The Foundational Principles of Anti-Racist Early Childhood Education

For children to have an anti-racist early childhood education, many steps must be taken by parents and educators. Some of these steps occur before children even set foot in school. From equal access to quality education to the language surrounding how children speak about race and culture, here are a few foundational principles of creating an anti-racist early childhood education.

Equal access to quality education

All children do not have the same levels of access to high-quality education, daycare, and after-school programs. For the most part, children of color, children who do not speak English as a first language, special needs children, and children who live in poverty don’t have access to the same quality of educational programming as their middle- and upper-class, white counterparts. Ensuring equal access to quality childcare and education is the first foundational principle of anti-racist early childhood education.

Equal access and treatment within educational programs

Just because equal access to daycare or educational programs is enforced doesn’t mean children are treated equally or have the same access to education once they are enrolled in a program. For example, it’s a known fact that black children are punished more frequently and more severely than white children. Studies show that black preschoolers are nearly four times more likely than white children to be suspended, despite black children comprising significantly less of the total student population than white children. Educators must strive to treat all students equally regardless of race.

Promote every child’s racial and ethnic self-worth

Some parents and teachers may be uncomfortable with the idea of their young children discussing race and ethnicity in the classroom. The most common argument against this style of classroom learning is that children are too young for these types of lessons or conversations and that kids don’t recognize racial differences. But research shows that even infants can recognize differences in skin tones, and by the time they are toddlers, they can group people by physical characteristics.

By age five, when many children are in daycare and kindergarten, children have already been introduced to cultural and racial stereotypes and are capable of aggressive behavior against others who are not within their racial group. Educators need to structure lessons, activities, and guided conversations around race and ethnicity that affirms each student’s identity and promotes self-worth.

Challenge Eurocentric curriculum by recognizing silenced groups

Western history has a harmful tendency to “whitewash” lessons that paint European and white historical figures in a flattering light while silencing or negating the contributions of people of color. An anti-racist education must include the full stories of all historical figures without bias based on skin color and should pay special attention to promote previously neglected social groups.

Recognize children’s ability to discuss race and work to deconstruct any racist teachings

Again, research proves that children can recognize and learn beliefs about race at a very young age. Anti-racist early childhood education requires having open conversations about race and culture and working to dismantle any learned racist behaviors or beliefs.

If racism is learned, then it can be unlearned as well. Instead of learning racism, children can be taught inclusivity and a strong sense of self-worth from a racial standpoint at an early age. With these guiding foundational principles of anti-racist early childhood education, future generations may have a different outlook on race, both for themselves and others.

Growing And Guiding Early Childhood Education Leadership

Educational leadership is vital in any school whether it is elementary, middle, or high school. Depending on the school’s age range it is important for the leadership (which may be referred to as administration throughout the article) of the school to have different approaches and strategies to help guide their school to continual success and growth.

What Is Educational Leadership?

Educational leadership within a school or school district typically includes the administrative positions of principal, vice-principal, superintendent, curriculum director, and sometimes the department heads. These individuals are responsible for the creation of the everyday procedures to the overall big picture of the school from behavioral expectations and disciplinary procedures to creating a cohesive curriculum. 

The success and growth trajectory of a school almost lays entirely on the effectiveness of its educational leadership team. It is a heavy burden to bear as it can, quite literally, affect the lives and future of thousands of students over the course of just a few years which is why it is important that the educational leadership team works as a team.

The Importance Of Early Education Leadership

The experiences of students when they’re younger whether it is at school or in their home and community play a pivotal role in their development academically, socially, and emotionally. A hallmark of successful early education leadership typically grades K-5, is when they take that fact into heavy consideration. 

There has been a larger push for creating opportunities, such as specified professional development or training geared towards early education, that early education leadership teams can take advantage of due to the recognition that despite the importance of fostering strong educational leaders, they are typically underinvested

While education leadership teams are responsible for the overall educational philosophy and vision it is important to remember that one of their chief responsibilities is to hire qualified and effective teachers that can fulfill that vision. There is a strong connection between an ineffective school [district] and the strength of its administrative team and, in turn, its educators. 

