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What I Like About Me! A Book About Differences, By: Allia Zobel Nolan, Illustrated by: Miki Yamamoto

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What I Like About Me! A Book About Differences, By: Allia Zobel Nolan, Illustrated by: Miki Yamamoto

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The book fosters positive and confident self-identities by highlighting various physical features, talents, and personal preferences, emphasizing that what makes each person different is what makes them special. It promotes a message of self-love and acceptance, reinforcing the idea that diversity should be celebrated and embraced.

Copyright: 2005

Published: 2009

Amazon. (n.d.). What I Like About Me!: A Book Celebrating Differences. Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/What-I-Like-About-Me/dp/0794419453/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19C45WU45PK4Z&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DG5gq6adJS0t0Y6xYEmFvF_d45pLsDkTn9LVwrjmPGxpkhjGyoWn9lgLnewjbEIChyzyVNSQY0NGrEstCUv9D3EtYbPBoJzmiI3Suvgrwjzf1k-Gr5VrPhZOTBn4237X-IQrSa3QeaKTbGjYYJ5OXtu1wp4yb1WHcC8I6w6lBdpiIuJ9FtjW4ej7OKMtnNvu1Y-TVw7N4inIicw-YlCjJkCYCk0TOebS6VohUzXJY4s.DoqPCDzBP1oePo3p-ef5rcMm_xxEOypyMFGA2_xfxo0&dib_tag=se&keywords=what+I+like+about+Me%21&qid=1722075769&s=books&sprefix=what+i+like+about+me+%2Cstripbooks%2C66&sr=1-1

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Allia Zobel Nolan is an internationally published, award-winning author of over 150 children's and adult traditionally published trade titles. Her books reflect her two main passions, God and cats. Her latest books include: HEAVENLY HEADBUTTS: Reflections of Hope about Cats and Eternity; GOD MADE US JUST RIGHT, WHY A CAT IS STILL BETTER THAN A MAN: LAUGH OUT LOUD, WHATEVER IS LOVELY: A 90-DAY DEVOTIONAL AND JOURNAL and WHAT I LIKE ABOUT ME: A Book About Acceptance, the sequel to bestseller, What I Like About You, THE WORRYWART'S PRAYER BOOK VERSION TWO, and CAT CONFESSIONS: A KITTY COME CLEAN TELL ALL BOOK from Harvest House. Among other places, her work has also been featured in The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Irish Independent News, The Hartford Courant, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. Learn more about Allia at AlliaWrites.com.

Zobel Nolan lives and writes in New England with her husband, Desmond Finbarr Nolan, their two feline children, Nolan Nolan, and Colleen Fiona Shannon Nolan, and their rescue dog, Miss Kitty from North Carolina.

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What I Like About Me!: A Book Celebrating Differences

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What I Like About Me!: A Book Celebrating Differences [Zobel Nolan, Allia, Yamamoto, Miki] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. What I Like About Me!: A Book Celebrating Differences

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All People Are Beautiful, By: Vincent Kelly

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All People Are Beautiful, By: Vincent Kelly

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With its colorful illustrations and inclusive text, the book encourages children to recognize and appreciate the different cultures, appearances, and backgrounds of people around them. The book promotes positive and confident self-identities by teaching that everyone is beautiful in their own way, fostering a sense of pride and self-worth in readers.

Copyright: 2021

Published: 2021

MrsHillPartyof6. (2021). All People Are Beautiful. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MymGV242MSo

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📚 READ ALOUD: All People are Beautiful By Vincent Kelly

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It teaches children to stand up for themselves and others, especially when facing bias, prejudice, and racism. Through its powerful text and illustrations, the book emphasizes the importance of courage in challenging injustice and promoting fairness and equality. It inspires readers to be proactive in defending what is right and supporting those who are treated unfairly or discriminated against.

Copyright: 2021

Published: 2021

Amazon. (n.d.). I Am Courage: A Book of Resilience (I Am Books). Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Am-Courage-Book-Resilience-Books/dp/1419746464/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4DQ4yOq5-EVT2FVflvZaXQ.u78JTbXhoDSSs8OI0cWmKGg9dscxxPEsYVlvnrG0JsM&dib_tag=se&keywords=9781683359661&linkCode=qs&qid=1722068928&s=books&sr=1-1

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Susan Verde grew up in a brownstone in the heart of Greenwich Village in New York City with her older brother Michael. She spent much of her time as a child clad in bell bottoms and rainbow suspenders, roller skating up and down her block with a skate key around her neck and a piece of chalk in her pocket (for spontaneous hopscotch).

Susan's household was filled with books, music and the smell of mocha chip pies, which her mother made for their neighborhood restaurant. Susan often wrote stories and poetry to share with family and friends and even her high school poetry magazine. Susan's love of literature began in utero (according to her mother) and never dwindled. She can, to this day relate very well to Amelia Bedelia.

Ultimately, she moved to the Hamptons and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a Master's in reading remediation and become an elementary school teacher at a private school in Bridgehampton. She has also participated in the Southampton Children's Literature Conference at Stonybrook University.

Although no longer a school teacher, Susan is a certified kid's yoga instructor which allows her to frog jump and wag her tail in Downward facing dog with great frequency.

Currently, Susan lives in East Hampton New York amidst an explosion of Legos, art supplies, and picture books with her twin boys Joshua and Gabriel and her daughter Sophia. They are the constant inspiration for her writing. They never let her forget how to see things from a child's point of view and keep the kid in her alive and kicking.

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I Am Courage: A Book of Resilience (I Am Books)

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I Am Courage: A Book of Resilience (I Am Books) [Verde, Susan, Reynolds, Peter H.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. I Am Courage: A Book of Resilience (I Am Books)

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Racism and Intolerance, By:  Louise Spilsbury, Illustrated by:  Hanane Kai

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Racism and Intolerance, By:  Louise Spilsbury, Illustrated by:  Hanane Kai

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This educational story explains complex issues of bias, prejudice, and racism in an accessible manner for children. It encourages young listeners to recognize and challenge these injustices. The book empowers children to stand up for themselves and others by presenting real-world issues, fostering empathy, understanding, and proactive efforts to fight discrimination.

Copyright: 2018

Published: 2018

Amazon. (n.d.). Racism and Intolerance (Children In Our World Series). Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Racism-Intolerance-Children-Our-World/dp/1438050224

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Award-winning illustrator Hanane Kai uses a deft hand to create powerful illustrations that help children visualize the people impacted by poverty, hunger, war, racism, and more. In Racism and Intolerance, children can get answers to questions like: "What does it mean to be a racist―or intolerant?" and "How can I help?" Children will begin to understand the way others struggle with these issues and become empowered to make a difference.

Perfect for parents, teachers, and gift givers looking for:

Each book in this series uses relatable comparisons, carefully researched text, and striking illustrations to help kids understand the many difficulties that children just like them face in the world today. All of the images are sensitively rendered and perfectly suited for younger children. These books are an excellent cross-curricular resource―use them to explore important issues and tie them into discussions about food, wealth, compassion, empathy, and current affairs.

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Racism and Intolerance (Children In Our World Series)

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Racism and Intolerance (Children In Our World Series) [Spilsbury, Louise, Kai, Hanane] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Racism and Intolerance (Children In Our World Series)

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I Am Different, The Same As You, By: Deborah K. Okon

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I Am Different, The Same As You, By: Deborah K. Okon

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This book helps children understand the similarities and differences among people by presenting diverse characters who share their unique qualities and experiences. The book emphasizes that while everyone has individual differences, such as physical traits or cultural backgrounds, there are also many commonalities that connect us all. The book promotes empathy, acceptance, and appreciation of diversity, helping children recognize and celebrate both uniqueness and shared humanity.

Copyright: 2023

Published: 2023

Amazon. (n.d.). I Am Different, The Same As You. Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Different-Same-You-Differences-Acceptance/dp/B0C9SNQLNR/ref=asc_df_B0C9SNQLNR/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16648217260490713855&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018840&hvtargid=pla-2281435178138&psc=1&mcid=95a0d8ca1bbb358f8770170c9be94fc0&hvocijid=16648217260490713855-B0C9SNQLNR-&hvexpln=73&gad_source=1

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A Children's Book Celebrating Diversity, Inclusion, and Empathy

Step into a world of wonder and discovery with I Am Different, The Same As You , a captivating children's book that ignites young hearts with the power of acceptance, compassion, and the celebration of differences. This extraordinary tale weaves together enchanting storytelling and vibrant illustrations to create an immersive experience that will inspire children to embrace diversity, foster empathy, and cultivate a genuine understanding of others.

In a society that needs more stories that promote acceptance and inclusion, I Am Different, The Same As You stands as a beacon of hope. With its relatable characters and engaging narrative, this remarkable book transcends boundaries and connects with children from all walks of life. It's a transformative journey that sparks conversations about the value of empathy, the beauty of diversity, and the joy that blossoms when we embrace each other's unique qualities.

From the very first page, children will be captivated by the adventures of Harlow, Allen, and Olive-three extraordinary friends with differing abilities-who embark on an unforgettable expedition to the river. As they encounter a diverse cast of animal friends, each showcasing their own special talents, the children learn the profound truth that being different is not only okay but a cause for celebration.

I Am Different, The Same As You is a testament to the power of storytelling and its ability to shape young minds. It fosters a sense of belonging, teaches the importance of compassion, and sparks a curiosity that inspires children to look beyond appearances and see the richness of the human experience. With its valuable themes of acceptance, inclusion, and the appreciation of differences, this book becomes an invaluable tool for parents, educators, and caregivers in instilling core values of empathy and respect.

