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The Early Childhood Resilience Toolkit helps you learn and practice relationship-based therapeutic techniques to strengthen your work with young children experiencing stress and trauma.

Do you want to learn how to build resilience in young children facing trauma?

Children who experience trauma often express challenging behaviors, making them difficult to work with and parent. But there are ways to build strong, resilient relationships with the children in your care.
We're here to help!

Do any of these statements describe you?

→ I work with young children who are experiencing stress and trauma.

→ I want to strengthen my relationships with children in my care.

→ I want to deepen my skills, and teach others how to handle challenging behaviors like acting out, shutting down, and defiance.

The Early Childhood Resilience Toolkit contains:

A PDF download of handouts, discussions, and role play scenarios to help you work with children with challenging behaviors.

A series of 5 brief videos discussing basic concepts of trauma and resilience, and showing strategies for the classroom in action.

Download your favorite poster!

Click the image of the poster you want to download.

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Early Childhood Resilience Toolkit - DeveloPlay, LLC

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Helping you build strong relationships with the young children you serve. The Early Childhood Resilience Toolkit is full of therapeutic techniques that strengthen your work with young children experiencing stress and trauma.

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This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

Inescapable images of horrific violence, protests, and social injustice urged me to engage in deeper conversations, conversations during which I have felt scared, tired, angry, vulnerable but ultimately empowered to continue. It is important to be self-aware and willing to reflect on our implicit biases in order to move forward. Implicit biases can breed microaggressions and relationship barriers that impact how we interact with one another as educational leaders and how we engage with families. Ultimately, this affects the relationships and environments of the children we serve.

Over the past 16 years, I have reflected on my experiences in the education field. When I was an assistant director, I remember addressing a parent's concern that their Black son might not be nurtured in the same way as the other students because his teachers were white. Their concerns were valid. I had a choice to blindly defend the teachers or use this concern as feedback to reflect on the experiences of children of color within our program. This is where my journey truly began to shift. To achieve transformational change, we must TEAR down our biases by doing the reflective work of facing our Truths, Evaluating our systems, Aligning our behaviors with our beliefs, and developing authentic, collaborative R elationships.

TRUTH & TRUST
Reflective Question: Do I Have Biases? The Truth is Yes.
To start tearing down implicit biases, I had to take an honest look at myself, my actions, and my attitude. To start tearing down implicit biases, we have to see the truth (our perceived truth and how others see us). Implicit biases guide how we categorize people according to cultural stereotypes. This unconscious categorizing occurs as we allow our past experiences and influences to shape our assumptions of others. In the book, So you want to talk about race, Ijeoma Oluo discusses "checking my privilege." She talks about how we can be both privileged in some areas of life and underprivileged in others. According to Oluo, when we identify where our privilege intersects with somebody else's oppression, we'll find our opportunities to make real change.

As an African American woman raised by a single mom trying to care for three children on minimum wage for a portion of my life, I was underprivileged. Yet, at the same time, I recognize that I also benefit from the privilege of being raised by my dad and step-mom in my latter years and having the opportunity to go to college. Recognizing that these experiences impacted how I communicated meant that through self-reflection, I examined my bias with single mothers, my interactions with parents from different socio-economic levels, and my views on fathers and male staff members. This allowed me to meet all parents and staff where they were and not where I assumed they would be.

Not only did I need to recognize the truth of my current understanding and behavior, but I also had to trust the process. Over the years, my understanding of systematic thinking grew. Change comes first by seeing the truth in the role you play in enabling bias within your current system and breaking down those areas into actionable goals that tie back to addressing equity in the larger system. You may ask, "How can I build my practice as a leader for equity, starting with who I am and what I bring because of who I am?" Change also requires building one's capacity to trust. You need to have trust in the reflective process and in the people around you. I had to trust that just as I embodied the capacity for change, so did my co-workers, staff, and the families we served. Truth and trust are the beginning.

EVALUATE
Reflective Question: Who Are My Biases Affecting, and How?
To answer this, you need to begin evaluating your program, from the administration to teacher-child interactions. Reflective practices should be built on a foundation of research-based, valid and reliable assessment. Assessment tools should support the setting of objectives and targeted goals. I have used tools like the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care and theProgram Administration Scale to examine systems and management practices. By evaluating the data around items like staff orientation and supervision and performance appraisal, we began to think about our current systems for onboarding and the continuous development of our staff. Other assessment tools that guided us were the Environment Rating Scales and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System.

You may ask: What data stands out? Within what areas? When? And is this across multiple areas? After you form your questions, look at your professional development practices and how they support determining answers and gaining strategies. When addressing areas of change, and especially when uncovering biases, this needs to be a parallel process. As leaders support teachers on their journey, we need to do the same work on the administration level and use assessment tools designed to look at the quality of leadership and management practices that can impact equity in the work environment.

ALIGNMENT
Reflective Question: Where Do I Start?
Revisit your mission and vision as an educator and an organization. Compare this with the data you have collected from the evaluation process. How are they aligned? Where are there discrepancies? How do diversity, equity, and inclusion play a role? Think of this process as a tune-up. Like a car, we need to have an alignment. We need to check and see if our actions match what we say we believe. As you look at your systems and compare practices to the data, continue to ask questions: Do I have an automatic feeling about discrepancies found in the data? What is that about? Is there a pattern across assessments? How can I become more conscious of these patterns in order to change them? Who can support me and hold me accountable?

RELATIONSHIPS
Reflective Question: How Are My Relationships?
Job-embedded professional development is learning that occurs in action. There are many contexts for professional learning to happen (e.g., knowledge development, collaboration routines, reflective supervisory dialogue and feedback, and transfer to practice supports). All of the formats require teachers to be open to critical feedback and willing to share.