The education ecosystem, just like in nature, needs to be balanced for it to thrive. Shortcomings in one link of the chain can affect all the others. It is important to remember that the students are the ones who suffer the most from this imbalance. 

Setting The Tone

The school culture and climate are set by the education leadership team. They’re responsible for instilling the specific collective beliefs, values, expectations, and norms that the school is expected to follow. More importantly, they’re in charge of reinforcing what they outline. There is no value to be had if the school’s mantra is “no bullying” but the principal does nothing to punish bullying behaviors. The growth of the school is guided by the leaders of the school.

Conclusion

An important part about being a successful early educational leader is understanding how vital the role is to the development of young children and how it can set the tone for the rest of their life, academically and personally, long after they’ve left the direct influence of the school. 

Reducing The Role Of Implicit Bias In Early Childhood Education Settings

Implicit bias is defined as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. While bias is inescapable, that does not mean that it shouldn’t try to be minimized or addressed. When it comes to children, as with nearly every part of their early life, their experiences affect their trajectory far beyond their early education environment. 

Their early education can play a pivotal role in addressing, as well as reinforcing, their implicit biases. Early childhood educators and leaders are critical in this process and can drastically reduce the negative effects of implicit biases.

Implicit Bias From Students

The longer implicit biases are held, especially without being challenged or addressed, the more likely they are to become internalized, especially when it comes to gender and race. Some of the ways to combat this can be found in increasing the exposure to different cultures from around the world. 

For example, when discussing different instruments teachers can showcase instruments from Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia. Even showcasing different races when talking about various occupations, especially professionals such as doctors and lawyers, can help counter racial stereotypes in young children

The Double-Edged Sword

Implicit bias needs to be addressed in more than just the students but also the staff of the school. Research about implicit bias in early childhood educators from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) shed some light on the issue with their findings of:

  • Regardless of race, educators closely observed behaviors of black students and specifically black boys
  • White teachers held black children to “lower standards of behavioral expectations” and typically minimized their extreme misbehavior
  • Black teachers held black students to a “higher standard of behavior” compared to white teachers and would scrutinize their behavior more than white students
  • Black teachers were more likely to recommend expulsion/suspension
  • Increased empathy between the teacher and student when information about the student’s home life was revealed if they shared the same race. If they were of different races, the teacher viewed the given behaviors as more extreme and “insolvable”

These surprising facts should challenge all educators to look at their own actions and thought processes and see if there are any implicit biases at play and work on how to solve them.  

Conclusion

Implicit bias reels its head every day either recognizably or subconsciously. It is difficult when we may not even realize how our biases affect our thoughts and actions. Thankfully, Harvard University founded an organization called Project Implicit that created the Implicit Association Test (IAT) which is one of the most common tools to test one’s bias. You can take the test here.

To Raise Smart Kids, Developing This Skill Early On Is Essential

Everyone wants to raise their children to be smart, successful individuals. But many parents, teachers, and school districts are struggling to emphasize what’s most important for the development of their children. 

School districts tend to emphasize mastery on standardized tests that usually consist of recalling facts and regurgitating information. Parents, and sometimes teachers, tend to emphasize completed work and good grades more than anything else. But there is increasing research to show that the most important skill children need to develop- far more important than the ability to recall information or write cohesive stories or create colorful project posters- is critical thinking.

What is critical thinking and why is it so important?

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally in order to solve problems. A test question asking a student to recall the year in which Christopher Columbus sailed to America requires no critical thinking whatsoever. However, a question that asks students to evaluate and discuss the possible ethical implications of taking over a native people does require critical thinking. 

In 2016, the World Economic Forum said that critical thinking was the 4th most important skill in the workforce, but that they expected critical thinking to become the 2nd most important skill in the workforce by 2020, second only to complex problem solving, which is a highly related skill.

