The Everything ECE Podcast

This week’s Dear Carla question comes from Lime Green, an educator who will be working with a four-year-old with selective mutism.
They’re looking for ideas and strategies to support the child, and the question takes Carla back more than 20 years to one of the first children she ever taught.
In this episode, Carla draws on that experience, what she learned along the way, and what she wants Lime Green to consider as they begin building a relationship with this child.
ASK CARLA
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Website: carlatheece.com
Instagram: @carlatheece

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla sits down with Cheryl Sutherland, founder of PleaseNotes, for a conversation about journaling, self-trust, confidence, and learning to pay attention to what we actually need.
Cheryl shares why she once considered herself a “journaling hater,” how journaling can help us recognize patterns and make clearer decisions, and why the words we use with ourselves matter more than we may realize.
Carla and Cheryl also talk about the very real overwhelm educators carry, the pressure to be everything to everyone, and what can happen when we acknowledge that something isn’t working instead of continuing to push through it.
And Carla makes a commitment during the episode: 30 days of journaling. Listen in, then join her for the experiment.
Transcript

CHERYL SUTHERLAND
Cheryl Sutherland is a speaker, author, and founder of PleaseNotes, a Toronto-based personal growth brand offering guided journals, planners, and affirmation cards for confidence, clarity, and self-trust. She also works as a facilitator and mindfulness speaker for corporate clients, ERGs, and HR teams, with a background spanning banking, sales, and business coaching. She has run four successful Kickstarter campaigns and has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, InStyle, HuffPost, CBC, and Inc. She is passionate about helping people build self-trust through journaling and reflection. 

LINKS
Website: PleaseNotes & cherylsutherland.com
Instagram: PleaseNotes / Cheryl Sutherland
TikTok: Cheryl Sutherland
Affirmations in Abundance: Link

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
If You Want to Change the World, Start Off by Making Your Bed - William McRaven, US Navy Admiral
SEE CHERYL LIVE
Cheryl will be speaking at the ECE Entrepreneur Experience on November 14, 2026. www.carlatheece.com/ece-entrepreneur-experience 

30 DAYS OF JOURNALING
Carla is taking Cheryl’s advice and turning journaling into an experiment: 30 days of showing up and seeing what happens.
Want to join her? Tag @carlatheece and Cheryl/PleaseNotes on Instagram so you can do the 30 days together.

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If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

CONNECT WITH CARLA
Email Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠ 
Website: carlatheece.com
Instagram: @carlatheece

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward sits down with Saira Remtulla, Ontario Certified Teacher and founder of Connected Start, for a conversation about rethinking circle time in early learning.
Circle time can be one of the most powerful opportunities for connection in an early learning program, but only when we’re clear about why we’re gathering in the first place.
Carla and Saira talk about the difference between entertaining children and genuinely engaging them, why participation doesn’t always look like sitting still, the importance of flexibility and intentionality, and what can happen when circle time becomes less about getting through the plan and more about creating a shared experience.
They also explore educator confidence, following children’s interests, the role of songs, rhymes and repetition, and why connection needs to come before content.
Whether you love circle time, avoid it, or have been wondering if it still belongs in early learning, this conversation will have you thinking differently about what gathering together can be.
SAIRA REMTULLA
Saira Remtulla is an Ontario Certified Teacher with over 19 years of experience, specializing in early years education. Her work is grounded in fostering connection, creativity, and meaningful learning experiences for young children. As the Founder of Connected Start, Saira has developed joyful, hands-on programming for children from birth to age four, that sparks curiosity, supports emotional development, and lays the foundation for lifelong learning. Saira is committed to empowering early years centres with accessible, high-quality resources that enrich their programs and strengthen the communities they serve.

LINKS
Website: www.connectedstart.ca 
Instagram: @connectedstart & @learnwithmssaira
LinkedIn: Saira Remtulla

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If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!

CONNECT WITH CARLA
Email Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠ 
Website: carlatheece.com
Instagram: @carlatheece

After 34 years in the field, one educator has seen a lot of trends come and go, including the shift away from using food like rice, beans and pasta in sensory play.
But with a growing understanding of sensory needs and regulation, is it time to reconsider? Or are there bigger questions about food, resources and respect that should still guide practice?
In this Dear Carla episode, Carla responds to “Frustrated Foodie” and digs into food in sensory play, the rabbit hole of deciding which resources are okay to use, and why the better question might be: Why this material, for these children, at this moment?
ASK CARLA
Have a question? Ask here
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!
CONNECT WITH CARLA
Email Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠ 
Website: carlatheece.com
Instagram: @carlatheece

In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, Carla Ward explores what happens when “no,” “stop,” “don’t,” and “put that back” become the soundtrack of the day. Rather than immediately looking at the child when something isn’t working, she challenges educators to get curious about the environment, the expectations within it, and the rules they may be enforcing without ever stopping to ask why.
Carla shares how changing her own classroom environment changed the way she showed up as an educator and explores the difference between boundaries that protect safety and rights and those that exist for adult convenience.
If you find yourself repeating the same direction over and over again, this episode might have you asking a different question: what if the 48th reminder isn’t the answer?
Listen in and discover what can happen when we let the environment do more of the work.
JOIN YES SPACES
www.carlatheece.com/yes-spaces-course 
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week!
CONNECT WITH CARLA
Email Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠ 
Website: carlatheece.com
Instagram: @carlatheece