using direct instruction as the primary method.
However, we are witnessing a shift toward a child-centered and heart-centered approach—one that values observation, documentation, and expansion based on a child's natural play and curiosity.
This 6-Step Process encourages teachers to act as facilitators rather than instructors, creating an environment where children feel safe to choose who, what, when, where, and how they play—allowing their imagination to lead the way.
The 6 Steps to Child-Led, Play-Based Learning
🔹 Meet & Greet – Start each day with a warm, personal welcome to build trust.
🔹 Story Time – Use engaging stories to introduce emotions, social skills, and new concepts.
🔹 Set Up the Environment – Arrange the space with Loose Parts and open-ended materials to encourage discovery.
🔹 Observe - Document - Expand – Watch children’s play, track progress, and add materials based on their interests.
🔹 Create a Child’s Skills Diary – Record each child's learning journey, milestones, and interests.
🔹 Expand on Play – Provide deeper opportunities for learning by building on a child’s natural curiosity.
At its core, this approach gives children foundational skills for life—helping them develop social, emotional, and creative capabilities needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Which Option is Best for You?
📖 Option 1: Read the Book (Self-Guided Learning)
✔ Step-by-step explanation of the 6-Step Process.
✔ Introduction to the 9 Pillars—the principles supporting the framework.
✔ Real-life storybooks & QR Code Video Access for additional insights.
✔ Ideal for educators, caregivers, and parents who prefer self-study.
or: See below 🎥 Option 2: Enroll in the Course (Guided, Step-by-Step Learning)
👉 Get the Book – Available on Amazon.
The Learning Bridge: The 9 Pillars of Education for Preschool & Early Grade School Success
Building a Strong Educational Foundation:
Practical tools and strategies to bridge the gap between preschool and grade school using child-led learning and play-based education.
- Empowering Educators with Flexible Teaching Strategies:
Balance academic expectations with teacher wellness, classroom management, and stress-reducing techniques.
- Supporting Whole-Child Development:
Engaging activities that nurture social-emotional growth, problem-solving, and cognitive skills through hands-on exploration.
- Bridging Play and Academic Learning:
Practical strategies to transform child-led play into meaningful learning experiences that develop foundational academic and life skills.
- Fostering a Child's Voice, Choice, Independence and Lifelong Learning: A structured approach to awakening each child’s natural curiosity and potential, making learning meaningful and engaging.
Gordy's Mountain Moves is an engaging exercise book for kids that takes young readers on an exciting adventure filled with playful physical activities.
Through Gordy’s journey, children are encouraged to move their bodies, helping them build gross motor skills like balance, coordination, and jumping.
In the storybook Gord'ys Mountain Moves, each movement has a purpose—to support early childhood learning through physical activity, linking motor skills to cognitive growth.
Inspired by the principles behind The Whole Brain Child, this book introduces fun activities that foster brain-body connections, laying a strong foundation for both physical and mental development.
Designed to be playful yet purposeful, Gordy's story helps children explore the world of brain body parenting, where movement helps unlock emotional regulation and problem-solving skills.
Whether used in a classroom or at home, Gordy's Mountain Moves is perfect for parents and teachers who want to provide young children with a head start in developing key skills.
This early childhood movement book invites children to use whole body coordination movement to balance, crawl, hop, and jump—all while having a great time.
Let the adventures begin!
Teaching Kids About: Emotions
Through Social Stories Gestures and Body Language A Practical Guide for Teachers and Parents
Teaching Kids About Emotions helps teachers and parents nurture emotional growth in young children by using storytelling and simple gestures to foster emotional intelligence.
This book helps in teaching kids about kindness, empathy, and love, emphasizing the importance of understanding and expressing emotions in a positive way.
The Teaching Kids About Emotions book is perfect for parents, teachers, and caregivers interested in teaching emotional resilience for kids, which is the ability for children to cope with stress, adapt to challenges, and recover from setbacks in a healthy way. This helps create a compassionate learning environment for preschoolers.
- Teaching Kids About Emotions: Helps children recognize, understand, and express their emotions in positive and constructive ways.
- Teaching Kids About Kindness: Encourages children to practice small acts of kindness and understand the impact they can have on others.
- Social Stories for Kindergarten and Preschool: Engaging social stories that help children navigate emotions and improve social interactions in both kindergarten and preschool settings.