Let I Am Different, The Same As You be the catalyst that sparks meaningful conversations and creates a lasting impact on young readers. In a world that craves diversity and understanding, this poignant tale offers a doorway to a brighter future-a future where children embrace each other's differences, stand up against prejudice, and build a world of compassion and acceptance.

As you embark on this extraordinary journey with Harlow, Allen, and Olive, be prepared to witness the transformative power of a book that fosters empathy, celebrates diversity, and instills in children the understanding that we are all connected, despite our differences. I Am Different, The Same As You is not just a children's book; it's a catalyst for change, an instrument of love, and an invitation to embrace the beauty of our shared humanity

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I Am Different, The Same As You: A Children's Book about Differences That Promotes Diversity and Inclusion, Empathy, Acceptance, and Compassion for ... Abilities, Special Needs, or Down Syndrome

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Amazon.com: I Am Different, The Same As You: A Children's Book about Differences That Promotes Diversity and Inclusion, Empathy, Acceptance, and Compassion for ... Abilities, Special Needs, or Down Syndrome: 9798852051653: OKon, Deborah K, Mollhagen, Halsey, Williams, Dave: Books

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What If We Are All The Same!, By: C.M. Harris, Illustrated by:  Ashlynn Feather

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What If We Are All The Same!, By: C.M. Harris, Illustrated by:  Ashlynn Feather

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The book prompts children to consider a world where everyone is identical, ultimately highlighting the value of diversity. It teaches young readers that differences in appearance, abilities, and backgrounds are what make each person unique and special, fostering a sense of empathy, inclusion, and mutual respect. The story supports children’s understanding by showing that embracing diversity enriches our lives and communities.

Copyright: 2019

Published: 2019

Amazon. (n.d.). What If We Were All The Same!: A Children's Rhyming Book About Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion. Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/What-Were-All-Same-Childrens/dp/1735537241/ref=asc_df_1735537241/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2506347168857179254&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018840&hvtargid=pla-2281435179018&psc=1&mcid=96443dc4de23336bb7412a432f0558c0&hvocijid=2506347168857179254-1735537241-&hvexpln=73&gad_source=1

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Perfect summer read or back-to-school rhyming story for families and teachers.

"Everyone is unique in more ways than one, and we can all shine bright, just like the sun."

Would you believe that being different is something to be celebrated? In What If We Were All The Same!, readers are transported to a world full of vibrant colors and characters that embrace our differences. From the bright red hair of one child to the wheelchair of another, no two people are the same! People are not the same, animals are different, and so is our food! Readers will learn that our world has variety and diversity; we all have unique qualities that make us special - no two people are the same, and that's something to be celebrated! We can be friends with many different people!

With fun rhymes and vivid illustrations, this book is a must-have for parents and teachers alike.

What If We Were All The Same! is fun-filled with rhymes and colorful illustrations. It brings attention to tough topics children can understand. Bonus discussion questions for teachers added.

Over 2000+ Copies Donated to Oakland School District by the San Francisco 49ers (2020)

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What If We Were All The Same!: A Children's Rhyming Book About Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion

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What If We Were All The Same!: A Children's Rhyming Book About Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion [Harris, C M, Press, Purple Diamond, Feather, Ashlynn] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. What If We Were All The Same!: A Children's Rhyming Book About Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion

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Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum, NAEYC

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Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum, NAEYC

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This resource emphasizes the importance of preventing biases by addressing and correcting mistaken thinking that stems from stereotypic or limited information. The four core goals—identity, diversity, justice, and activism—guide educators to create inclusive environments, encourage critical thinking, and foster understanding and respect for all individuals. This approach helps children recognize and challenge biases, promoting equity and social justice within the curriculum.

Derman-Sparks, L., Edwards, J.O. (2019). Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum. Young Children. Vol. 74, (5). NAEYC. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2019/understanding-anti-bias

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Anti-bias education is not just doing occasional activities about diversity and fairness topics (although that may be how new anti-bias educators begin). To be effective, anti-bias education works as an underpinning perspective, which permeates everything that happens in an early childhood program-including your interactions with children, families and coworkers-and shapes how you put curriculum together each day.

This article is an excerpt of the second edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards. An NAEYC bestseller, this book helps early childhood educators fulfill their mission of helping all children reach their full potential. The new edition-with major updates to all chapters, including gender identity-will be available early in 2020.

The four core goals of anti-bias education

Four core goals provide a framework for the practice of anti-bias education with children. Grounded in what we know about how children construct identity and attitudes, the goals help you create a safe, supportive learning community for every child. They support children's development of a confident sense of identity without needing to feel superior to others; an ease with human diversity; a sense of fairness and justice; the skills of empowerment; and the ability to stand up for themselves or for others.

Goal 1: Identity

Teachers will nurture each child's construction of knowledgeable, confident, individual personal and social identities.

Children will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.

This goal means supporting children to feel strong and proud of who they are without needing to feel superior to anyone else. It means children will learn accurate, respectful language to describe who they and others are. Teachers will support children to develop and be comfortable within their home culture and within the school culture. Goal 1 is the starting place for all children, in all settings.

Adding to early childhood education's long-term commitment to nurturing each child's individual, personal identity, anti-bias education emphasizes the important idea of nurturing children's social (or group) identities. Social identities relate to the significant group categorizations of the society in which we grow up and live and which individuals share with many others. Social identities include (but are not limited to) gender, racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, and economic class groups. (In the forthcoming book, social identity is described in detail in Chapter 2.) A strong sense of both individual and group identities is the foundation for the three other core anti-bias goals.

Goal 2: Diversity

Teachers will promote each child's comfortable, empathetic interaction with people from diverse backgrounds.

Children will express comfort and joy with human diversity, use accurate language for human differences, and form deep, caring connections across all dimensions of human diversity.

This goal means guiding children to be able to think about and have words for how people are the same and how they are different. It includes helping children feel and behave respectfully, warmly, and confidently with people who are different from themselves. It includes encouraging children to learn both about how they are different from other children and about how they are similar. These are never either/or realities because people are simultaneously the same and different from one another. This goal is the heart of learning how to treat all people caringly and fairly.

Some teachers and parents are not sure they should encourage children to "notice" and learn about differences among people. They may think it is best to teach only about how people are the same, worrying that talking about differences causes prejudice. While well intentioned, this concern arises from a mistaken notion about the sources of bias. Differences do not create bias. Children learn prejudice from prejudice -not from learning about human diversity. It is how people respond to differences that teaches bias and fear.

Another misconception about Goal 2 is that exploring differences among people ignores appreciating the similarities. Goal 2 calls for creating a balance between exploring people's differences and similarities. All human beings share similar biological attributes, needs, and rights (e.g., the needs for food, shelter, and love; the commonalities of language, families, and feelings) and people live and meet these shared needs and rights in many different ways. A basic premise in anti-bias education is " We are all the same. We are all different. Isn't that wonderful! "

Goal 3: Justice

Teachers will foster each child's capacity to critically identify bias and will nurture each child's empathy for the hurt bias causes.

Children will increasingly recognize unfairness (injustice), have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts.

This goal is about building children's innate, budding capacities for empathy and fairness, as well as their cognitive skills for thinking critically about what is happening around them. It is about building a sense of safety, the sense that everyone can and will be treated fairly.

Learning experiences include opportunities for children to understand and practice skills for identifying unfair and untrue images (stereotypes), comments (teasing, name-calling), and behaviors (isolation, discrimination) directed at themselves or
at others. This includes issues of gender, race, ethnicity, language, disability, economic class, age, body shape, and more. These are early lessons in critical thinking for children, figuring out what they see and hear and testing it against the notions of kindness and fairness.

These lessons build on young children's implicit interest in what is "fair" and "not fair."

As children come to identify unfair experiences and as they learn that unfair can be made fair, children gain an increased sense of their own power in the world. Children cannot construct a strong self-concept, or develop respect for others, if they do not know how to identify and resist hurtful, stereotypical, and inaccurate messages or actions directed toward themselves or others. Developing the ability to think critically strengthens children's sense of self, as well as their capacity to form caring relationships with others.

Goal 4: Activism

Teachers will cultivate each child's ability and confidence to stand up for oneself and for others in the face of bias.

Children will demonstrate a sense of empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.

Goal 4 is about giving children tools for learning how to stand up to hurtful and unfair biased behavior based on any aspect of social identity. Biased behavior may be directed at oneself or another. It may come from another child or adult or from children's books, television, and films. This goal strengthens children's development in perspective taking, positive interactions with others, and conflict-resolution education.

Actions of teasing, rejection, and exclusion because of some aspect of a child's social identities are a form of aggressive behavior. They are just as serious as physical aggression. The old saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" is false. Children's developing sense of self is hurt by name-calling, teasing, and exclusion based on identity. And children who engage in such hurtful behaviors are learning it is acceptable to hurt others, the earliest form of bullying. An anti-bias approach calls on teachers to intervene gently but firmly, support the child who is the target of the biased behavior, and help both children learn other ways of interacting.

Children's growth on Goal 4 strengthens their growth on the other three goals. If a child is the target of prejudice or discrimination, she needs tools to resist and to know that she has worth (Goal 1). When a child speaks up for another child, it reinforces his understanding of other people's unique feelings (Goal 2). When children are helped to act, it broadens their understanding of "unfairness" and "fairness" (Goal 3).

Guidelines for your curriculum

Just about every subject area in the typical early childhood program has possibilities for anti-bias education themes and activities. For instance, early childhood education themes of self-discovery, family, and community are deeper, and more meaningful, when they include explorations of ability, culture, economic class, gender identity, and racialized identity. So, too, issues of fairness (Goal 3) and acting for fairness (Goal 4) arise as children explore various curriculum topics.