Critical thinking is used in every subject and is therefore a highly important skill in any career. Critical thinking is also crucial for developing other skills such as self-reflection, language, and presentation skills. Critical thinking promotes the growth of self-motivated, self-guided learners that make informed, rather than hasty, decisions.

How can I teach my child to think critically?

At its simplest, critical thinking involves solving problems with your own self-directed processing and reasoning abilities. To help your children learn to develop this invaluable skill at an early age, there are a few things you can do to build a solid foundation:

  •         Provide frequent opportunities for open, imaginative play

All too often parents unintentionally restrict the creativity of their child’s play time. Children don’t need a million expensive toys designed to exercise their brains- children need free time to play in the backyard and get creative with mud. They need time to combine all of their toys to create something cohesive. Don’t get too hung up on all of their toys getting mixed together or their knees getting dirty- developing their critical thinking skills is more important than organization or cleanliness. 

  •         Ask open-ended questions

Instead of asking your child for one-word answers, ask open-ended questions that require critical thinking. You can ask questions such as:

o   Why do you think the character acted like that?

o   Why do you think the dirt turns to mud when you pour water on it?

o   What do you think will happen next in the story?

  •         Use wait time

This is a technique frequently employed by teachers. Wait time refers to the time between you asking a question and your child giving an answer. Often, as adults, we want to immediately answer our own questions that are supposed to be directed to our children. But it’s incredibly important to give your child the time she needs to think of the answer and then figure out how to phrase it into words. Be patient during wait time no matter how much you may want to help her answer the question more quickly.

Adults with strong critical thinking skills didn’t learn those skills overnight- they started developing a firm foundation for critical thinking from a young age and cultivated this skill throughout their time in school. When children grow up being able to think critically, they lead their peers in academic excellence. You can help make this difference for your child.

Enriching Children’s Sensory Experiences and Creativity: Integration of Play and Art

Creating crafts and playing are activities that might just seem like fun pastimes for a child, but they actually play a huge factor in a child’s sensory experiences. This means that by encouraging these two playful activities, kids are actually able to enhance their senses along with their creativity. Therefore, as simple as play and art may be, they are an essential part of how a child’s creativity develops over time.

Why Are Play and Art so Important?

Allowing a child to play and create art is not only a way to enhance that child’s creative skills, but it can also help young children develop other important skills. Art allows children to express themselves and communicate visually. It can help them to find new ways to communicate ideas as well as problem-solve to figure out how to make the best art project possible. Art assignments allow students to have more uniqueness and creativity in their work. When creating artwork, there is usually not a right or wrong answer, so students are encouraged to think outside of the box instead of just completing a classroom task that only has one clear outcome.

Playing is important for children similarly to how art is. Play also helps children to learn to communicate by creating their own stories and dialogue, especially when they learn to play and interact with other kids. Playing gives children a chance to be independent and decide things for themselves instead of always being told what to do. Of course, playing is a fun pastime, but it can greatly help with a child’s development, just like art can.

How to Use These Aspects in Education

Art and play are more than just tasks for a kid to do in their free time or in an art-specific class. These skills can actually be integrated into everyday lessons in school. Teachers need to encourage creative assignments to help these skills improve. With art, you can encourage more visual assignments instead of uninteresting speaking or writing tasks. These visual assignments can consist of having children draw out diagrams or letting them create various images related to the lessons. Allow children to be creative with their schoolwork whenever possible.

For playing, teachers can use more games and encourage students to act things out. Play doesn’t just have to be for recess because as long as students are learning something from the activities, play can be integrated into the classroom. Use these fun and exciting assignments as a break from the core subjects to keep students engaged. Encourage them to get up and have fun with learning instead of just sitting around all day. 

