Ivybrook’s Daniela McElhaney Featured in The Strategist as an Early Childhood Education Expert
Quick Answer: Ivybrook Academy’s VP of Education and Training, Daniela McElhaney, was recently featured in The Strategist — New York Magazine’s nationally recognized product recommendation site — as one of ten experts consulted for their guide to the best dress-up costumes and accessories for children. Her advice reflects the same philosophy that shapes every Ivybrook classroom: the most powerful play is open-ended, child-directed, and rooted in real-world connection.
Why This Feature Matters
The Strategist is one of the most widely read and respected consumer recommendation platforms in the country, known for consulting genuine experts rather than relying on algorithmic product roundups. When their editorial team set out to build the definitive guide to children’s dress-up play, they sought voices who could speak to the developmental significance behind it — not just what to buy, but why it matters.
Daniela was one of two education professionals among the ten experts consulted, alongside founders, editors, toy specialists, and parents. Her inclusion speaks to something Ivybrook families already know: the people leading our education program bring deep, nationally recognized expertise to the work they do every day.
Open-Ended Play: The Philosophy Behind the Feature
Daniela’s contributions to the article center on a principle that runs through everything Ivybrook does — that the richest learning happens when children are given tools and the freedom to decide what those tools become.
In the context of dress-up play, that means a simple silk scarf is more developmentally valuable than a fully constructed character costume. The scarf can become a cape, a gown, a bandage, a river, a baby blanket — whatever the child’s imagination requires in that moment. The child isn’t following a script. They’re building one.
This is the same principle that shapes Ivybrook’s blended Montessori and Reggio Emilia approach. In our classrooms, materials are intentionally open-ended. Teachers observe and respond to each child’s curiosity rather than directing it toward a predetermined outcome. The result is children who learn to think flexibly, communicate their ideas, and engage deeply with the world around them.
The Connection Between Imaginative Play and Language Development
One of Daniela’s key points in the article is that giving children realistic, real-world props — things like a restaurant order pad, a set of play keys, or a wallet with pretend cash — deepens the storytelling that happens during imaginative play. And deeper storytelling means more complex language practice.
This aligns directly with what early childhood research consistently shows: language development in young children is driven by context and interaction, not by drilling vocabulary in isolation. When a child is “taking orders” at a pretend restaurant, they’re practicing conversational turn-taking, sequencing, descriptive language, and social negotiation all at once. They don’t experience it as a lesson. They experience it as play. But the developmental work happening underneath is significant.
At Ivybrook, this kind of rich, language-building play happens every morning. Our teachers create environments where children have access to thoughtfully chosen materials and the autonomy to use them in their own way. The classroom becomes a place where stories unfold naturally — and where the vocabulary, confidence, and communication skills children need for kindergarten and beyond are built through genuine engagement rather than repetition.
What Ivybrook Families Already Know
If you’re an Ivybrook family, none of this will surprise you. You’ve seen your child come home full of stories about the world they built that morning. You’ve watched them grow more articulate, more imaginative, and more confident in their ability to create and communicate.
What this feature confirms is that the philosophy behind those experiences is recognized well beyond our campuses. When a publication as respected as The Strategist looks for expert guidance on how children learn through play, they turn to the kind of thinking that Ivybrook was built on.
We’re incredibly proud of Daniela and grateful to see our approach to early childhood education represented on a national stage.
Bringing It Home: Open-Ended Play Ideas for Families
Inspired by the article, here are a few ways to encourage the same kind of open-ended imaginative play at home:
Stock a dress-up bin with versatile pieces. Scarves, hats, bandanas, oversized button-downs, and costume jewelry all give children raw material to work with. The less prescriptive the item, the more creative directions it can go.
Add real-world props. A notepad and pencil, a tote bag, an old wallet, a pair of sunglasses — everyday items become powerful storytelling tools when children are free to decide what role they play.
Resist the urge to direct the play. If your child announces that they’re a doctor-cat-princess who delivers mail, that’s not confusion. That’s complex narrative thinking. Let it unfold.
Give it time and space. Imaginative play deepens when children aren’t rushed. An unhurried afternoon with a box of dress-up materials can produce richer developmental benefits than a tightly scheduled activity.
Read the Full Feature
You can read the complete Strategist article — including all of Daniela’s expert recommendations — here.
And if you’d like to see the philosophy of open-ended, child-directed learning in action, we’d love to show you. Schedule a tour at your nearest Ivybrook campus.