Differences do not create bias. Children learn prejudice from prejudice -not from learning about human diversity. It is how people respond to differences that teaches bias and fear.

The ideas for specific anti-bias education content and activities come from three major sources. One is from children's questions, interests, or interactions with each other that classroom teachers see as important to respond to and develop. Teacher-initiated activities are a second source of anti-bias activities, based on what classroom teachers and families think is important for children to learn. A third source is significant events that occur in the children's communities and the larger world that classroom teachers think need to be explored with children.

Here is an example of an anti-bias education topic at snack time.

It is snack time in the 4-year-old room. The teacher sets a small pitcher of water on the table for children to pour and drink. Lupe, whose home language is Spanish, looks up and asks, "Agua?" Casey, sitting next to her, says with annoyance, "No! It's water-not ahhgwa" (exaggerating the pronunciation). The teacher stops what she is doing and turns to Casey and says, "Lupe is right. What you call 'water' her family calls 'agua.' There are many words for water, for crackers, for oranges, for everything! We all have words. We have different words. It's pretty wonderful!"

At group time, the teacher follows up by asking children about the different words they have for people in their family. As the children call out Grandma, Oma, Pops, Daddy, Papa, Abuelita, and more, she writes them on a chart. She assures them that none of the words are wrong. They are just different. And they all mean someone who loves them.

Meet anti-bias goals in every corner of the classroom

The ongoing examination of how people are simultaneously the same and different provides children with a conceptual framework for thinking about the world they live in. For example, children playing with blocks can learn that although some children like to build tall towers and some like to build long, flat structures on the floor, all the children like to build. Art projects can show enthusiasm and admiration for blacks and browns along with all the other wonderful colors of the spectrum. The common curriculum topic of harvest time can include respecting and making visible the people who grow, pick, and transport our food.

Everyday activities offer opportunities for Goals 3 and 4 as well. Arguments over toys can include discussion of fairness and kindness. Exclusionary play, stereotypes in books, or teasing are experiences open to critical thinking about hurtful behavior and for problem solving toward just solutions.

Planning Anti-Bias Education Activities for Your Program's Curriculum

An anti-bias education approach is not a recipe. Rather, teachers include anti-bias issues in their planning by considering the children and families they serve and the curriculum approach their program uses. Here are key questions to ask yourself as you and your colleagues plan learning activities and environments. Begin by asking yourself these questions for one or two activities a week, and see how they change what you do and how the children respond.

Where do I best fit anti-bias goals and issues into my curriculum plans for the day and the week?

Who might be left out of this curriculum? How will I use the topic to include each child, connecting to the diversity of their social identities and to their individual needs? How can I be sure no one is invisible or unnoticed?

What ideas, misconceptions, and stereotypes might children have about this topic? How can I learn what these are and provide accurate information and counter misinformation and stereotypes?

How can I use this topic to support and strengthen children's innate sense of justice and their capacity to change unfair situations to fair ones?

What learning materials do I need to gather to incorporate an anti-bias perspective into this curriculum topic?

Use child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities

Children's questions, comments, and behaviors are a vital source of anti-bias curriculum. They spark teachable moments as well as longer-term projects. However, it is not sufficient to do anti-bias activities only when a child brings up a relevant issue. Teacher-initiated activities are also necessary-be they intentionally putting out materials and books to broaden children's awareness or planning specific learning experiences around issues that matter to families and the community.

You do not wait for children to open up the topic of reading or numbers before making literacy and numeracy part of the daily early childhood curriculum. Because you have decided that these understandings and skills are essential for children, you provide literacy and numeracy discussions and activities in your classroom. A balance between child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities is as vital in anti-bias education as in any other part of the early childhood curriculum.

Here's an example of how a teacher begins with a children-generated teachable moment and follows up with teacher-initiated activities:

After a windstorm broke dozens of small branches off of the trees surrounding their preschool, several 4- and 5-year-old boys begin building a "club house" by dragging branches and bunches of leaves to a corner in the playground fence. Valeria (4 years old) starts dragging a branch to join them and the boys shout, "No girls allowed! No girls allowed!"

The teacher considers encouraging the boys to welcome their classmate into their play-but then she hesitates. There are larger societal issues embedded in this interaction. As an anti-bias educator, she decides she needs to address the underlying ideas, especially that girls can't or shouldn't engage in play that emphasizes physical strength or that "real boys" don't include girls in their play.

Deciding to find out what the children are thinking, the teacher asks, "Why do you think no girls are allowed?" She listens carefully to the boys' responses: "Girls can't move the big branches." "And they can't build high!" "We're going to be superheroes! Girls can't be heroes." And, finally, "We don't like girls." All these statements reflect commonly held stereotypes about girls. Additionally, she thinks, not seriously addressing the situation reinforces the additional stereotype that boys don't have to pay attention to the feelings of others.

Seeing an opportunity to expand their thinking, the teacher suggests testing these claims. She says, "Well, let's find out if girls can move the big branches and build high or not." Since many of the children are now gathering around, she invites everyone to join in the challenge. "What do you think is going to happen?" she asks. With much laughter the children run and gather branches. Some girls are faster than some boys, some boys are faster than some girls. Everyone is able to add branches to the club house, which is suddenly much higher!

Bringing the children back together, the teacher says, "It looks like both girls and boys can lift big branches and build high. Thinking that boys would be better at these things than girls was a stereotype." Several children repeat the word stereotype (preschoolers love big words!). Still holding their attention, the teacher clarifies and gives words to the program's values: "Stereotypes are unfair. In our school we want everyone to be treated fairly. What can we do so that we can be sure that we play together fairly?" The next steps are suggested by the children. One suggestion is a sign that says "Everyone can play here." "How about," says one of the boys who began this episode, "how about if we want to play alone, we just say 'you can have a turn in a few minutes'?"

Knowing that one interaction is never enough to help children think in new ways, the teacher plans and carries out further activities. She adds to the classroom library books in which female athletes and firefighters are strong and fast. At circle time, she reads books in which girls and boys play together in big muscle games. She invites a female carpenter in to help the children build with real tools. And she begins a curriculum on "Being a hero," about all the ways boys and girls can be powerful helpers.

In the next staff meeting, the teacher relates what she has done and is planning to do, and why. She asks her colleagues to consider the frequency of gendered exclusionary play in the program and they agree to take the important step of identifying how (explicitly and implicitly) they may be supporting a binary view of gender (see Chapter 9 in the forthcoming book) in their classroom. For example, how often do they call out "boys and girls" rather than "children"? Do they ask "strong boys" to help move furniture and big blocks? Do they comment on girls' clothing or hair instead of asking about their interests and accomplishments?
Do they support boys' tender, sharing, inclusive behaviors or mainly comment on their noisy, power-focused play? The teachers agree to observe each other as well as the children and see what changes they can make to avoid the damage that gender stereotypes have on children's sense of themselves and of others.

Using a combination of child-initiated, teachable moments and teacher-initiated, pre-planned activities is the most effective way to expand children's ability to grow in the four anti-bias education goals and to talk about, think about, and understand the world around them.

Pay attention to the realities of children's lives

While the four core anti-bias education goals are the same for all children, specific activities should be relevant to the children's backgrounds and their lives. Some children need support to resist messages of racial or cultural inferiority; others need guidance to develop a positive self-concept without absorbing social messages that they are the "normal" ones and other children are less than, strange, or negatively different. Children of wealthy families need help resisting the message that material accumulation defines their worth and that of others; children of families with fewer resources need support to resist messages that undercut their families' worth. Some girls may need extra support to develop confidence and interest in experiences that are math and science related; some boys may require help to develop skills for having nurturing, cooperative interactions with their peers
and to engage in play that reflects these attitudes.

Closing thoughts

As in all other areas of the curriculum, teachers tailor and scaffold anti-bias education materials and activities to each child's cognitive, social, and emotional developmental capacities. They plan and choose learning experiences that stimulate children to explore the next step of new ideas and skills and allow each child to apply new understandings and behaviors in his or her daily life.

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Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum

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This article is an excerpt of the second edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards.

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Prevent and Address Microaggressions with Role-Plays

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Prevent and Address Microaggressions with Role-Plays

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PBS SoCal provides a list of strategies for early childhood classrooms. One in particular, utilizes personal dolls. Role-playing scenarios, using personal dolls for discussion, teach children about fairness and empathy by allowing them to act out different roles and situations. These activities enable children to practice resolving conflicts and understanding diverse perspectives, helping to prevent biases formed from stereotypic or limited information.

Gienapp, R. (2021). Five Anti-Bias Education Strategies for Early Childhood Classrooms. PBS SoCal. https://www.pbssocal.org/education/teachers/five-anti-bias-education-strategies-early-childhood-classrooms

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Editor's note: The author of this article is also the author of a resource listed below.
Too often, educators only offer activities about bias and racism on particular days, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. But anti-bias education is most effective when it's woven into everyday classroom experiences, rather than only taking place on special days. For children to internalize messages of affirmation, fairness and empowerment, anti-bias strategies need to be incorporated into all aspects of learning.

But how to begin? Few things interest young children as much as themselves! Anti-bias (and anti-racist) education works best when we start in our own classrooms. Although it might not seem like it at first glance, every group of children is at least a little bit diverse.

It's a good idea to design classroom experiences with diversity (race, gender, family structure, social class, language, religion and disability) in mind, especially the diversity represented by your particular students.

These strategies can help you begin anti-bias education, or go deeper into it, in your classroom.