Conclusion

As important as education is to a young student, they won’t truly learn from it if they do not enjoy what they’re doing. Play and art are activities that are both fun and beneficial to a young student’s development. Whenever you get the chance, try to incorporate these two things into their lessons because it will help students to become more engaged and learn more life skills.

Lights, Camera, Action! How to Integrate the Performing Arts into Your Early Childhood Classroom

Performing arts is a subject that kids tend to either love or hate. Many teachers and parents will allow kids to avoid performing and acting if they do not like it or if they have stage fright, but sometimes this does more harm than good. Performing arts is actually an important subject that all students should at least try out from time to time to help them improve their public speaking skills and confidence.

Why Are Performing Arts Important?

Kids can often be shy when it comes to standing in front of a crowd of people, which is why they may try to get out of performances if possible. However, performing arts is a topic that can greatly help children with their confidence and presentation skills. By performing, kids can be exposed to new situations in a fun and encouraging way instead of simply having to give a speech in class or present a dull slideshow. Presenting a show or act can also allow kids to work with a group of other students to ensure that the performance is successful, which can greatly improve their teamwork skills as well.

Even if there are kids that dislike performing, by doing it every once in a while, they can learn how to better express themselves. They can learn about showing emotions and coming up with new ideas through the art of acting and performing. Therefore, even if it is not the activity for them, they can still learn a lot through the experience. Even though it may be difficult, pushing a student out of their comfort zone a bit can teach them a lot.

How to Integrate Performing Arts into the Classroom

To better encourage performing arts in the classroom, you don’t necessarily have to put on a big play or musical each year. Oftentimes, there are little things that you can do to help encourage these skills. A simple way to do so is to allow students to roleplay different situations when given the option. When discussing a theme or topic in class, you can encourage kids to act it out to help give the class a better visual of the lesson. Plus, the more kids act things out in front of each other, the more confident they will become, and the more real the lessons will feel to them.

It is also a good idea to allow students to give presentations whenever possible. These shouldn’t just be typical presentations that students dread, but instead, you can encourage them to be creative and act things out as needed. Try different approaches to projects and presentations to ensure that kids learn more from their public speaking skills. Plus, the more creative presentations are, the more fun they will be for students.

Conclusion

Performing arts is not for everyone, but with the right tools and encouragement, it can be integrated into the classroom to help students with other skills. Presenting and public speaking can be scary for many students, but the more practice they get with performing in front of other people, the more confident they will learn to become.

Never Too Small to Play: Designing Inclusive, Sensory-Rich Playgrounds for Children Birth to 5!

Playing and allowing children to express their creativity is an important part of growing up. But how do you know when to start allowing your children to actually play? The answer is whenever. Children of all ages can learn to play, even if they are younger than five years old. Therefore, more playgrounds should be designed to allow even young kids to play.

How to Play with Children 5 and Under

There are plenty of activities that can be engaging even for very young children. You need to find things to do that will hold their attention for longer periods of time. Allowing them to be active and creative are some aspects that can help when choosing interesting activities for young kids. Give them things to do that will be both exciting and allow them to think. Playing is so much more than having fun because it can allow kids to grow and develop, especially when they’re at such a young age.

Playgrounds for Young Children

Many playgrounds have a recommended age posted near the entrance, but those playgrounds are typically more inclusive to children that are older than 5, all the way to age 12. So, it can sometimes be difficult for younger children to find a place to play. You will need to make sure the playgrounds that your young children play at are both safe and entertaining for them.

The most important part of selecting a playground for children 5 and under is ensuring that it is safe for them. This means that all aspects of the structure should be easily accessible and not too rigid in case the kids fall while playing. These playgrounds typically include climbers, small steps or ladders, and slides. Young children will be able to safely figure out how to climb surfaces without accidentally hurting themselves.

For children under 2 years, no surfaces of the play structure should be too high off the ground. The structure should be short and have plenty of items for children to interact with, such as simple puzzles and objects that slide or turn. These playsets don’t need to be as detailed as those created for older kids, but they should still provide kids with things they can learn from.

