Ted Talks are motivating and informing. Here is a list of 8 inspiring TED talks specifically for Early Childhood Educators.
The brightest minds in their industries share their insights, stories and invaluable information about children’s development, leadership, play and learning. I hope you’ll enjoy watching. Share in the comments below which one is your favourite!

8 Inspiring TED Talks For Early Childhood Educators

1. “Play is more than just fun” by Stuart Brown

A pioneer in research on play, Dr. Stuart Brown says humour, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults — and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.

2. ‘Every Kid Needs a Champion’ by Rita Pierson

Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.”
The talk inspires educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

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3. Three rules to spark learning by Ramsey Musallam

It took a life-threatening condition to jolt chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam out of ten years of “pseudo-teaching” to understand the true role of the educator: to cultivate curiosity. In a fun and personal talk, Musallam gives 3 rules to spark imagination and learning, and get students excited about how the world works.

4. ‘The linguistic genius of babies’ by Patricia Kuhl

5. ‘Improving early child development with words’ by Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald

Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald is leveraging the simple practice of talking to babies and toddlers to nourish their brains and set them up for a better performance in school and life.

6. ‘Turning trash into toys for learning’ by Arvind Gupta

Arvind Gupta shares simple yet stunning plans for turning unexpected pieces into seriously entertaining, well-designed toys that kids can build themselves — while learning basic principles of science and design.

7. ‘Do the first 1000 days determine the rest of your life?’ by DeeDee Yates

The First 1000 days are crucial as this period affects areas such as physical growth, peer skills as well as emotional and social development. DeeDee Yates, a recognised world expert, focusing on vulnerable children and families, talks about how a strong start will help us to build a more equal society.

8. ‘What do babies think?’ by Alison Gopnik

Alison Gopnik takes us into the fascinating minds of babies and children, and shows us how much we understand before we even realize we do. “Babies and young children are like the R&D division of the human species,” says psychologist Alison Gopnik. Her research explores the sophisticated intelligence-gathering and decision-making that babies are really doing when they play.

Do you know another inspiring TED talk? Share with us in the comments below.