1. Incorporate Diverse Books That Tell Stories About Children Experiencing Everyday Life

Guy W. Jones and Sally Moomaw, authors of " Lessons from Turtle Island: Native Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms," encourage educators to incorporate Native stories into existing preschool units such as homes, families and communities. This helps young children understand that Indigenous peoples are living in the present day - not just the past.

Jones and Moomaw stress this idea because most non-Native children are only aware of American Indians as peoples of the past. The principle of focusing on present-day life and ordinary experiences is important when talking about other groups of people as well.

Books that are explicitly about bias shouldn't be the only diverse books that children experience. Young children are especially interested in daily activities and topics such as food, play, families and work. One crucial anti-bias strategy is to provide many diverse books on these subjects.

For example, a unit on families might feature these books:

2. Create Activities That Allow Children to Share and Celebrate Their Identities

Providing art materials such as crayons and construction paper that can match many different skin tones helps children to feel seen.

Educator Katharine Johnson explores skin tones with her young students by reading Katie Kissinger's " All the Colors We Are/Todos Los Colores de Nuestra Piel: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/La Historia de Por Qué Tenemos Diferentes Colores de Piel," which helps children understand why we have many shades of skin. In circle time, Johnson provides a variety of paint chips in shades of brown, tan and peach. After the children help her find the chip that best matches her skin, she scatters the chips throughout the room. Children then help each other find the best match for their skin.

Teachers can also blend acrylic paints together to provide many different skin tone shades for self-portrait making. This lesson plan from Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) includes direction for both creating a self-portrait and having discussions about skin tones.

Another great idea comes from educator Rita Tenorio, who invites students to create "me pockets" by filling a clear, letter-sized plastic sleeve (the kind used for baseball cards) with photos, drawings and other things that help others get to know them. After everyone's me pockets are returned to the classroom, Tenorio creates a binder for them so children can look at them as if they were a book. As they look at them, children experience the cultural and linguistic diversity of their peers.

3. Prevent and Address Microaggressions with Role-Plays

Because children hear and absorb prejudices that are common in society, sometimes they will express them in the form of microaggressions. It's important to address these incidents promptly, but without shaming children. Scolding will lead to children hiding their behavior rather than unlearning biases.

Role-plays are one way to anticipate prejudicial comments that are likely to happen, as well as to respond after a microaggression has taken place.

Persona dolls (which the teacher introduces and gives a backstory to) can be used for role-plays about bias. The role-play can include lots of discussion, including what could be done differently or what a bystander could say. Since persona dolls can be expensive, it might be a good idea to ask if a parent from the class who can sew can make some. I have also printed out and laminated stock photos of children and created backstories for them as alternatives to persona dolls.

" Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves " by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards provides several examples of how to use persona dolls in roleplays. In one instance, a teacher introduced a doll named Lucia, who was upset because "when she drew a picture of her family - herself and her grandma - another child said to her, 'That can't be your family, 'cause there's no mommy and daddy in it!'" The teacher asked the children to name how Lucia might be feeling, and led them in a discussion about the many different forms families can take.

Role-plays with dolls or photo cards can also address incidents of bias after they happen. Before doing this, it's important to privately talk to the child who was the target of the microaggression about what happened and how they're feeling. Ask their permission before having a role-play with the class. During the roleplay, be sure to talk about feelings, as well as what other children could say if they witness a similar incident. The goal is not to shame children who have committed a microaggression, but to help all children understand why the comment was hurtful.

4. Explore the Stories of Social Justice Movements

As we talk with children about injustice, it's important to share stories of the people and movements who have worked to change these injustices. This lays a foundation for children to see that all of us, no matter our age, can find ways to speak up.

As teachers introduce children to brave leaders for justice, they can share what these people were like as kids through books. For example, " Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis," written by Jabari Asim and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, describes how Congressman John Lewis learned about peacemaking and speaking up for the vulnerable as he cared for his chickens.

"Side by Side/Lado a Lado: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez/La Historia de Dolores Huerta Y César Chávez," written by Monica Brown and illustrated by Joe Cepeda, shows how César Chávez and Dolores Huerta's childhoods inspired them to fight for farm workers.

Adults should also offer stories that counter the idea of a single person being the only force that changed injustices like segregation. Look for books and other materials that tell the stories of ordinary people who were part of movements for justice. " Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation," written by Andrea Davis Pickney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney, talks about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King's roles in the Birmingham bus boycott. However, the main focus of the story is the sacrifices of the ordinary citizens of Birmingham that made victory possible.

5. Provide Children with Opportunities to Speak Up About Bias

One of the best ways to teach children that they can challenge bias and injustice is to give them concrete opportunities to do this!

"Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves" shares how educator Nancy Spangler provided such an opportunity to her class.

Spangler's 3 and 4-year-old class was a place where teachers and students worked hard to make everyone feel included. But one day when she pulled out a game, the teacher noticed that all the characters in the game were white.

She drew the children's attention to this and asked them if the cards "look like all the people you know?" The children said no, identifying many kinds of people who were missing from the card set.

Spangler helped the children draft a letter to the maker of the cards, where the children shared what they thought was wrong with cards. The children also used skin tone pens they already had in the classroom to recolor the existing cards so they would "look real."

More Anti-Bias Resources for Early Childhood Educators

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Five Anti-Bias Education Strategies for Early Childhood Classrooms

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Here are a few strategies and resources that can help you begin anti-bias education, or go deeper into it, in your classroom by incorporating messages of affirmation, fairness and empowerment into all aspects of learning.

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Five Tips for Engaging Multilingual Children in Conversation, NAEYC

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Five Tips for Engaging Multilingual Children in Conversation, NAEYC

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This resource fosters empathetic interactions by encouraging inclusive communication strategies that respect and value linguistic diversity. These tips, which include using visual aids, speaking clearly, and encouraging peer interactions, help children appreciate and understand the perspectives of those who speak multiple languages.

Chapman de Sousa, B.E. (2019). Five Tips for Engaging Multilingual Children in Conversation. Young Children. Vol. 74 (2). NAEYC. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/may2019/five-tips-engaging-multilingual-children

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Having conversations with children who are learning English in addition to their home languages-referred to in this article as multilingual children -is an essential skill for early childhood educators. Such engagement has implications for multilingual children's developing identities as valued and knowledgeable members of their communities as well as for their language learning. Discussions between educators and children have been shown to facilitate language learning by providing children with models for use of language and responsive communication and by offering teachers frequent opportunities to check for comprehension (e.g., Mashburn et al. 2008; Ruston & Schwanenflugel 2010; Chapman de Sousa 2017). Conversations also contextualize topics, making topics relevant to multilingual children and potentially motivating them to practice using their new language just beyond their independent level-a practice that facilitates language development (Swain 2005).

Instructional conversations, which are small group discussions among children and teachers that focus on a learning goal (Tharp & Entz 2003), promote the language development of multilingual children (Institute of Educational Sciences 2006; Portes et al. 2017). Yet, to be effective, these conversations must engage multilingual children as active participants. Unfortunately, research indicates that in preschool classrooms serving culturally and linguistically diverse learners, interactions between educators and children are often in the form of giving and receiving directions, with limited opportunities for children to practice producing multiword sentences (Justice et al. 2008). Multilingual students who attended public schools in the United States have reported feeling "tongue-tied" and "silenced" (Santa Ana 2004). Early childhood educators can address these concerns by using pedagogy that facilitates and values all children's contributions and voices.

As an instructional coach, I have often been asked for tips on encouraging multilingual children to join classroom conversations. In this article, I offer five strategies that take into account the unique aspects of learning an additional language and capitalize on the social and interactive nature of early childhood classrooms: use children's home languages as a resource; pair conversations with joint activities; coparticipate in activities; use small groups; and respond to children's contributions.

The research behind these tips is grounded in the work of the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE). Instructional conversations are a central aspect of the CREDE pedagogy, which has been shown to promote diverse learners' academic achievement (Tharp 1982; Hilberg, Tharp, & DeGeest 2000; Doherty et al. 2003; Portes et al. 2017). This model emphasizes building relationships, and it supports teachers in helping children develop their complex thinking (Yamauchi et al. 2012) as well as their language and literacy skills (Saunders & Goldenberg 2007; Chapman de Sousa 2017).

The CREDE Hawaiʻi project partnered with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Children's Center, a culturally and linguistically diverse preschool on O'ahu. Administrators and teachers at the center helped refine the CREDE model for teaching in early childhood (for a full description, see Yamauchi, Im, & Schonleber 2012). The center serves an international community whose members speak over 30 distinct languages. While the primary language of instruction is English, the educators encourage inclusion of Hawaiian and the children's various home languages. The following engagement ideas include examples from observing and interviewing educators who have developed expertise in engaging diverse and multilingual children.

1. Use children's home languages as a resource

Even if you do not speak the home languages of children in your program, you can still include their languages in conversations. Get help from family members by inviting them to come teach you and the class important words; also ask them for recommendations on literature and songs written and recorded in their languages. Additionally, remember that it is always possible to respond to children's communications, regardless of whether or not you speak the same language. You can do so with body language and other ways to communicate, such as using pictures and objects. Responding to children's multilingual contributions sends the message that diversity is valued in your classroom. It shows multilingual children that they have important ideas and questions to contribute, and that all forms of communication are of value.

Responding to children's multilingual contributions sends the message that diversity is valued in your classroom.

To emphasize how deeply connected multilingual children's forms of communication are, scholars have introduced the idea of translanguaging- using children's full language abilities to encourage learning (García & Wei 2014). This is a conscious effort to alter the widespread concept of multilingualism as fluency in separate languages and instead emphasize that multilingual people have "one linguistic repertoire" (García & Wei 2014, 2). For early childhood educators, this concept may help reinforce the importance of encouraging children to communicate using their complete linguistic repertoires, including multimodal communication such as gesturing and drawing.