You may ask: How do your organization and your teaching teams support reflective practices? Who will be your accountability partner and brainstorm with you? Are your work relationships inclusive, authentic, and honest? Do you engage with people different from yourself and expose yourself to positive role models within that group (community)? How do you create spaces where you can learn from their expertise and lived experiences?

If you are in a homogenous environment, connect with and learn from resources, organizations, and communities that differ from you. Go outside your normal boundaries and invite people you don't usually talk with into conversations. Be an active listener to what they want you to know about them and their culture. Relationships are necessary for unifying our communities. As stated in an old proverb, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

Connecting and creating relationships may cause friction at times, but it fortifies both people in the end. As we strive to build a future that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, we must be willing to do the reflective and sometimes messy work of tearing down our biases.
If you would like to hear some of my journey, check out this video: Melinda Young, M.Ed., is an Assessor and Training Specialist and a member of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. She is an experienced preschool teacher, center director, mentor, and trainer for early childhood educators. Melinda's mission is to teach and encourage teachers to be reflective in their practice, so they can take steady steps of action to impact children's lives positively. Tearing Down Implicit Bias Through Embedded Reflective Practices.

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My Journey to TEAR Down Implicit Bias Through Embedded Reflective Practices

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This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. Inescapable images of horrific violence, protests, and social injustice urged me to engage in deeper conversations, conversations during which I have felt scared, tired, angry, vulnerable but ultimately empowered to continue.

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Lizzie Kelly, MS
"The heart of anti-bias work is a vision of a world in which all children are able to blossom, and each child's particular abilities and gifts are able to flourish." (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010)

University programs for young children often serve families from a broad range of diversity, including variations in nationality, ethnicity, race, language, family economics, religion, and many other dimensions of culture. This post outlines some of the concepts and practices we use at the Early Learning Center to strive toward cultural responsiveness with families and to collaborate with parents in providing optimal care and learning opportunities for young children. We will also highlight ways of serving families whose nationalities and language backgrounds differ from their children's teachers. Practicing cultural competence with families is particularly relevant in infant/toddler settings which are the sites of intersection of many differences in caregiving approaches, especially in regard to daily care routines. We will feature two examples in particular from one of our looping classrooms, with highlights from Lizzie Kelly (Demonstration Teacher from the Hickory class) and families she has worked with to build collaboration surrounding culture and language.

Conceptual Background

As a research center housed in the Child and Family Studies department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, our program is led not only by the mission of the Early Learning Center , but also by the broader goals of our home department. Part of the mission of both the ELC and our department involves studying families in context. Our work is informed by a multidisciplinary approach that considers the situated nature of children's development in context, not only of their current home, but the cultural home that informs the family's views and beliefs about how children are cared for and supported in their learning. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model plays a significant role in our work; his model portrays children at the center of multiple layers and systems of cultural influences, from the everyday interactions with immediate family and caregivers to broad community contexts and cultural norms (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Thinking about the layers of influence on family routines, values, and beliefs not only broadens our view of each child's personal social ecology, but also creates openings for communicating with families about how their home practices intersect with caregiving routines at our center. Our work is also informed by the theoretical contributions of Rogoff (2003), who conceptualized a dynamic process between individuals and communities wherein children develop by participating in a wide range of shared experiences and cultural practices on a day to day basis. Rogoff acknowledges that individuals and communities change over time, across generations, and that variation exists both within and across cultural communities. Thus, in our work with families, it is important to take into account the particular cultural identities and experiences of the children and families we serve at any point in time. We cannot presume the ways we think Chinese families will approach sleep routines, or how most Hispanic families would ap proach dual language learning. We must take the time to learn about each of our families to understand how to best partner with them to bridge possible differences in life at home and life in our center. We must aim to stay in close engagement with our families who differ from our teachers, and commit to honor and respect family values and priorities. We also hope to recognize each family's unique strengths while building a community of care and learning in which all our families experience a sense of belonging and trust.

Concepts and strategies for these efforts also derive from the literature review by Halgunseth, Peterson, Stark, and Moodie (2009) , which relies upon ecological and social exchange theories. This review forms the basis for recommended approaches outline below. In addition, the work at our center is influenced by the recent work on leading anti-bias early childhood programs by Derman-Sparks, LeeKeenan, Nimmo, & Souto-Manning (2014). Children's families are not only a factor we should consider or take into account when providing care for young children. Families are, rather, the most important resource and asset to us as providers. Family culture includes a wide array of resources to consider, beyond nationality, race, and language:

Since all children are rooted in their families, it may make sense to elevate a child's family structure and all that it entails as the core of their family's culture. This structure encompasses family socioeconomic status, family compositions, parent's level of educational attainment, abilities of children and family members, family's immigration status, family's religion, family's home and preferred languages, parent's sexual orientation, and the way that a family classifies its race and ethnicity. (NAEYC, 2009)

NAEYC has provided benchmarks for cultural competence as well as resources for programs to build practices in this arena. The Quality Benchmark for Cultural Competence Project (2009) focused on defining cultural competence for early childhood programs and outlined a set of seven recommended approaches for early childhood programs. From these approaches, a tool was also developed to help programs implement culturally competent practices. These, and other tools and resources, can be accessed through this link to the NAEYC website . The highlights we are sharing in this piece are anchored in the following seven approaches that are included in the benchmark tool:

1. Acknowledge that children are nested in families and communities with unique strengths. Recognize and mitigate the tension between the early childhood profession's perceptions of the child as the center of the work versus the family as the center of the work.

2. Build on and identify the strengths and shared goals between the profession and families and recognize commonalities in order to meet these goals.

