Workshop replay · 1-hour PD certificate

This is NOT a Morning Meeting Workshop

99 daily check-ins that honor play and still meet early learning benchmarks, and the method behind them!

Get the workshop, $47 → Need it for your whole center?

↓ every check-in is optional. every time.

Picture this

Think about walking into work on a Monday.

You haven’t put your bag down. You haven’t had your coffee. And somebody stops you at the door and says everybody’s in the conference room, we’re starting the staff meeting now.

How did that feel?

That’s morning meeting.

A kiddo walks in carrying whatever happened in the car, whatever happened at bedtime, whatever is going on at home this week. And we ask them to sit down in a circle and wait their turn.

There’s another way to start the day, and I want to show you mine.

My daily check-in method

Here’s what it looks like.

I started this back when I was teaching at Butterfly Hill. I wanted real one on one time with every single kiddo as they walked through my door, and a way to finally see the skills that were so hard for me to catch during play.

Whether a child can pick their own name out of a row, or has just memorized which hook is theirs. Whether they’re really counting. Whether they can hear that shark and dark end the same way. Whose scissors grip is still a whole fist come April.

So I started doing this instead, and it turned into my favorite part of my whole day.

One little table by the door, right at kiddo height. One activity sitting on it, and only one.

The classroom is open. Play is happening. Children walk in, see something interesting waiting, and come over because they love the one-on-one time with you!

They roll a die, they crack open a plastic egg, they fish a rubber duck out of a bin of water, they tell me all about their grandma. All the noticing is happening on my side of the table.

You get a real touch point with every child. You catch the skills play doesn’t hand you. And nobody gets pulled away from anything.

What we’re covering together

25 check-ins you can start Monday.

5math & counting 5literacy & language 3gross motor 3fine motor 3social & self 2arts & expression 4questions of the day

plus 74 more in the 102-page check-in guide!

Plus the entire method behind them:

Your check-in space

How to set it up and what actually goes on the table.

Why it beats morning meeting

And what happens to a room when you stop starting the day with compliance.

Play stays open

How to keep play going the whole time so nobody is sitting and waiting on you.

Benchmarks, covered

How every check-in connects to your early learning benchmarks, and how to know what you’re looking for before a child ever sits down.

The chaotic mornings

When twenty-two kiddos arrive in the same eleven minutes and three of them are crying.

The afternoon version

For those of us whose mornings are never going to work for this. Plus how to jot down what a child showed you without it ever feeling like a test.

Who this is for

Sound like you?

Preschool teachers, family child care providers, and anybody who has ever been asked to prove that play is working.

Pick your seat

Just you, or the whole team?

Single teacher

Just me and my classroom

$47

your new favorite part of the day!

A 1-hour training on the daily check-in method
The 102-page guide with 99 check-in ideas
A 1-hour PD certificate

Get the workshop, $47 →

Center license · your whole team

For staff meetings & PD days

$141

one center, unlimited staff!

Everything in the single-teacher version
One license for one center or school building
Unlimited staff can watch, together or on their own
A PD certificate for every teacher who watches

Get the center license, $141 →

Bringing this to a whole district? Email [email protected] and we'll put together a district license.

Good questions

Frequently asked questions.

Is the workshop live?

It's a replay, so you can watch whenever it works for you.

Do I get a PD certificate?

Yes! A professional development certificate for 1 hour.

Can my whole staff watch?

YES! Grab the center license and everyone in your center or school building can watch, with a PD certificate for every teacher.

Are refunds available?

This is a digital training, so refunds aren't available. Questions before you buy? Email [email protected].

Ready when you are

Start the day with connection.

Every check-in is optional. Every time. We’ll talk about why.

Just me, $47 → My whole center, $141 →

cheers to play! ☀️

Kristen Day
& Play

Play-based learning keynotes, professional development, and digital courses for early childhood educators. Supporting the field since 2018. Formerly Kristen RB Peterson.