If you or other educators at your center speak additional languages, use those as another resource for creating a classroom ecology that celebrates diverse contributions. During my classroom observations in the center, I saw several examples of teachers capitalizing on their own and children's multilingualism during instructional conversations. The children consistently responded with increased engagement.

During one observation, Kisho, a 4-year-old boy who had recently moved with his family from Japan to Hawaiʻi, was painting using mashed-up berries with his teacher, Ms. Rheta, and 4-year-old Cody. Speaking Japanese, Kisho asked things like, "What is in here?," while pointing at the berry dye, and "Can you eat it?" Ms. Rheta, who understood Japanese, answered his questions in English and Japanese while also gesturing, pointing, and showing pictures on her camera. Later, Cody said, "Don't eat" and repeated the Japanese word for "can't eat" that Kisho had used.

This example shows how inclusive practices can benefit multilingual children and their peers: multilingual children have expanded opportunities to engage in learning, and peers discover there are numerous ways of describing the world. As was the case with Cody, peers are often are excited to hear and learn new words. The translanguaging during their conversation created opportunities for conceptual and linguistic development for both children-but they were particularly important for Kisho. Kisho could ask questions in his home language and engage with the nature and art concepts long before he became proficient in English. His engagement increased, and he heard new vocabulary being used in a meaningful way. Ms. Kristi, another educator at the center, said that translanguaging "helps children be part of the group, and it helps them feel knowledgeable . . . so they can share a piece of themselves and the others can learn from them. It brings up their esteem."

2. Pair conversations with joint activities

There are several reasons why joint activities in small groups promote conversation: a shared activity gives participants a common subject to talk about; the tools or props related to the activity can aid in communication; and educators can tailor the activity and, based on the interests of the children participating, guide the conversation, thereby increasing the children's motivation and the likelihood that they will share their ideas. Such learning, paired with activities, is a central component of the CREDE framework for instruction (Tharp & Entz 2003; Yamauchi, Im, & Schonleber 2012).

Ms. Alyson and children having a conversation as they make
bread pudding together.

The educators I observed consistently used relevant and meaningful objects-such as paintbrushes, puppets, spoons, and pictures-when they invited multilingual children to join activities. While pointing to or holding up an object, teachers often coupled an invitation with a question. During the activity, the children could see the topic of conversation and could contribute nonverbally by pointing to or moving the object (instead of trying to rely solely on words). This supported the children's participation and conceptual development, and their motivation to communicate and complete the task. Because there were multiple members in the group working together, communication was required to accomplish the goals of the activity.

A child pours ingredients to
make bread pudding with his
classmates.

Examples of activities I observed included jointly painting fabric, preparing food and cooking, and acting out pictures from a multilingual text. These types of conversations with activities supported by relevant objects have been shown to facilitate children's comprehension and engagement (Hamilton 2014; DiGiacomo & Gutiérrez 2016).

Relationships with family members are fundamental to the Children's Center's philosophy. Educators welcome family members to join classroom activities. The small group format lends itself to having family volunteers in class, sharing their expertise and aspects of their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. For example, during a multilingual book reading activity I observed, Ms. Kristi asked a child whose family was from Argentina how to say crab in Spanish. The child paused to remember, and Ms. Kristi suggested, pointing, "Ask your mom. She is right there." The child looked to her mom, who said, " Cangrejo," and the child repeated cangrejo, smiling and adding, "I have that music," referring to a song they listened to at home.

3. Coparticipate in activities

The educators participated in activities with the children for an extended period of time (15 minutes or longer). Coparticipating enabled the teachers to provide ongoing and responsive assistance as compared with briefly visiting groups while rotating around the classroom or engaging children in a whole group setting. Joining the activities increases opportunities for educators and children to provide feedback to one another, which is essential to the learning process (DiGiacomo & Gutiérrez 2016). Educators can listen to, assess, and assist children's developing conceptual and linguistic understandings. For example, I observed Ms. WenDee working with a small group of 2-year-olds to make pretzels. A multilingual child in the group confused the words for flour and sugar. In response, Ms. WenDee paused the mixing activity to have the children taste both ingredients and discuss the substances' similarities and differences.

Children's responses when teachers paint, draw, or cook along with them can be surprising. Coparticipating in activities with children naturally leads to modeling. It encourages more participation and helps teachers ask more open-ended and contextualized questions than when overseeing from the sidelines or just dropping in to ask questions. Multilingual children tend to watch their teachers and peers for nonverbal cues about what they are supposed to be doing and saying.

Coparticipating in activities with children encourages more participation and helps teachers ask more open-ended and contextualized questions.

When teachers and multilingual children coconstruct a product, they often also coconstruct a conversation. Such interaction constitutes "language learning in progress" (Swain 2013, 6). Collaborating on a joint product requires the contributors to discuss the steps using all of their language resources to negotiate meaning and arrive at mutual understanding. For example, a reoccurring joint activity at the Center is removing worm castings (to be used later in a classroom garden) from a composting bin. The activity requires separating the worms from the castings and then replacing the worms in the bin with fresh newspaper. I observed Mr. Raymond collaborate on this task with three 4-year-old children. Mr. Raymond started the activity by putting on plastic gloves and laying out newspaper. As he worked, three children came to observe him, and he invited them to help. They put on plastic gloves and listened attentively as Mr. Raymond described how to handle the worms gently and put them back in the bin with moist paper. While the children worked, they asked questions about the worms' habitat, the moistness of the paper, and how to care for living things. By being a part of the action instead of just observing from the sidelines, educators can serve as a bridge to the activity for multilingual children and promote their interaction with other children.

4. Use small groups

Encourage other children to join in activities, but limit group sizes to no more than six. Small group settings help make an activity more conversational, relieving some of the performance pressure children may feel when in a whole group setting or one-on-one with an educator. Also, peer modeling and support can promote multilingual children's language development and engagement (Ohta 2000). In the painting interaction described previously, Cody provided conceptual assistance to Kisho by making statements like, "That's how you dye colors." Small groups encourage multilingual children to take risks, such as verbalizing more often and asking questions, as was the case with Kisho while painting with Cody and Ms. Rheta. Language is learned through use, so children need ample opportunities to practice speaking and negotiating meaning (Gibbons 2015). Kisho was motivated to ask questions and to talk about the berries the dye was made from because he was curious and wanted to know if they were edible. He was comfortable verbalizing in this setting, and the group size allowed Ms. Rheta time to hear and respond to his questions. Multilingual children are likely to watch how you interact with others, and your responsiveness can help them feel valued.

Consider the seating arrangement when designing small group activities. Experiment with different arrangements and notice how the children respond. Some may contribute more to the conversation when they are right next to you. Other children may prefer direct eye contact from you to cue them to contribute, so having them across from you may promote their participation. Things like culture, family norms, personal preferences, and gender can influence how children engage in conversation. This is a great time to be a teacher-researcher and notice ways you can adjust the seating to encourage multilingual children's engagement.

At the center, the children are free to join and leave small group activities as they wish; however, the teachers will invite some children to join groups based on the teachers' learning goals. For example, it may be advantageous to have multiple children in the group who speak the same home language so they can support one another's conceptual understanding through use of their familiar language. At other times, it may be helpful to include peers with more advanced English.

All of the educators I interviewed emphasized the importance of establishing classroom values with the children at the beginning of the year that are reinforced daily. These values emphasize helping one another, accepting mistakes, and being kind. The educators embody respect through their use of an inclusive pedagogy that actively elicits children's contributions and builds on their interests and backgrounds; this promotes positive interactions and respectful behavior from the children.

5. Respond to children's contributions

The educators at the center were masterful at responding to the multilingual children's attempts to communicate. The table below summarizes the verbal and nonverbal responses to the children that teachers used frequently.

Responding to children's contributions promotes engagement and learning. For example, recasting during educator-child interactions can benefit multilingual children's language learning (Tsybina et al. 2006). During a pretzel-making activity, Dominic said as he rolled out his pretzel dough, "I rolling round." Ms. WenDee responded by recasting his comment as a question, "Are you rolling it?" That was helpful because it modeled a grammatically correct question; an even more helpful recasting would have also included the vocabulary word dough, as in "Are you rolling the dough?" Ms. WenDee also mirrored the children's gestures, communicating a shared understanding of the concepts in a nonverbal way. At one point, Dominic was counting the three ingredients on his hand; Ms. WenDee mirrored the gesture by holding up the same three fingers, touching them to the child's, and saying, "I have the same as you."

"Language learning is not just a cognitive struggle, it is a cognitive and emotional struggle" (Swain 2013, 11). Being responsive ensures that teachers build on children's thinking and communicates that the teachers value children's ideas, questions, and concerns. One way to study your responsiveness to multilingual children, including how you are communicating verbally and nonverbally, is to have a colleague videotape your interactions. Notice your facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice as you engage with the multilingual children.

Multilingual families and children should have opportunities to serve as experts and contribute to all of the children's learning.

Responding to the children's comments, questions, and body language (such as puzzled looks or gestures) will enable you to make links between the activity and what was interesting to the children. Being responsive helps make instruction relevant and meaningful. For example, during the painting activity referenced earlier, Kisho asked Ms. Rheta, "Kore nani ireta?," which means "What did you put in this?," regarding the paint. Ms. Rheta stopped and responded by gesturing and repeating the word "berries." She then elaborated, gesturing in a picking motion while telling Kisho that a group of children picked the berries from a nearby tree. Ms. Rheta brought out her camera and showed Kisho photos from the berry picking to support his understanding. During our interview, Ms. Rheta told me that the learning goal for the activity was to help the children understand how certain things, like dye, can come directly from nature. Ms. Rheta responsively used Kisho's questions as an opportunity to address the learning goal.