- Gestures and Body Language: Provides children with the tools to use gestures and body language to express their emotions effectively.
- Emotional Resilience for Kids: Helps children develop the ability to cope with stress, adapt to challenges, and bounce back from difficult situations. It provides them with tools to manage emotions, solve problems, and maintain a positive outlook even during tough times.
- Teaching Kids About Love: Guides children in expressing love and care in nurturing and healthy ways.
THE ICE CUBE FAMILY
Icy Learns About Love and Compassion
A heart warming printed storybook of friendship, care, and emotional growth for early learners.
In Icy Learns About Love and Compassion, preschool children are introduced to essential life skills like understanding emotions, kindness, and compassion.
Through engaging storytelling and body language gestures, this storybook nurtures emotional development while teaching kids valuable life skills.
- Teaching Kids About Emotions: Children learn to express feelings and discover the values of love, empathy, and compassion.
- Teaching Kids Life Skills: Preschool children discover the importance of caring for others through body language gestures.
- Teaching Kids Kindness: The Ice Cube Family shows how small gestures and acts of kindness make a big impact.
- Body Language and Play-Based Learning: Simple body language cues help children connect emotionally with peers.
- Child-Led Learning: Kids are given a voice and choice to explore love and compassion in a hands-on way.
- Teacher Tips and Activities: Valuable tips for parents and teachers, with reflection prompts and play-based exercises.
THE ICE CUBE FAMILY
Where Do Ice Cubes Go
When They Melt?
A heartwarming story about love, transformation, and the cycle of life.
In Where Do Ice Cubes Go When They Melt?, preschool children explore the concepts of change, resilience, and interconnectedness. Through gentle storytelling and relatable characters, this storybook nurtures an understanding of life's natural transformations while emphasizing love and connection.
This storybook introduces young children to important concepts without directly mentioning difficult topics such as death, making it a gentle and effective tool for early learning.
- Teaching Kids About Life Changes: Children learn about the cycle of life in a comforting way, discovering that change is a natural and beautiful part of growing up.
- Teaching Kids Resilience: Through the story of Icy and the Ice Cube Family, children see how to adapt to life's transformations with strength and positivity.
- Teaching Kids Love and Connection: The Ice Cube Family shows that love remains even through change, emphasizing connection and care.
- Body Language and Play-Based Learning: Simple gestures and body language are used to help children connect emotionally with concepts of change and renewal.
- Child-Led Learning: Kids are encouraged to explore the story at their own pace, with opportunities for reflection and conversation about emotions and change.
- Teacher Tips and Activities: Includes valuable tips for parents and teachers, along with reflection prompts and play-based activities to reinforce the story’s message.
Welcome to The Learning Bridge - Storybook Series
The Learning Bridge Storybook Series is a unique collection of coil-bound storybooks designed to support early childhood educators in creating nurturing, child-led learning environments.
Each storybook corresponds to one of the 6 Steps in The Learning Bridge Framework, providing engaging tales and practical activities that teach children essential social, emotional and developmental skills.
The 6 Steps of The Learning Bridge guide children’s growth in a play-based, compassionate environment:
- Meet & Greet: Helping children feel welcomed and valued every day.
- Storytime: Using engaging narratives to teach important life values.
- Set Up the Environment: Inspiring creativity and exploration through a thoughtfully designed play space.
- Observe, Document, Expand: Empowering teachers to support learning by observing, documenting, and expanding on children’s interests.
- Child’s Skills Diary: Celebrating each child’s achievements with personalized skill tracking.
- Expanding Play: Encouraging deeper learning through child-led exploration.
Each storybook brings these steps to life with delightful characters, relatable scenarios, and actionable ideas that connect play, learning, and emotional development.
The coil-bound format makes them perfect for classroom use, with pages that easily stay open for reading while showing both text and illustrations.
STEP 1: MEET & GREET
Storybook: Max’s First Day At Preschool.
Purpose: Foster a welcoming environment, building emotional security, and trust for the child.
Learning Focus: Coping with new environments, building trust with peers and teachers, expressing feelings, and feeling a sense of belonging.
STEP 2: STORYTIME
Storybook: Icy Learns About Love and Compassion.
Purpose: Children develop empathy, build friendships by learning verbal and non-verbal communication through body language, gestures, and engaging storytelling.
Learning Focus: Verbal and non-verbal communication, strengthening friendships, and comforting others through simple body language and gestures.