3. Understand and authentically incorporate the traditions and history of the program participants and their impacts on child-rearing practices.

4. Actively support each child's development within the family as complex and culturally-driven ongoing experiences.

5. Recognize and demonstrate awareness that individuals' and institutions' practices are embedded in culture.

6. Ensure that decisions and policies regarding all aspects of a program embrace and respect participants' language, values, attitudes, beliefs, and approaches to learning.

7. Ensure that policies and practices build upon the home languages and dialects of the children, families, and staff in programs and support the preservation of home languages.

In the following vignettes from infant/toddler teacher Lizzie Kelly, we share some of the ways relationship-building in our programs supports several of these approaches. Partnering with families begins before children enroll in our program and continues through transition planning and while children and families settle into their new care arrangements. Collaborations are built through formal and informal processes so parents and teachers can be fully engaged together in two-way exchanges and decisions about how to handle routines, curriculum, and other developmental supports. Lizzie shares some reflections about working with two families whose family cultural life factored into designing caregiving and learning routines and also shares insights directly from the voices of the parents.

Family Sleeping
Lizzie consulted with Xiaodong, Tiffany's mother, when piecing together this narrative about their dialogue surrounding the family's approaches to Tiffany's sleeping habits.
When the Yu family enrolled in our classroom I setup up a home visit, which is a typical first step for new families who come into our infant/toddler classrooms. On my visit with the Yu family, I met Tiffany, a vivacious two-year-old girl who loves to talk, joke and interact with adults. During the visit I noticed her telling toddler jokes in both English and Chinese, and at that moment I was so impressed and intrigued with her and so glad that she would be entering our class. In addition to getting to meet Tiffany, I was able to talk to her parents to get to know a wide range of caregiving information, including that they felt that Tiffany struggles with sleep routines. Tiffany's mother, Xiaodong, reported that Tiffany liked to talk and play in the bed instead of sleeping. Mom's commentary made sense to me; Tiffany is very communicative and I could imagine that she might like to use her co-sleeping time with mom and her older brother as a time for intimate conversations and bonding.

Once Tiffany began attending our classroom every day, I noticed that she would occasionally come in later in the morning. One morning during a late drop off, it seemed like Xiaodong was a little upset and I invited her to sit in the classroom and talk with me. She reported that their struggles with co-sleeping were getting more challenging and thus, they would let Tiffany sleep late to make sure she got a good night's sleep. I agreed that letting Tiffany get rest was a compassionate and understandable decision. Then we talked through some strategies to help decrease the amount of conversation and playful interactions that both Tiffany and her brother were having at bedtime. All seemed to be going well after our conversation, but, I wanted to make sure that I checked in with Xiaodong several weeks later about their progress with sleep during our semesterly parent conference. I knew, given how vivacious and conversational that both Tiffany and her brother are, that playful bedtimes might still be posing a challenge at home.

In our parent conference, Xiaodong did remark that conversational and playful bedtimes were still very much a struggle. Going into our conference, I knew that Xiaodong's mother- and father-in-law were both visiting from China. I thought about this as an opportunity; I wanted to work with this family, and all families I work with, using a family strengths-based and individualized approach. I knew from my reading about parenting practices in China that it can be customary for children to co-sleep with not only parents but grandparents as well. I felt it was important to view facets of their caregiving practices first with a lens of respect for the family's home culture. To be specific, I felt it was important to honor their decision to co-sleep with their children as opposed to encouraging them to adopt a more typically American practice of Tiffany sleeping by herself in her room. The practice of co-sleeping is one that is common in many cultures and is borne out of compassio n and emotional responsiveness to the child. Thus, I viewed the practice of co-sleeping as a family strength, a practice that conveys love and responsiveness to the child. Additionally, in light of the grandparents' visit, I was curious if the family might be willing to let Tiffany or her brother co-sleep with their grandparents in order to help reduce the playfulness at bedtime and smooth out the sleeping routines for everyone in the home.

During our conference, I asked Xiaogong whether she might be willing to allow Tiffany or her brother to sleep with their grandparents. Xiaodong's response to me was very interesting, and she shared her personal thoughts regarding co-sleeping with grandparents. She felt that co-sleeping was definitely the best choice to support both of her children. However, she did not want her children to co-sleep with grandparents because they might have difficulty encouraging either child to go to sleep at a reasonable time and this would interrupt their school schedules. Xiaodong wanted to make sure her children got the best sleep possible.

In addition, she remarked that she personally believed that "children did better with their parents." In her view, children tended to follow requests and expectations better from the parents. Thus, for their family, better sleep results would be achieved by the siblings co-sleeping with mom. During our conversation, I felt a sense of happiness in gaining a better understanding of Xiaodong's decision-making process. Originally, I had hoped to encourage the grandparents' support in the sleep routine as a way to alleviate bedtime routine difficulties. However, Xiaodong was able to clarify for me that grandparent intervention would actually make bedtime more stressful. I felt that I was witnessing a special moment in which Xiaodong was able to preserve a traditional parenting practice in her home, while at the same time communicate her views about how the arrangement would work best for her children.