How is Play Different as Children Age?

Playgrounds are typically designed for different age groups, which consists of ages 6 to 23 months, 2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years, and 13 and over. Each of these age groups is for a different developmental stage in a child’s life, which is why each age group requires different equipment for playing. As a child grows older, more can be added to the playground to help them develop even more skills. Each public playground should clearly state the recommended ages near it to encourage kids to stay safe while playing. Many parks will even include multiple playsets for multiple ages.

Conclusion

Even though kids ages 5 and under seem too young to play and be creative, it is never too early to start engaging them in fun activities. As long as you ensure that they stay safe, you should encourage them to play on age-appropriate playgrounds as much as possible.

Challenging Gender Stereotypes in the Early Childhood Classroom

Although research shows that while most parents agree that children should be treated the same regardless of gender in early childhood, they still treat male and female children differently in ways that support gender stereotypes. For example, when told a child was a boy, parents would handle a baby or toddler more roughly than when told the child was a girl. 

Studies have also shown that mothers are more comfortable with the idea of their children behaving in ways that go against typical gender roles (such as young boys crying when they are sad) than fathers. And both mothers and fathers were more comfortable with encouraging female children to play in ways that are usually associated with males, like playing with trucks, than with encouraging male children to play in ways that match the gender roles for girls, like playing with dolls. 

Parents and educators have a responsibility to work together to create welcoming environments for children of any gender identity and to challenge gender stereotypes in the early childhood classroom. Here are a few ways that adults can help make these safe spaces for children. 

Acknowledge your own beliefs

Before adults can effectively cultivate welcoming spaces for children that challenge gender stereotypes, they must look within themselves and question the beliefs and biases they may hold. Subconsciously or consciously, parents and teachers often expect and encourage different behaviors from boys than girls. Adults must constantly reevaluate if their words, actions, and behaviors are aligned with the goal of challenging gender stereotypes. 

Watch your language

Be careful that the language you use with children does not reflect stereotypical gender roles. For example, you could change the words of popular songs that say “he” or “she” or name male or female names in the context of stereotypical gender roles, and change the pronouns to “they” or switch to the opposite pronoun. Instead of addressing a group of children as “boys and girls,” simply say “everyone.” It may seem like a small thing, but this inclusive language goes a long way towards ingraining in children’s minds that males and females are equal. 

Observe and adjust

Watch the way children play naturally and see if there are certain activities or toys males gravitate towards more than females or vice versa. Then make adjustments to the play areas to make them more welcoming to all genders. For example, if boys are dominating the area for playing with blocks, make sure there are a variety of colors of blocks or tape pictures to some of the blocks to encourage story-telling. If girls are dominating the dress-up or costume area, make sure there are plenty of costumes and accessories for doctors, superheroes, and firefighters. Not only does this encourage girls to explore costumes that historically have been associated with careers and play meant for males, but it may attract more boys to a female-dominated costume play area as well. 

Early childhood is such an important time for children developing gender identity. Parents and educators must be conscientious about creating safe and welcoming spaces for children to explore gender expression without being boxed in to obsolete and harmful gender stereotypes. Acknowledging personal beliefs about gender roles, using inclusive language, and observing and adjusting the play space are all things adults can do to contribute to challenging gender stereotypes in early childhood spaces.

Making Sense of the Senses: How Limiting Children’s Physical Movement Exacerbates Challenging Behaviors

We all know that exercise is beneficial for our health. Everyone knows it’s better to walk than to take a cab, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and to park your car further away to sneak in a little more exercise every day. The need for exercise and movement goes far beyond weight control or maintaining heart health. Exercise has a proven number of mental and emotional benefits as well. 

Children also need physical movement as much as, if not more than, adults. Giving children the time and space for free play is vital to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. 

What keeps kids from playing?