Conclusion

Research and observations of effective educators indicate that coparticipating with multilingual children in small group conversations centered on a joint activity, responding verbally and nonverbally to children's contributions, and using the children's home languages as a tool for understanding are ways to promote their engagement and learning. Instructional conversations give multilingual children opportunities to share their expertise and thoughts, promoting language development (Institute of Educational Sciences 2006; Chapman de Sousa 2017; Portes et al. 2017). Central to these strategies is creating opportunities for children to speak and share their ideas, solve problems together, and value diversity.

Bonus Strategy: Engaging Multilingual Families

To encourage the engagement of families from diverse backgrounds, educators at the center conduct home visits and have meetings with family members throughout the year. The initial family meeting is essential to relationship building. Educators ask important questions about the children and their preferences, and learn key words in the children's home languages. From that first meeting onward, the center communicates to families that family members have expertise and that the program welcomes their contributions. Teachers use families' unique knowledge and skills to develop the curriculum for the year. In addition to issuing in-person invitations, teachers send notes home asking families to come into the classroom and host activities.

During one of my visits, Ms. Amy, an educator at the center who worked with 2-year-olds, was having a conversation about butterflies with several multilingual children. She reminded a child that her mom would be coming into classroom to teach them songs in Japanese about butterflies. The child then said in English, "Mom is gonna bring us a song about butterflies," an important multiword utterance for a 2-year-old who is just starting to learn English.

This type of meaningful engagement of families from diverse backgrounds has been shown to positively influence educational outcomes (O'Donnell & Kirkner 2014). Effective engagement efforts go beyond the traditional methods of having back-to-school nights and communicating only during parent-teacher conferences or when a behavior issue arises. At the center, multilingual families and children have opportunities to serve as experts and contribute to all of the children's learning.

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Swain, M. 2013. "The Inseparability of Cognition and Emotion in Second Language Learning." Language Teaching 46 (2): 195-207.

Tharp, R. 1982. "The Effective Instruction of Comprehension: Results and Description of the Kamehameha Early Education Program." Reading Research Quarterly 17 (4): 503-27.

Tharp, R., & S. Entz. 2003. "From High Chair to High School: Research-Based Principles for Teaching Complex Thinking." Young Children 58 (5): 38-44.

Tsybina, I., L.E. Girolametto, E. Weitzman, & J. Greenberg. 2006. "Recasts Used with Preschoolers Learning English as Their Second Language." Early Childhood Education Journal 34(2): 177-85.

Yamauchi, L.A., S. Im, & N.S. Schonleber. 2012. "Adapting Strategies of Effective Instruction for Culturally Diverse Preschoolers." Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 33 (1):54-72.

Yamauchi, L.A., S. Im, C.-J. Lin, & N.S. Schonleber. 2012. "The Influence of Professional Development on Changes in Educators' Facilitation of Complex Thinking in Preschool Classrooms." Early Child Development and Care 183 (5): 689-706.

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Five Tips for Engaging Multilingual Children in Conversation

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In this article, I offer five strategies that take into account the unique aspects of learning an additional language and capitalize on the social and interactive nature of early childhood classrooms.

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5 Strategies for Supporting Multilingualism in your Early Years Setting Through Storytelling

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5 Strategies for Supporting Multilingualism in your Early Years Setting Through Storytelling

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This website explains how storytelling fosters empathetic interactions among multilingual individuals by allowing them to share personal and cultural stories in their native languages. This in turn, helps listeners appreciate diverse perspectives and experiences, bridging cultural gaps and promoting understanding. Storytelling encourages children and adults alike to connect emotionally, recognize commonalities, and develop a deeper respect for linguistic and cultural diversity.

ILT. (2024). 5 Strategies for Supporting Multilingualism in your Early Years Setting Through Storytelling. [Blog] ILT. https://www.ilteducation.com/uk/blog/5-strategies-for-supporting-multilingualism-in-your-early-years-setting-through-storytelling/

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5 Strategies for Supporting Multilingualism in your Early Years Setting Through Storytelling

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5 Strategies for Supporting Multilingualism in your Early Years Setting Through Storytelling - ILT Education

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Fun learning from preschool to adult education

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33 Disability Awareness Activities for Students of all Ages (easy set up!)

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33 Disability Awareness Activities for Students of all Ages (easy set up!)

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The website provides a curated list of resources aimed at teaching kids about disabilities, awareness, and inclusion. It includes books, activities, and educational tools that help families introduce and explain different disabilities in an age-appropriate manner. By using these resources, families can foster empathy, understanding, and inclusive behaviors in young children, promoting a more inclusive and supportive environment for all.

Lightner, L. (2024). 33 Disability Awareness Activities for Students of all Ages (easy set up!). A Day In Our Shoes. https://adayinourshoes.com/resources-to-teach-kids-about-disabilities-awareness-and-inclusion/

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Activities to Teach About Disabilities

What better day than today to publish this post! Today is the first day of Developmental Disabilities Awareness month.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963

We're not quite there yet, are we? As far as teaching non-disabled children about their disabled peers?

According to the US Department of Education, 15-20% of our school children have IEPs. Why are we not teaching kids about disabilities on a regular basis? We owe it to our kids, both the non-disabled and disabled ones.

They have to learn how to interact, how to live and work together. This is their future.

Get the list: 25 Amazing Inclusion Books for Kids

Disability Awareness Month Activities

March and April are here. Disabilities Awareness Month and Autism Awareness Month. Both are great months and great conversation starters to start to share with the rest of the world how great our kids are.

Teaching kids about disabilities isn't that hard. It is important that we engage the actual disabled people in explaining disabilities to students. They should be the ones to determine the message conveyed.

Disability Awareness in Schools

I am proud to say that I approached my non-disabled child's preschool and asked her to include this in the upcoming months. Teaching preschoolers about disabilities is an opportunity not to be missed. Create understanding now when kids are young to avoid bullying and fear later. We met, we chatted online, and they are doing it!

His school does a bunch of MLK Day activities, and about people who are different from you. And, in February they do a whole thing on love and friendships and it will be discussed then. She (the preschool director) then shared with me a book she found in their library that they are going to use, and the whole thing inspired this post. {note, this post is frequently updated, he's not in preschool anymore!}

So here you go, not only do you approach your school or church or scout troop and say "I'd like to encourage you to teach kids about kids with disabilities, and I will help if you'd like" but now you have some resources to send to them as well.

Note, this is about teaching inclusion and teaching acceptance, and tolerance. This is not a teaching strategy for an inclusive classroom. This is to answer questions that kids may have about other kids who are different.

Understanding is the first step and it's OK for kids to be curious.
Amazon.com Widgets
So here you go, I combed the web and found many printables and downloads, and websites for you to use. I did not create any of these, merely sharing them.

Teaching Kids about Disabilities

When readers find this post, I am often asked about disability awareness activities for adults. Definitely needed! I hear you. But I was unable to find any disability awareness activities for adults, so you may want to adapt these to an older audience. I know it is very needed in the workplace.

1. Disability Awareness Packet (note: This packet is good, but it contains some outdated language and concepts. It contains the phrase "mental retardation" because that is the language used then. Adapt to modern philosophy as appropriate)

2. Learning About Disabilities- from Teaching Tolerance; different disability lesson plans for different age groups.

3. Disability Awareness Tips from the Huffington Post

4. Hasbro recently came out with some pretty cool stuff to teach empathy to kids

Teaching youth to share and accept each other's differences is part of building an inclusive culture that shields students with disabilities from bullying.
https://onlinegrad.baylor.edu/resources/teaching-children-disabilities-inclusion/

Disability Awareness Lesson Plans

Disability awareness in schools is starting to become more common, but there are limited resources out there. I am working with a few other moms and teachers to develop a disability awareness curriculum . When it is complete, I will definitely share.

Until then, here are some special needs lesson plans and activities that you can use and adapt for your classroom or setting.

This video is a bit dry, but it's all I could find. He has some good thoughts and ideas.

Even if your own child's teacher or troop leader won't do this, don't get discouraged. If you have non-disabled siblings in the home or nieces/nephews, the opportunity will present itself and you can use these tips then.

How to Teach Kids about Disabilities

As appropriate, let children be curious. Children are always learning, even if you are not consciously teaching them. So let's make sure they get the right information.

Focus on your (disabled) child's strengths. And what they like; find common ground with the other kids. Create understanding.

Allow them a safe place to ask questions. So they don't create fear-based hate later on. Allow open conversations in your own, invite them.

Disabilities Awareness Month Activities

Disability Awareness Activities are great to do in schools. However, real change begins at home.

Just yesterday, my family was at Longwood Gardens and I noticed several toddlers and preschoolers starting at Kevin. Teaching preschoolers about disabilities is important too!

Explaining disabilities to students at home can go a long way to improving a school's climate.

1. Move past awareness and into acceptance. I'm updating this post for 2015 and this one is going to the top! Let's move past awareness...is there anyone who is not aware that autism exists, or that there are children and adults living with either disease or disability? We don't just want you aware....we want to be accepted and included. And inclusion means contributing! Not just passively watching, participating.