Another important facet of supporting this family was that I wanted to share my intention to honor the family's decision to co-sleep with my classroom staff that is composed of an assistant teacher and a few pre-service teachers. I was careful not to make the assumption that all staff members were aware that co-sleeping might be a culturally-based parenting practice. Additionally, I wanted the other classroom staff to join me in viewing co-sleeping as a family strength. If we choose to view co-sleeping through a strictly mai nstream American (dominant culture) lens, the practice can be viewed by some people as a deficit and or as indulgent, disruptive or unsafe. Thus, when I conducted the conference with Xiaodong, I made sure that my new teaching partner, Amy, would be able attend the conference as well. This gave Amy the opportunity to observe how I approached bedtime routine problem solving with a parent while honoring the decision to co-sleep. After the conference, Amy and I then discussed the conference with our student intern in our weekly collaboration meeting. We were able to share our satisfaction in understanding Xiaodong better as a parent. In addition, I was also able to have a very explicit conversation with our student about the nature of communication about sleep practices. I was able to convey to her that I did not go into the conference with any intention of telling the family that they should adopt the western practice of having the child sleep alone in their room. Instead, I let our student know in a very direct way that my intention was to let the family know that I wanted to engage in problem-solving strategies that fit within the preferred co-sleeping arrangement.

When I asked Xiaodong what she thought was important teachers to know about working with international families, she offered the following:

"I really wish she [Tiffany] loves our Chinese culture, she loves Chinese language, she feels proud of our culture, instead of feeling embarrassed. No matter where you are coming from, I just wish teachers, or friends, or even my friends ... they respect your background. I just wish that Tiffany will have that feeling around her that it's okay that I'm coming from China, it's okay I have Chinese roots, it's okay that I have different backgrounds, and that teachers and friends, they respect about that and sometimes they show curiosity about that and hopefully when she gets older she gets a chance to introduce Chinese cultures."}[/highlight]

Connections with recommended practices

The efforts Lizzie and her team made in this case represent a core value and approach to family differences that are rooted in beliefs about how to foster relationships with families. Derman-Sparks, LeeKeenan, and Nimmo (2014) advocate that anti-bias efforts include treating families as true partners, stating that it is critical to "engage in reciprocal partnerships, to exchange information and learn from them, and to provide a welcoming stance for all families" (p. 70). This type of relationship began with Lizzie's home visit and her welcoming stance toward the family. She actively sought information from the family and about their routines and home life. When it came time to talk through sleep concerns from Mom, Lizzie also placed high value on Xiaodong's unique blend of cultural practice and personal parenting values that went beyond a distal understanding of cultural norms from Chinese families. Knowing about a different culture, in this sense, was helpful, but was only the beginning stage of the process of listening to this particular family's concerns and wishes. The key approach rested in a stance toward families that values their perspective, their culture, and their goals.

The efforts made by Lizzie and her team, in this case, represent several layers of responsivity to family culture, some of which are represented in the following approaches from NAEYC's (2009) benchmarks:

1. Acknowledge that children are nested in families and communities with unique strengths. Recognize and mitigate the tension between the early childhood profession's perceptions of the child as the center of the work versus the family as the center of the work.

2. Build on and identify the strengths and shared goals between the profession and families and recognize commonalities in order to meet these goals.

3. Understand and authentically incorporate the traditions and history of the program participants and their impacts on child rearing practices.

4. Actively support each child's development within the family as complex and culturally-driven ongoing experiences.

5. Recognize and demonstrate awareness that individuals' and institutions' practices are embedded in culture.

The dialogue between Lizzie and Xiaodong resembles approaches #1, #2, and #3 above, in that Lizzie wanted to gain information from the family in a way that the family's unique cultural composition could be an asset to figuring out how to address sleep concerns. Approach #4 relates to the way Lizzie acknowledged the situated processes of family dynamics and culture that Xiaodong and Tiffany were experiencing in the overall family system. In regard to approach #5, it was important for the teachers to recognize that the dominant cultural practice around co-sleeping might present challenges in the relationship-building work. Lizzie acknowledged this and actively worked to navigate the differences between the family's culture and the mainstream cultural context of the program/institution. When a majority of the teachers in a program mirror the dominant culture, it is critical to provide leadership and help program staff navigate their positionality to help families feel welcomed and valued.

Itzel's Language
Lizzie worked with Jessica, Itzel's mother, in reconstructing this vignette about their work together on bridging between home and school to support Itzel's dual-language development.
Itzel began in our classroom as a seven-week-old infant and now is a 17-month-old toddler. We stay in regular communication with her parents, Jessica and Arturo, regarding her English and Spanish language acquisition. When I recently asked Jessica if she had initial concerns about Itzel's dual language development, she responded:

"Yeah, I was a little concerned at first, but I was very relieved when you asked about wanting to bridge that and I was really happy to know that you were willing to work with us and it was a two-way deal."

Once Itzel began to share language at school, we began talking to mom and dad about which words she was sharing with them and we got clarification about how she pronounced the words and how we should pronounce the words. As a part of our regular, ongoing, curriculum-embedded assessment and planning, we keep word lists in both languages to track her progress in acquiring two languages. In addition, we also have frequent conversations with mom and dad about how her communicati on habits change. As an infant when we tried to use the Spanish language with her she would cry, and she seemed disconcerted. We assumed this was a reminder of mom and dad and it made her sad or anxious over their absence. But, as she has gotten older, she has begun to use a mixture of Spanish and English at school, and currently, she is more accepting of her English-speaking teachers using Spanish. Now we are using special or meaningful Spanish words with her at school and reading Spanish books as well. Jessica and Arturo often donate Spanish language books to the classroom that Itzel enjoys. In sharing these books from home we may share Spanish reading experiences with her that are rooted in her interests and stem from her collection of treasured books at home.

