Liisa Hale

Biography

Prior to her contributions to The Bridge to School: Aligning Teaching with Development for Ages Four to Six, Liisa Hale co-authored Second Home: A Day in the Life of a Model Early Childhood Program (2007, Redleaf Press) which is accompanied by a DVD, and has collaborated in the production of these teacher training videos and study guides: Foundations for Relationship: Quality Infant Care (2013), Literacy in the Preschool Years (2010), Beyond the Curriculum (2003), and Growing through Play (1991).

Liisa has been the Co-Director of BlueSkies for Children, an NAEYC Accredited program, since 1995. She has 35 years of experience as a teacher and director in full-day programs for children under 5. She leads workshops for teachers and parents about meeting the needs of young children, particularly toddlers and two-year-olds, as well as teaching directors how to manage quality early childhood programs. She served for 12 years as a California State Director Mentor, two of those years with the intensive Every Director Counts project of Alameda County First Five. She holds a BA in Early Childhood Development and Education from Mills College.  

Liisa takes pleasure in sharing her blend of academic and practical knowledge with parents and teachers. Her academic understanding of what drives children’s behavior couples with her practical knowledge about how to work effectively with those behaviors, learned through 38 years as the working mother of three, and now grandmother of four. In her experience, it is much easier for an adult to work with challenging behavior once he or she can accept the developmental imperatives behind it. This essential information about how children learn in the early years has been neglected as schools have become more focused on immediate results; bringing it back into the discussion about effective education makes a real difference in children’s lives.

Education

BA Mills College, Oakland, CA, Early Childhood Ed and Dev.

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

Child Development
Toddler Teaching and Development
Early Childhood Program Management
Nonprofit management

Personal Interests

Camping
Hiking
Quilting
Crossword Puzzles

Books

Articles

Photos