2. Make an effort to change your vocabulary. It's not a matter of being overly PC. It's about being sensitive and respecting children. I'm not just talking about the R-word, though that is the next thing on the list. There are other phrases that also get said that are really cringe-worthy if you are a parent. Think about phrases like "they said she might only ever be a vegetable" or "they say she has the capacity of a 2-year-old" (and the child is 15). Now imagine what it would feel like if you were that person or parent! You know what, ask. Most special needs parents would rather open up the communication instead of having you guessing about what to say.

3. Take the pledge. Spread the Word to End the Word has an online pledge and other information to read and share. This is not an item up for discussion anymore. Plain and simple, it's not OK to say it. Don't try to justify it, just take it out of your vocabulary.

4. Offer to run an awareness program at a Sunday school class, scout troop, or other related groups. I did this with my son's preschool director. She actually helped me with some of the resources and they are going to do it as a unit at the preschool. How cool is that? Literally, hundreds of preschoolers in our community will be made aware of others' differences, which is just so awesome. You can make this happen in your community too.

5. Amazon.com Widgets Reach out to a special needs mom. This can be a very isolating life sometimes. I get tired of only talking about IEPs and medical appointments and would love to just talk about normal stuff or shop for an afternoon.

6. Make an effort to reach out to a neighborhood family or one you see at church and try to include them. Our kids don't often get invited to birthday parties and play dates. Our kids often lack the skills to make friends but would very much enjoy being around typical children even if the play doesn't look like normal play.

7. Add bullying and differences to your dinner table conversation. Bullying seems to be on everyone's radar these days so bring it to your dinner table conversation. Are your kids seeing other kids (who are different) being made fun of? Encourage them to reach out and be a friend, be a hero. Sometimes all it takes to end a pattern of bullying is for one strong person to stand up and say something. Encourage your child to be that person.

8. Support a charity and not necessarily just money! There are many ways you can support a cause. Of course, monetary donations are always welcome but it's not just money. You can sometimes collect bottle caps, Box Tops for Education, run a 5k or 10k that supports a charity, use a search engine (like GoodSearch) that supports a charity...even Amazon now has Amazon Smile which supports charities when you shop on Amazon.

9. Remember that everyone is better for this. There are many studies that show that children who are aware of the differences of others, who do participate in inclusive classrooms and extra-curricular activities, and who are the friend instead of the bully....they are better at life. Everyone, not just the child with disabilities but the typical child too, does better academically, and psychologically and scores better on overall happiness tests as compared to those who do not make the effort. Inclusion works, it really does!

10. Be You! Not everything you do is related to disabilities. Bust through those stereotypes and get out there, and show your community that your family is just like theirs most of the time. Being a positive role model and advocate is one of the most useful things you can do.

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25 Disability Awareness Activities for Kids of all Ages

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How to teach non-disabled children about their peers with disabilities: Awesome assortment Disability Awareness Activities and Lesson Plans for Kids.

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10 Strategies for Talking to Kids About Disability

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10 Strategies for Talking to Kids About Disability

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The website offers practical strategies for talking to kids about disabilities, providing families with a framework to foster understanding and acceptance. It emphasizes the importance of using respectful language, encouraging questions, and promoting inclusive play. By offering concrete tips and examples, the site helps families approach the topic of disabilities in a way that is informative, sensitive, and supportive, aiding in the development of empathy and awareness in young children.

Seattle Play Garden. (2022). 10 Strategies for Talking to Kids About Disability. Seattle Play Garden. https://seattleplaygarden.org/10-strategies-for-talking-to-kids-about-disability/

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Whether it is a person who uses a wheelchair that you see in the grocery store, a child in their class that has Autism, or a sibling with ADHD your child has someone in their life that has a disability that they might have questions about. Talking openly and honestly about disability with your kids is a critical first step in living in a more inclusive community that celebrates and embraces diversity.

So let kids ask their questions. When your child asks a question about someone with a disability consider it an opportunity to talk about a new and interesting topic rather than turning disability into a topic to be avoided.

2. Be honest and direct. Give direct answers to your child's inquiry. For example, if a child asks, "Why can't she walk?" if you reply with a response like, "Oh, we don't need to talk about that right now" or "It's okay that she doesn't' walk, she has her wheelchair to help her" you are not really answering their question and the child is left wondering. Instead, you could say " Are you curious about how Therese moves? We can go talk to her and ask her to tell us more about herself if you'd like."

With younger kids a simple statement will normally give them what they are looking for. For example, in response to the question "What is that thing in his stomach?" you could reply, "This is Jack's feeding tube. Some people eat through their mouth like you do, and others eat through their stomach like Jack." Simple. Honest. Direct.

As children get older, you may give a more complex response such as "Some kids have medical problems that make it hard for them to get enough nutrition by mouth. A g-tube is a tube that brings food directly to the stomach. It's one of the ways doctors can make sure kids who have trouble eating get the food they need to grow." By elementary age or middle school kids become more aware of less-visible disabilities like those associated with learning or behavior. Again, try to answer your child's questions with facts and be honest. If you don't know much about the person your child is asking about, find a way to respectfully talk with that child's family or teachers to learn more or facilitate a conversation between the children themselves.

3. Avoid making assumptions and interpretations. Whether you know the person your child is asking about or not, avoid adding your interpretation of how a person may feel about their disability or what caused it. You don't know what that person is feeling or experiencing if you haven't taken the time to get to know them.

There are many assumptions and misconceptions about disability that hide under the surface of our interactions such as "people with disabilities are special and should be treated differently" or "people with disabilities lives are hard and challenging." These incorrect assumptions stem from fear, lack of understanding and/or prejudice. You can help your children talk about disability in a more accurate and respectful way by avoiding assumptions and taking the time to get to know someone on an individual level.

4. Keep your explanations positive. Kids are like sponges. If you use positive language with your child, they will continue to use that kind of language on their own. For example, explain that hearing aids help others hear and wheelchairs help others move around, instead of using a negative connotation (he can't hear, she can't walk, etc.) Use the term "disability," and take the following terms out of your vocabulary when talking about or talking to people with disabilities. Don't use the terms "handicapped," "differently-abled," or "special needs" or "retarded" as these terms frame disability as a negative thing and thus further perpetuate the exclusion, isolation and negative stigma of people with disabilities.

6. Prepare for tough questions and avoid shushing their questions. It is not uncommon for kids to ask questions like, "What's wrong with that girl?" When an adult hears this, they often try to shush their kids. They are embarrassed that their child said something rude and potentially hurtful to another person. However, it is key to remember that children are not trying to be rude, they are trying to make sense of what they are seeing. A question like that however can be damaging if not addressed in an appropriate way. Explain to your kids that there is nothing wrong with people with disabilities. Explain that a child may have trouble talking or difficulty in a group situation but that doesn't mean there's something "wrong" with them.

Here are examples of some tough questions we get asked often at the PlayGarden.
How can you prepare yourself to be ready to answer these kinds of questions with your kids or the kids you work with?
Is he really 5?

Why can't she walk?

Can he talk? Will he learn how to talk?

What's that thing? (in reference to... tracheostomy tube, a g-tube, a ventilator, or orthotics).

Why does she make those sounds?

Why does she always do that? (in reference to self-stimulating behaviors)

What is that in her stomach? (in reference to a g-tube)

Why does he eat that way?

Why doesn't ________come to circle time?
7. Talk about human diversity (and neuro-diversity) with your kids.
We are all different in some way and that we all do things every day to adjust to our unique circumstances. For example, someone who wears glass uses them to correct blurry vision, just as someone who is non-verbal may use an assistive device like an ipad to communicate. None of these things are "wrong" they are just different ways of being in the world. Kids use the word "wrong" because they have been socialized by adults and society's attitudes about what is considered "normal" versus "abnormal".

We can expand the notion of "normal" by talking about neurodiversity with kids and talking about how ALL body types, ways of moving, communicating, thinking and behaving are normal and healthy.
8. Emphasize similarities and shared interests.
Avoid focusing solely on differences, doing so sends the message that people with disabilities are inherently different than the other kids. Instead, emphasize similarities. ALL kids are kids first and foremost and everyone wants the same things- to have friends, to play, to be loved, to laugh, feel included and to participate in activities together with their friends and family. We are relational beings at our core and emphasizing similarities helps kids relate to one another. The more we can relate to each other the more understanding, compassion and interest we can develop. This is true in any teaching context across all different ages. What is something that the kids have in common? Are they both learning something new they could share with each other? Are they the same age? Go to the same school? Or like the same activities?
9. Learn about disabilities together.
As kids get older they are able to ask more complex questions and are hoping to get more complex responses. Take your kids questions as opportunities to learn about different disabilities together. What do you know about Downs Syndrome? Autism Spectrum Disorder? Cerebral Palsy? Sensory Processing Disorder? If your child asks about one of these and you don't feel prepared to answer your child's question in the moment you can always say, " I'm not sure. I will think about it and get back to you." or " I don't' know much about Cerebral Palsy, let's learn more about it together."
10. Facilitate conversation.
No matter the age, social interaction with kids and teens stems from having shared experiences together. In school settings taking classes together, participating in an after school club together or sport create these opportunities. Outside of school, kids interact with each other in places like the playground. For some kids, making a friend on the playground is easy. For others, and many children with disabilities this is not as easy. Adults can help kids with and without disabilities talk to each other, to help them find common ground, understand different forms of communication, slow down a conversation if kids need more time to process or to help the kids really hear what the other said.

Have questions, comments or feedback about this blog you'd like to share with us? Send us an email to hannah@seattleplaygarden.org

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10 Strategies for Talking to Kids About Disability - The Seattle PlayGarden

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Whether it is a person who uses a wheelchair that you see in the grocery store, a child in their class that has Autism, or a sibling with ADHD your child has someone in their life that has a disability that they might have questions about.