In late Autumn, Jessica noted that Itzel started initiating all conversations in English and it worried her. I encouraged her to make all her responses in Spanish as she always does and to prompt Itzel to repeat in Spanish. Through observing Itzel, we have noticed that she is very willing to engage in this sort of language repetition interaction with adults. We also discussed how Itzel does enjoy testing boundaries or doing social experiments with adults especially if the adult makes exaggerated faces reflecting surprise or irritation in response to her behavior. I mentioned to Jessica that Itzel likes to make requests for food and other things in Spanish and often watches our faces closely to see our response. I mentioned that when she does this, we are careful to not look shocked. We usually repeat what she has said to clarify her request. Then we try (as much as we can) to respond in Spanish because this makes Itzel happy and seems to increase our bond with her. We also hope that it communicates that we accept and value speaking Spanish in our classroom.

In addition to increasing our bond with Itzel and communicating our acceptance of her home language, the use of Spanish at school allows Itzel to make unique contributions in a toddler classroom. One of the favorite meals in our classroom is taco soup day, and it is served with tortilla chips. Often times, the chips are one of the most popular items on the table that day, and they happen to be Itzel's favorite food on that menu day. One day, to request more chips at the table Itzel said, "Mas!" and I responded, "Did you say mas? Do you want more chips?" Itzel grinned and nodded yes in response. As I handed out the chips I simply repeated "mas" as I laid the chips on her plate. Itzel smiled from ear to ear repeating "mas" and nodding at me. She seemed to confirm that I understood her well. Her contentment in being understood seemed to generate more excitement in her and she spent the next few moments repeating the word "mas" and watching me to see if I repeated it back to her (which I did of course). The emotional context of our interaction was warm and gleeful, and the other children at the table began to notice. Other children at the table began to grin, seemingly in response to the interaction that Itzel and I were having. Then, one of the toddlers requested more chips by saying, "Mas!" and another child quickly chimed in "Mas!". Both of these peers were smiling broadly. I passed out their chips and remarked "Mas!" As I turned my attention back to Itzel, she seemed to be bubbling over with excitement. She had done something that all toddlers like to do: initiate a simple and successful interaction or game with a friend. When toddlers are successful at prompting these moments they feel powerful, proud, and joyful. While the interaction was simple and circulated around just one word, it allowed Itzel (the youngest of the cohort) to be powerful. She was able to introduce the word that generated lots of excitement and glee among her friends and smiles from her teacher. In essence, Itzel was a teacher for the others, an initiator of excitement and a capable communicator of her needs.

When asked what has been most helpful to them as a family, Jessica shared:

"What's helpful is that we're all willing to work with each other. That's the most important. I know you have dual language books on the shelf, which is amazing. And I know Amy, in a couple of instances, has told me about counting snaps on her onesies with her, and she's very happy about that and Itzel's very receptive."

Connections with Recommended Practices

Teachers and caregivers play a critical role in the language learning and social development of young children who are learning multiple languages. For Lizzie, it was very important to talk to Jessica about the family's wishes for Itzel. This helped get the partnering relationship off to a good start, and then specific shared strategies through two-way communication can grow based on close observation of the child's experiences across home and school contexts. For Itzel's family, it was very important that the program and teachers built upon their home language and their goals for Itzel as a dual language learner. The vignette about Itzel illustrate ways to put approaches #2, #5, and #7 from the NAEYC benchmarks into practice:

2. Build on and identify the strengths and shared goals between the profession and families and recognize commonalities in order to meet these goals.

5. Recognize and demonstrate awareness that individuals' and institutions' practices are embedded in culture.

7. Ensure that policies and practices build upon the home languages and dialects of the children, families, and staff in programs and support the preservation of home languages.

In this case, Jessica and Arturo were eager to partner and communicate about shared language goals for Itzel. Their concerns about Itzel's English-only initiations emphasized the need for approach #5, which acknowledges the English-dominant context of Itzel's classroom and the dynamic nature of her daily overlap between two language settings. It was important for the classroom staff to hear Jessica's concern and work toward shared response patterns across home and school to help foster Itzel's Spanish language growth. Likewise, in relation to approach #7, multiple strategies by classroom staff were made to explicitly value and preserve Itzel's Spanish language use, in age-appropriate ways, which Lizzie tied to Itzel's budding social skills as a member of her classroom. The mealtime conversation Lizzie fostered elevated Itzel's language and made language difference a welcomed and valued asset to the community. The warmth and fun interactions from her classroom community contribute to Itzel gaining a sense of belonging in the classroom, not just as a toddler who must join the dominant language and culture of her school, but as a child who brings her whole self, Spanish included, to the lunch table. Instead of smoothing over and downplaying the differences children bring to our programs, it's more helpful to role model for children how we can embrace differences, be curious and interested in them, and, when children are ready, discuss the many differences children recognize in each other and amongst their families ( Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010 ; LeeKeenan & Allen, 2017 ).

The vignettes shared by Lizzie represent some ways to implement culturally responsive relationship building and the recommended approaches outlined from the NAEYC Quality Benchmark for Cultural Competence Project (2009). It is our hope that the specificity of the vignettes shared here also communicate the need to cater the approaches to each individual family. The ways practices are shaped with other families or in other programs should reflect an array of positive and responsive forms of practice. Our program implements several structural approaches to valuing family communication such as home visits, transition planning, parent conferences, and ongoing assessment practices. In addition, teachers have autonomy in their classrooms to design practices that are individually responsive, and this may be reflected in the environment, materials (e.g. books or toys in various languages and representing inclusivity), curriculum, and interactions. Coaching support is made available to teachers as they work to build collaborations with families so that they keep trying new ways to engage with families and establish working relationships.

The burden of responsibility must not lie only on teachers' shoulders, though. It is important for programs, as well, to pay attention to what teachers need support with, so that future professional development plans and teacher resources invest in topics that will support this work. Programs can assess ways that structural elements are in place to support engagement with families and how family culture influences decision making for the program. Family input should be considered at all levels of the program. In addition, program leaders must commit to providing teachers with regular professional development on issues of diversity, inclusion and anti-bias work so they may experience continuous learning and reflection.

