A team reflective practice activity for early childhood leaders, educational leaders, and directors.

The Torchlight & The Stars uses a powerful visual metaphor to explore one of the most overlooked challenges in early childhood leadership: what we focus on becomes our whole reality, and everything outside that focus quietly disappears. Like a torch beam in the dark, our attention illuminates some things brilliantly while leaving others — the stars — completely invisible.

This 60–90 minute activity is grounded in the work of Judith E. Glaser and Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ), and is designed for teams of 3–12 people in any early childhood setting. It works in-person or online and includes a full facilitator preparation guide, step-by-step facilitation instructions, a theoretical grounding section on C-IQ concepts, facilitation notes for managing difficult moments, a connections to practice table, and a personal reflection sheet for participants.

Use it in leadership team days, professional development sessions, team meetings focused on culture and communication, or as a deeper follow-on from The Perception Exercise. It is aligned with the National Quality Standard, particularly QA4, QA6, and QA7, and directly supports reflective practice, psychological safety, and trust-based team communication in early childhood settings.

Ideal for directors, educational leaders, and room leaders who want to build a culture where more perspectives are heard, more voices are valued, and better decisions get made together.