STEP 3: SET UP THE ENVIRONMENT
Storybook: The Whispering Playroom.
Purpose: Inspire child-led play, creativity, exploration, and self-expression using thoughtfully arranged, open-ended, Loose Parts play materials.
Learning Focus: The environment as a teacher, making choices, and engaging in open-ended play with loose parts.
STEP 4. OBSERVE-DOCUMENT-EXPAND
Storybook: Teacher, Why Do You Watch Us Play?
Purpose: Observe and document each child’s successes, interests, and skills, forming the basis for their Skills Diary and expanding their play opportunities.
Learning Focus: Explaining the role of the teacher’s observation, building trust, and encouraging self-directed play.
STEP 5: CREATE THE CHILD’S SKILLS DIARY
Storybook: Milo’s Special Book of Adventures.
Purpose: Document each child's achievements and interests to create a personalized Skills Diary. This diary documents a child’s growth and bridges the communication gap between home and the transition to grade school.
Learning Focus:Recognizing personal achievements, reflecting on emotions, building self-esteem, and celebrating growth, which are documented in the Child’s Skills Diary.
STEP 6: EXPAND ON THE CHILD’S PLAY
Storybook: Riley’s Big Building Adventure.
Purpose: Through observation and documentation, the teacher can provide Loose Parts to expand on a child's play and interests.
Learning Focus: Expand on a child’s play, collaborative play, problem-solving, following interests, and exploring creativity in group activities.
FREE -Teach My Preschooler How To Read " Sample Coloring Pages."
Get your free sample coloring pages from the "Teach My Preschooler How To Read" course.
Try the Teach My Preschooler How To Read method with your child.
If you like the "Teach A Child To Read Coloring Page" method, then join us on the "Teach My Preschooler How To Read course.
COURSES
Welcome to
"The Learning Bridge" Course
The New Approach To
Early Childhood Education."
A guided, step-by-step approach to transforming
how we teach and support young children.
If you’re passionate about nurturing play-based, child-led learning, this course will not only teach you the 6-Step Framework but also provide you with the support, structure, and tools needed to apply it successfully.
Unlike the book, which serves as a self-study guide, this course walks you through each step in detail—with videos, lesson-by-lesson implementation, and hands-on materials to ensure success.
This course is the best way to master the Learning Bridge Approach—providing a clear roadmap, expert guidance, and actionable steps so you can confidently apply this transformative early childhood education framework.
Ready to create a heart-centered, child-led learning environment?
👉 Enroll in the Course Today 🚀
"Stress Management For Kids Course"
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A FUN AND ENGAGING WAY TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS AND BUILD IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS?
Introducing "Stress Management for Kids - A Walk in the Jungle" – a beautifully illustrated storybook designed specifically for children aged 2 to 5 years old.
This enchanting tale not only captures children's imagination but also guides them through movements that help their development, calm their minds and bodies; and as an added bonus, give children some of the skills needed to read and write.
Each page invites children to participate in child led movements that enhance their motor skills, improve focus, and foster emotional well-being.
As they journey through the jungle, they’ll discover the joy of movement and the peace that comes from child led play, setting the foundation for lifelong stress management skills.
"Teach My Preschooler How To Read" Course.
By the end of this course your preschool child will be reading 2 and 3 phonetic sounding words.
For Teachers and Parents who want an easy play-based way to teach preschool children how to read and write; before they go to grade school.
By the end of this course you will have the tools and skills to teach any preschool child how to read and write. If you don't believe me, try the sample pages, which you can download at no cost; and get a $20 discount off this course.
"Teach My Preschooler How To Read" Vowels, Sight Words and Diagraphs Course.
"Teach My Preschooler How To Read" Book 2 & 3 is a play-based way to teach preschool children how to read vowels, Sight Words and Diagraphs using coloring pictures; and the phonetic sounds of the English Alphabet.
You simply give your preschool child a letter sound vowel or Sight Word picture to color each day; once they know the letter sound vowel or Sight Word, you move on to the next page.
For Teachers and Parents who want an easy play-based way to teach preschool children how to read and write; before they go to grade school.
By the end of this course you will have the tools and skills to teach any preschool child how to read Vowels, Sight Words and Diagraphs and get a $20 discount off this course by taking the "Teach My Preschooler How To Read" Course.
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