We welcome dialogue and conversation about these topics with others who are engaged with this work, so please feel free to reach us by email for further conversation. Also, we invite readers to explore the resources linked within this post and listed in the references below.

Robyn Brookshire - rbrooks8@utk.edu

Learn more about Early Learning Center for Research and Practice professional development opportunities here.

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves . National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Derman-Sparks, L., LeeKeenan, D., Nimmo, J., & Souto-Manning, M. (2014). Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change : Teachers College, Columbia University.

Halgunseth, L., A. Peterson, D.R. Stark, & S. Moodie (2009). Family engagement, diverse families, and early childhood education programs: An integrated review of the literature . Washington, DC: NAEYC and Pre-K Now. www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/ecprofessional/EDF_Literature%20Review.pdf

LeeKeenan, D. & Allen, B. It Can Be Done! Strategies for Embedding Anti-bias Education into Daily Programming , Child Care Exchange, July/August 2017.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009). Quality Benchmark for Cultural Competence. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/public-policy-advocacy/cultural-competence .

Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development . New York: Oxford University Press.

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Engaging and Supporting Diverse Families in Infant/Toddler Care Settings

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Lizzie Kelly, MS "The heart of anti-bias work is a vision of a world in which all children are able to blossom, and each child's particular abilities and gifts are able to flourish." (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010) University programs for young children often serve families from a broad range of diversity, including variations in nationality, ethnicity, race, language, family economics, religion, and many other dimensions of culture.

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Anti-bias curriculum is an approach to early childhood education that sets forth values-based principles and methodology in support of respecting and embracing differences and acting against bias and unfairness. Anti-bias teaching requires critical thinking and problem solving by both children and adults. The overarching goal is creating a climate of positive self and group identity development, through which every child will achieve her or his fullest potential.

The book, Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards, offers practical guidance to early childhood educators (including parents) for confronting and eliminating barriers of prejudice, misinformation, and bias about specific aspects of personal and social identity; most importantly, it includes tips for adults and children to respect each other, themselves, and all people. Below you will find recommended books for young children, teachers, and parents for each chapter as well as additional resources on anti-bias themes and topics.

Readers may also be interested in Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk, our new video series for parents, caregivers, and educators, available at SocialJusticeBooks.org.

Books

Recommended booklists that accompany the best selling NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) publication Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves.

Film

" Reflecting on Anti-Bias Education in the Early Years " is available for educators to stream for free. This 48-minute film is produced with the guidance of Louise Derman-Sparks, this resource offers the four interrelated goals of anti-bias education, along with a viewer guidebook. The film shifts the focus away from the talking heads of experts and on to the voices of teachers committed to equity on a daily basis. By taking viewers into diverse early childhood classrooms, the film seeks to demonstrate the importance of teacher reflection on identity, context, and practice in anti-bias education and provides a much-needed resource for teacher education and professional development.

In addition, a 1990 companion film to the book Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves is available for free viewing on Youtube.

Articles

Article Collections
Available in English and Spanish
DC Educators for Social Justice

Teaching for Change has an initiative to help build and nurture a network of social justice educators in the D.C. metro area. Teachers in the D.C. Metro area are welcome to apply to join the Anti-Bias Early Childhood Working Group. Learn more.

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Anti-Bias Education - Teaching for Change

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Anti-bias curriculum is an approach to early childhood education that sets forth values-based principles and methodology in support of respecting and embracing differences and acting against bias and unfairness. Anti-bias teaching requires critical thinking and problem solving by both children and adults. The overarching goal is creating a climate of positive self and group identity ...

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Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement

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This position statement is one of five foundational documents NAEYC has developed in collaboration with the early childhood profession. With its specific focus on advancing equity in early childhood education.

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Please note, this is the fourth installment in Dr. Tonia Durden's blog series Times Up!: Be Equitable. If you are new to this series, we recommend that you first read A Shield of Armor, Be Aware: Confronting My -isms, and Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching - My Culture.

I can't believe what you say, because I see what you do.

What we say with our words:

I believe all children can learn.

I believe teachers must be lifelong learners.

I believe in equity for all children.

I believe in partnering with parents.

How often have you said or heard the beliefs expressed above? I hear these beliefs quite often in my work with early childhood professionals whether the person is just entering our field or has worked with children for more than 25 years. When we consider the history of culturally relevant teaching, and why there was a need to make culture and relevancy more explicit in our teaching, it is because our actions when teaching children of color didn't align with our beliefs and what we were saying with our words. James Baldwin's quote captures this so clearly.

So, what do we often say with our actions when teaching Black and Brown children?

What we say with our actions:

I believe some children want to learn and others don't.

I believe teachers must be lifelong learners of universal teaching practices.

I believe in equality. I don't see color or culture-just children.

I believe in partnering with parents who align with my beliefs on how to support their child's learning.

When we consider what we often say with our actions, we notice that we are repeating a cycle of carrying out beliefs that leads to implementing "best practices" that are not best for all children. If we are truly committed to culturally relevant teaching we must be willing to grow in our beliefs about children, families, and learning-even critically rethinking what we consider to be developmentally appropriate best practices. How so?