Free playtime for children has been cut back more and more in recent years. This is caused by a multitude of reasons, some of which are unsurprising. The increased use of technology is an obvious culprit as many children prefer playing with iPads or video games rather than going outside. While technology can be a useful educational tool, it is harmful when it supplants physical play. 

A more surprising obstacle that prevents children from free play is hovering parents. Well-meaning parents tend to structure more of their child’s free time, filling their days with scheduled activities which may or may not include any outdoor or playtime. Even then, the play is usually structured team sports with little room for creativity or exploration. 

Exercise and free play combat anxiety and depression

Free play and time outside are not only beneficial for children physically, but it increases their happiness and general well-being. Just as the amount of time children spend playing has decreased over the years, the rates of anxiety, depression, and even suicide among children have increased. 

Free play, particularly outdoors, has proven benefits for mental health in children. This is partially because during play the brain must redirect its resources from worrying to coordination and other uses. Exercise changes brain chemistry and the activity and pathways of neurotransmitters that keep kids happy and healthy. 

Physical movement improves performance and behavior in school

Exercise not only keeps children physically healthy and happy, but it also boosts their performance in class and helps with behavioral problems. One of the obvious reasons for this is because when children are provided time and space to exert their energy outside the classroom they will be better prepared to sit and pay attention. Having an outlet and release for energy is crucial to keeping kids balanced. Also, exercise helps increase mental alertness. An active body can help boost an active mind, improving grades, test scores, and overall school performance.   also allows children to learn to interact with each other, develop social skills, and solve problems together. 

Providing children with time and space for free play and exploration can work wonders in improving their physical, mental, and emotional health. It also helps their cognitive and social development, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Free play is proven to boost classroom performance and help prevent and decrease behavioral problems. Adults must build free play time into children’s days to help keep them happy and healthy.

Using Picture Books to Help Children See and Talk About Math All Around Them

The use of cross-curricular tools can help children absorb and retain new knowledge better, and can help make learning challenging subjects less frustrating. Using picture books to learn math is a great example of using cross-curricular tools to enhance learning. Storytime or reading is already built into the routines and classwork of most children, whether it is at home or at school. Children typically enjoy this bonding activity, and it can be a great method to introduce math skills in a way they can better understand and remember them. Here are three of the reasons why picture books are an important tool for teaching math skills:

  1. Picture books create real-world context for using math skills

Picture books about math usually apply math skills to every day or real-life situations that will resonate with children more than a regular math lesson. This can help children become more able to understand word problems in math. Even picture books that relate math to fantasy situations will create context for using the math skills and stand out in a child’s memory. Studies have shown that using picture books to learn math skills leads children to bring up math-related terminology and topics without prompting in real-world situations, such as discussing quantities.

  1. Picture books help students who dislike or have a hard time with math enjoy learning math skills

Many children prefer reading over math, so finding new and creative ways to teach them math can be very helpful. Using picture books to teach math to a child who dislikes or is intimidated by math is like hiding vegetables in a sweet smoothie for a child who hates vegetables. It makes the experience more pleasant and helps the child embrace learning math rather than fearing or dreading it. 

  1. Cross-learning 

Picture books can not only help children absorb math skills, but it also boosts their literacy skills. Using reading to teach math combines two different subject matters and skills and enhances the learning of both. Just as a child who enjoys reading can be enticed to learn math skills through picture books, a math-oriented child can become more interested in reading by having books about math topics.

Parents and teachers can use picture books that are specifically designed to teach children math skills, or find creative ways to use picture books without an emphasis on math. If a child already has a particular favorite book, parents and teachers can find ways to turn this book into a math skills lesson. For example, adults could ask the children to count the number of red objects on the page or plan a math activity about the reading material. If a teacher reads “The Rainbow Fish” to the class, the teacher could then use goldfish crackers to illustrate counting, subtraction, and addition. There are lots of ways to incorporate picture books into learning math skills without having to purchase special books dedicated to teaching math, but many of these types of picture books exist at reasonable prices and can be excellent teaching tools.