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How To Help Children Understand Diverse Families

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How To Help Children Understand Diverse Families

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Bright Horizons offers guidance on how to help children understand and appreciate diverse families. It provides practical tips for parents and educators, such as using inclusive language, sharing books and media that depict various family structures, and encouraging open discussions about diversity. This resource helps families embrace and respect the many different forms that families can take by offering an inclusive mindset and tangible strategies.

Bright Horizons. (2023). How To Help Children Understand Diverse Families. Bright Horizons. https://www.brighthorizons.com/resources/article/how-to-help-children-understand-diverse-families

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Our world is incredibly diverse and families are no different, with varying configurations, beliefs, cultural norms, and personal practices. One of the most important gifts we can give our children is to help them feel good about the uniqueness of their family and help them learn to accept, respect, and include people whom they may identify and experience as "different."

Answering Questions about Diverse Family Structures

Families come in many different structures and sizes. Young children often have questions when they notice families that seem different from their own. This is a great opportunity to share your values about families, diversity, and inclusion with your child. Here are a few ideas to guide the conversation.

Keep it simple. Young children generally don't need or want long, complex answers. Something like, "Cody lives with his grandmother. His grandmother is his family," or "Malia has two mommies. They are her family," are sufficient. Preschool children are concrete thinkers and not ready for a philosophical discussion.

Celebrate diversity. Children's growing awareness of diverse family structures provides rich opportunities to celebrate family diversity and engage children in conversation about who is in THEIR family, who lives in THEIR house, and more importantly, who takes care of them. Point out the wonderful, interesting diversity of families, which might include families with only children, families with many siblings, blended families, foster families, LGBTQ families, multi-generational families, and many others. This diversity of families makes life richer.

Define what makes a family. Children tend to thrive when they come to understand there are varying family structures and that all families are wonderful, so long as the people in them love and care about each other. This repeated message helps children feel secure, even if their family configuration changes through death, separation, or other life events.

When children ask, "Can a family have two mommies?" one suggested response is: "Yes, some families may have two mommies, one mommy, no mommy, or even lots of mommies. And some families may have two daddies, one daddy, no daddy, or even lots of daddies. Some families also include grandparents, foster parents, aunts, and uncles. Other families have one child, no children, or many children. Any combination works. It's love that makes a family-just like in our family."

Children's Books about Diverse Families

Literature is a wonderful way to expose children to the world. By sharing books such as the ones listed below, you are communicating that diverse families and people are all acceptable. The titles below explore diverse family units and celebrate familial relationships. There may be different values and structures, but in the end...it's about family.

Infants and older:

Families by Shelley Rotner

Families Can by Dan Saks

Daddy, Papa, and Me by Lesléa Newman

Mommy, Mama, and Me by Lesléa Newman

My Family, Your Family by Katherine Cole

My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith

Preschool and older:

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

Brothers and Sisters: Family Poems by Eloise Greenfield

One Family by George Shannon

Saturday by Oge Mora

Who is in My Family? By Robie B. Harris

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How to Help Children Understand Diverse Families

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Diverse family structures are common and children will ask questions about family structures that differ from their own. Learn simple ways to teach children about diverse families.

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Family Engagement Activities and Resources for Child Care Providers

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Family Engagement Activities and Resources for Child Care Providers

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Childcare Aware is a resource that provides an array of activities and further resources on engaging families. The activities and resources incorporate diversity and inclusion. One area in particular focuses on celebrations and festivals. Family Day/Night helps families appreciate diverse family structures by providing a communal space where families can share their unique stories, participate in inclusive games, and create family-themed crafts together. This can foster a sense of community and belonging, as families learn about and celebrate each other's traditions, backgrounds, and experiences.

Childcare Aware. (n.d.). Celebrations & Festivals

Family Engagement Activities and Resources

for Child Care Providers. Childcare Aware. https://info.childcareaware.org/hubfs/Family%20Engagement%20Activities%20and%20Resources%20for%20Child%20Care%20Providers.pdf

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How Can I Prevent Gender Bias in Young Children?

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How Can I Prevent Gender Bias in Young Children?

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The article from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) provides strategies to prevent gender bias in young children. It offers practical tips for parents and educators, such as using inclusive language, avoiding stereotypes in toys and activities, and encouraging all children to explore a wide range of interests and skills. The article emphasizes the importance of being a role model for gender equity and actively challenging biased behaviors and attitudes.

ADL. (2016). How Can I Prevent Gender Bias in Young Children. ADL. https://www.adl.org/resources/tools-and-strategies/how-can-i-prevent-gender-bias-young-children

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The foundation for gender identity formation gets established during the preschool years (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 2010, 91). By age three, although most children can identify themselves as boys or girls, they are still sorting out the concept of gender (Roberts and Hill, 2003). "The support they get or do not get in their preschool years lays the foundation for the rest of their gender identity formation," according to Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards (2010, 91).

Adults can take a variety of measures to create fair and gender-equitable environments for young children. They can:

Reflect on their own attitudes and behaviors.

Send only nonsexist, non-stereotyped messages (Miller, 2001).

Provide equal opportunity for girls and boys to speak (Derman-Sparks, Edwards, 2010, 98).

Avoid responding more quickly to children of one gender than another (Miller, 2002).

Discuss gender issues by involving children in helping to solve gender-related problems that may arise (Miller, 2002).

Use gender-neutral language (Choose plural pronouns, such as "they" and "them," instead of masculine pronouns such as "he" and "him" and words such as firefighter, flight attendant, garbage collector, and humankind can easily be used to replace the use of "man" as a generic noun or ending.)

Change traditional children's music, rhymes, and finger plays so that they include characters of both genders. For example, alternate male and female names: In Mary had a Little Lamb, use "Jimmy" instead of "Mary." Interchange parental roles: In Five Little Monkeys, interchange "Mama" and "Papa." Make verses gender neutral: In The Wheels on the Bus, use "parents" instead of "mommies;" in Where Is Thumbkin? use "Friend" instead of "Sir;" in Old MacDonald Had a Farm, use "The MacDonalds" instead of "Old MacDonald" and "they" instead of "he."

(Bias-Free Foundations: Early Childhood Guidebook & Activities for Educators, 2001, 8)

Ensure the environment reflects diversity in gender roles and encourages opportunities for everyone by including:

Alternatives to the pretend kitchen such as a workbench, home office, store, office, hospital, etc.

Gender neutral career puzzles that include images of men and women in non-stereotypical roles such as: girls and women depicted as physical and strong, in leadership roles and having occupations in fields such as sports, science, mechanics, etc. and boys and men showing emotions other than anger, participating in domestic tasks, providing care for families, and having occupations in fields such as dance, nursing, cooking, etc.

Diverse family styles and composition

Children's books that reflect diverse gender roles

(Bias-Free Foundations: Early Childhood Guidebook & Activities for Educators, 2001, 7, 11)

Help children gain comfort with a broader range of activities, regardless of their gender.

Observe the ways children's choices seem influenced by gender lines varying groupings during free play/choice time.

Establish non-sexist routines and experiences by ensuring that all children have equal responsibility in assigned jobs (Derman-Sparks, Edwards, 2010, 97).

Help children develop skills for thinking critically and taking action.

Have them explore their ideas about gender identity and think about what is or is not "fair with respect to gender.

Teach them ways to address hurtful gender put-down.

Honor children when they stand up for themselves or others in the face of gender bias. (Derman-Sparks, Edwards, 2010, 99)

Although gender role norms have broadened over time, attentiveness to the equity and diversity in gender identity can help create a solid and positive foundation for children's future identity development.

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How Can I Prevent Gender Bias in Young Children?

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The foundation for gender identity formation gets established during the preschool years (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 2010, 91). By age three, although most children can identify themselves as boys or girls, they are still sorting out the concept of gender (Roberts and Hill, 2003).

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Recognizing Bias and Promoting Equity in Early Childhood Settings

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Recognizing Bias and Promoting Equity in Early Childhood Settings

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The video provides information on biases related to gender by illustrating how children perceive and internalize gender roles and stereotypes. Through engaging examples and discussions, it highlights the subtle and overt ways gender bias can manifest in everyday interactions and media. The video also offers practical advice for parents and educators on how to counteract these biases, promoting a more equitable and inclusive understanding of gender among children and their families.

SAMSHA. (2017). Recognizing Bias and Promoting Equity in Early Childhood Settings. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJs1aByD2Ao

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Recognizing Bias and Promoting Equity in Early Childhood Settings

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The Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training & Support (WI FACETS) website helps children and families by providing resources, support, and training related to special education and disabilities. It offers a variety of services, including workshops, webinars, and individualized assistance, to empower families to advocate for their children's educational needs.

WI FACETS. (2021). Welcome to WI FACETS. WI FACETS. https://wifacets.org/

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Special Education Resources For Children Wisconsin | WI FACETS

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I Have Questions We are available to help with your questions and concerns regarding special education. Please call our Help Desk Specialists at 414-374-4645 or 877-374-0511 Learn More I Need Resources One of our most important tasks is directing you to

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The Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative (WSPEI) website helps children and families by fostering collaboration between parents and educators to enhance educational outcomes for students with disabilities. It provides resources, training, and support to improve communication and partnerships between home and school. By offering tools such as workshops, family engagement strategies, and individualized support, WSPEI empowers families to actively participate in their children's education and advocates for inclusive and effective educational practices.

WSPEI. (2024). The Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative. WSPEI. https://wspei.org/

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WSPEI - Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative

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The Wisconsin Statewide Parent Educator Initiative -WSEI- helps creates partnerships between parents and school district by providing resources such as training and classes.