The following are the fundamental beliefs of culturally relevant teaching:

1. I believe that all students can succeed.

2. I believe that teaching is like pulling or mining knowledge instead of putting knowledge in or banking in.

3. I believe that learning is social and cultural.

4. I believe that excellence is a complex standard that takes student diversity and individual differences into account.

5. I believe in educational equity.

6. I believe in collaboratively engaging with families and other professionals.

It is important to have a clear understanding of the beliefs that align with culturally relevant teaching. Often, I see teachers who support the practice of culturally relevant teaching but do not have the belief that all children can learn, or that learning should be equitable. Some professionals also don't believe that parents have important knowledge and skills to contribute to a home-school partnership. If there is a particular belief or value mentioned above that counters your current belief about children, teaching, and learning, STOP NOW in your quest towards the practice of culturally relevant teaching. Instead, critically reflect on why and what is the countering belief(s) then go back and read the first three blogs in this series. If you can affirm that you share the same beliefs as culturally relevant teaching, you are ready to move forward to the next installment in this series: Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching - My Teaching!

About the Author

Tonia Durden, PhD, is a clinical associate professor of early childhood and elementary education and is a program coordinator at the Georgia State University College of Education and Human Development. She is also a co-author of the book Don't Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms.

Explore This Series

A Shield of Armor
Be Aware: Confronting My -isms
Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching - My Culture
Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching - My Teaching

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Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching - My Beliefs

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Please note, this is the fourth installment in Dr. Tonia Durden's blog series Times Up!: Be Equitable . If you are new to this series, we recommend that you first read A Shield of Armor , Be Aware: Confronting My -isms , and Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching - My Culture .

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Unconscious Bias Test - Respectful Workplace Training Clip

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The film, Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years (48 minutes), produced by Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo, features vignettes of anti-bias strategies in early childhood classrooms interspersed with teachers reflecting on their practice. Debbie and John partnered with filmmaker Filiz Efe McKinney of Brave Sprout Productions to create a film that shifts the focus away from the talking heads of experts and on to the voices of teachers committed to equity on a daily basis. By taking viewers into diverse early childhood classrooms, the film seeks to demonstrate the importance of teacher reflection on identity, context, and practice in anti-bias education and provides a much-needed resource for teacher education and professional development.

The film has received numerous awards including the Silver Prize for Documentary Feature (2021) in the Social Justice Film Festival and a nomination for Northwest Regional Emmy® (2022) in the category of diversity, equity, and inclusion - long form content.

The film can be streamed at the screen image above at no charge for professional development and educational purposes. Please review information about the use of the film. The film has closed captions in English, Spanish, and Chinese (simplified characters) which can be turned on by clicking on the CC button to the bottom right of the screen. A Guidebook (available in Spanish and English) provides additional background and resources, and poses provocations and questions for reflection about each vignette in the film. The Official Trailer (3 minutes) is available for promotional purposes.

There is no "one way" to implement anti-bias education. The four anti-bias goals help guide the work. This approach involves critical thinking and a deep understanding of the complexity of the issues and the context of your community. The film is a provocation to generate dialogue about how to bring this approach into your practice.

Louise Derman-Sparks is the film's senior advisor. The film's theoretical and research framework is based on her co-authored books, Anti-Bias Education for Our Children and Ourselves (with Julie Olsen-Edwards and Catherin Goins ) and Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change (with Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo).

Read the latest news about the film
See Awards and Festivals

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Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years

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The Film: Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years

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Equity-Focused Research-Action Coalition and Repository Development - Iheoma U. Iruka.

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Projects Include: Equity Research Action Coalition; Black Infant and Toddler Equity Project

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A podcast from the Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative

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A podcast from the Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative.

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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.

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Tom “Teacher Tom” Hobson is an early childhood educator, international speaker, education consultant, teacher of teachers, parent educator, and author.

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Teacher Tom | Consultancy | Teacher Tom's World

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The kids I teach are learning the way humans are meant to learn: taking risks, falling down, making their own choices, getting dirty, agreeing to their own rules, and engaging in real life experiences like growing food and dealing with conflict.

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Cooking Matters is helping end childhood hunger by inspiring families to make healthy, affordable food choices. Our programs teach parents and caregivers with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals.

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Cooking with Kids educates and empowers children and families to make healthy food choices through hands-on learning with fresh, affordable foods.

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Cooking with Kids educates and empowers children and families to make healthy food choices through hands-on nutrition education with fresh, affordable foods.

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"charity food" "humanity food" "food for all" "humanity kitchen" "humanitarian kitchen" "food for orphan" "food for poor" "food for kids" food

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Kitchen for orphans, poor and helpless. We try to cook, we try to deliver food to the Poor, Kids, Homeless, Helpless people and This is our passion. A kitchen which will try to prove the worth of it's name. Your support, love, encouragement, pray will make our journey succeed.

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WE’RE PASSING THE LOVE TO FAMILIES IN NEED

Our goal is to distribute 1 million meals to families in need across the country, starting with five cities. Inspired by the new Netflix Series, Waffles + Mochi, and working with Partnership for a Healthier America, Pass the Love meal kits provide families with ingredients and recipes to prepare and enjoy delicious meals at home.

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Join Waffles + Mochi, Michelle Obama, and the Partnership for a Healthier America on your own food adventures! Earn badges by cooking recipes and exploring new ingredients. Then, donate to pass the love to other families.

Earn Badges

MAKE AN IMPACT!

Everyone should have access to healthy, affordable food. Your donation helps provide families facing food insecurity with good food.

MAKE AN IMPACT

Our Impact

We did it! We distributed one million meals to families across the country, increasing access to fresh, healthy food.

1,000,000

Meals in 5 Cities

Why does food equity matter?

Sign up to learn more about Pass the Love

Help your family learn about appreciation and love, along with fun new food adventures.

Sorry, you need to be over the age of 13 to sign up.

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Join Waffles + Mochi, Michelle Obama, and the Partnership for a Healthier America on your own food adventures at home! Earn badges with your family by cooking recipes from the show and exploring new ingredients, and donate to pass the love to families in need.

