NAEYC: New Position Statement

NAEYC Statement on Equitable Education:

All children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that enable them to achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society.

Each child will…

•  demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities;
•  express comfort and joy with human diversity, use accurate language for human differences, and form deep, caring human connections across diverse backgrounds;
•  increasingly recognize and have language to describe unfairness (injustice) and understand that unfairness hurts;
•  have the will and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.

For full statement, visit https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/equity-position

Review (based on your role in education):
Recommendations for Everyone 
and/or
Recommendations for Early Childhood Providers
and/or
Recommendations for Administrators

Reflective Questions:
1. Read the recommendations, what are the areas in which your teaching and/or program are strong?
2. Read the recommendations, what are the areas in which your teachers and/or program need some tweaking?
3. Make a plan for this school year- what is one change that you and your team can implement?
4. Make a long term (1-3 year plan) for you and your team- how can you tweak your program to become more equitable and meet the recommendations as set forth by NAEYC.

More reflective topics on racial equity to explore during PLCs or team meetings:

http://racialequityawareness.weebly.com/

CALENDAR TIME: What is DAP?

Moving Away from Calendar Time… WHY?

• Math practices and instruction need to focus on the children’s understanding of concepts and their ability to explain their thinking.
• Young children need to be able to use strategies to work with numbers one through five. They need to develop math fluency to five.
•  Teaching a math skill once is not enough but we know that children need to do- to have their hands on- to learn.

National Education Association for Young Children states that children learn best through hands-on learning experiences and that developmentally appropriate practices include “teachers who “mathematize” children’s everyday experiences.

I was blessed to visit a couple of amazing Kindergarten classrooms in Tulsa, OK and was impressed by their calendar routine among many, many other experiences they are providing their students.

They are using a 7 day linear calendar to develop fluency with the number five. Also, so impressive that the Kindergarten classrooms use a visual schedule of their day to teach the concept of time- before and after.

For more information on ways to embed math using developmentally appropriate practices, see past blog https://journeyintoearlychildhood.com/2019/03/06/math-during-free-choice-play/

LINEAR CALENDAR PIECES FOR HOME/SCHOOL and WEATHER