Here are three strategies you (as the teacher) can use to help families turn picture books into tools to prompt rich conversations about expressing feelings, gaining self-esteem, showing perseverance, and many other important skills.
This is the first article in a two-part series that explores promoting children’s identity, agency, and voice regarding race through picture books. Included in this article are three exemplary books that early childhood educators can use to foster critica
Children need help making sense of what they are seeing and hearing. These conversations also offer us important teachable moments to engage young children in discussion about their identities, human diversity, fairness and unfairness, and the right of pe
Dina Treff is the lead teacher of the preschool program at the Child Development Lab (CDL) at the University of Georgia. She has been an early educator since 2002, with 13 years at the CDL.
We know how crucial social and emotional well-being is to young children’s development, but we all have questions about how teachers wearing masks and how digital distance learning (and the related isolation) are affecting our youngest learners.
Discover engaging, effective ways to explore real-life, thorny ethical issues with early childhood professionals in the context of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct.
Promoting equity in your classroom is within your reach, and this course will give you some of the tools you need. It focuses on what equity work can look like for teachers working with children ages 3 through 5 on a day-to-day basis in the classroom.
Through our virtual programming for both teachers and parents, our relationship-based approach that is already key to our programming was ramped up to identify, acknowledge, and attend to children’s emotions.
Young children find a goodbye ritual very comforting. Families can make up a love ritual such as a secret handshake and a kiss. Reading books about separation such as The Kissing Hand can also provide comfort to children
When schools abruptly transitioned to distance learning back in March, I found myself communicating with families more regularly than ever before. And it wasn’t long before I learned many parents and family members were struggling with fears, anxiety, los
Social- emotional learning (SEL) is the foundation and heartbeat of the classroom. Students need to feel connected, safe, and secure, before we even begin to address academics. T
Our bi-weekly all staff virtual meetings included personal check-ins. During these moments of truth-telling and tears, teachers expressed loneliness and fears.
Our commitment to partnering with families has not changed. We are providing remote services that prioritize relationships and we are connecting with families using social media, sending weekly text messages to all, and reaching out to each family.
As child development programs re-open or begin virtual interactions, teachers and families will need to make enhanced, intentional, targeted efforts to ensure those relationships are meaningful and individualized to respond to each child’s specific needs.
This module provides teachers with classroom examples and practical strategies to enhance their awareness of how cultural practices are deeply embedded in children and families behavior.
More than ever, early childhood educators need accurate information and practical guidance for helping children and families who have experienced trauma.
Our findings suggest that using screencasting apps can provide more equitable learning opportunities as teachers require all students to justify their mathematical ideas.