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Subscribe to add profiles

Early Childhood Investigations Consulting Directory is the only directory system designed and operated by an experienced early education consultant and digital marketer.

Whether you are an individual consultant or operate a company, and if you have a website ( or not ) ECEexperts.com can amplify your consulting services to decision makers in the early childhood sector and build your credibility...

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Early Childhood Investigations Consulting Directory is the only directory system designed and operated by an experienced early education consultant and digital marketer. Whether you are an individual consultant or operate a company, and if you have a website ( or not ) ECEexperts.com can amplify your consulting services to decision makers in the early childhood sector and build your credibility...

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Cultivate Learning - University of Washington

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Cultivate Learning - University of Washington

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Cultivate Learning – Where quality goes, minds grow

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The best kindergarten you’ve ever seen | Takaharu Tezuka

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The best kindergarten you’ve ever seen | Takaharu Tezuka

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The best kindergarten you’ve ever seen | Takaharu Tezuka

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Ms. Ashley

Entrepreneur

Ms. Frizzle, but Black. Personal page of the play advocate for Afrikan children. Professional: @playpanafrikan and @nguzo_babies

linktr.ee/earlychildhoodenthusiast

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Learn More About Our Learning Collective!

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Virtual tour to the Finnish kindergarten

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Virtual tour to the Finnish kindergarten

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Virtual tour to the Finnish kindergarten

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Early childhood development through nature-based play in Africa

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Early childhood development through nature-based play in Africa

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Early childhood development through nature-based play in Africa

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Nursery School in Thailand. Ananda’s First Days at Kindergarten

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Nursery School in Thailand. Ananda’s First Days at Kindergarten

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Nursery School in Thailand. Ananda’s First Days at Kindergarten

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Welcome to NAME's Multicultural Learning section. We created this set of resources (including teacher case studies and reflective activities) for teachers and teacher professional developers who want to know why multicultural education makes sense in the classroom, what it means, and what teachers can do. Here, we go beyond definitions of multicultural education, focusing on specifics of student learning and classroom practice.

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Pang Hlub Xiong: Enacting Multicultural Education

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The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. We have developed extensive, user-friendly training materials, videos, and print resources which are available directly from this website to help early care, health and education providers implement this model.

State Partnerships

Visit our states page to find more information about any of our state partners or new resources and information for all states.

State Partners: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Stay Connected to CSEFEL: sign up for our electronic updates

Pyramid Model

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CSEFEL: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning

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The National Center for Effective Mental Health Consultation (CEMHC) addresses the needs of Early Head Start/Head Start (E/HS) staff and families for practical guidance on effective ways to promote young childrenís social and emotional development and reduce challenging behaviors.

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Are you struggling with Children with big emotions. . . Overwhelmed administrators. . . Teachers burning out. . . Students feeling unsafe. . . Teachers

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Multicultural and Social Justice Books - Social Justice Books

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Curated Booklists Carefully selected multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators on 90+ topics. Reviews of Children's Literature Critical reviews of children's and young adult books from a variety of vetted sources, consolidated here for easy access. Articles & News Articles about selecting children's literature and news about Kid Lit.

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When we walk into a room, we automatically assess the environment to see if we belong. Will I be seen for all of who I am? Will my voice be heard? Will my contributions be valued? Will I be treated with respect and equity?
AMAZEworks supports healthy identities, respect across differences, and connected communities by creating the conditions for belonging and equity in schools, communities, and organizations.

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Do I belong here? When we walk into a room, we automatically assess the environment to see if we belong. Will I be seen for all of who I am? Will my voice be heard? Will my contributions be valued? Will I be treated with respect and equity?

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Learning for Justice is a community education program of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that centers civic and political action education for everyone.

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Brainology is an online interactive program in which middle school students learn about how the brain works, how to strengthen their own brains, and how to better approach their own learning. In the process they develop a growth mindset whereby they think of their intelligence as something they can…

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The first ever HYBRID on-site/virtual Teaching Learning Coaching Conference (TLC) is less than 6 weeks away, and we're continuing our dive into the #TLC2022 Breakout Presenter lineup. Over the last few weeks, we've introduced several groups of the extraordinary...

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Worksheets and Other Resources for Coaches

This webpage offers a variety of documents that can help both new and seasoned coaches better serve their clients.

Many documents are from Elena's book The Art of Coaching, but we've included some additional tools not found in the book. Click from the list below to jump to a category of documents or download the entire set of documents using the button below.

The Art of Coaching Reader's Guide

The Art of Coaching Reader's Guide is a collection of guiding questions that will enrich your experience with the text. It's great if both for independent readers and those who are using the book with group.

Download Free Worksheets and Other Tools

Tools found in The Art of Coaching:

Additional tools not found in The Art of Coaching:

Tools from The Art of Coaching
For Planning & Reflection: For Observation and Debriefs: For Conversations with Clients: For Coach Development: For Hiring:
Additional Tools
(Not found in The Art of Coaching)
For Planning & Reflection: For Conversations with Clients:
* These resources are from the Onward Workbook.
For Coach Development:
Recommended Podcast Episodes
Podcast Starter Episodes
Episode 29: Coaching Tools for Transformation: Core Values, Mind the Gap and Strengths-Based Coaching

Episode 43: The Spheres of Influence

Episode 83: Coaching Conversation: How Do I Set Our Coaching Program Up for Success?

Episode 98: When it Feels Like it's Never Enough
Coaching Emotions
Episode 36: Kathrina Mendez Revisited: Virtual Reality: Confronting Self-Doubt

Episode 37: How to ACE Your Coaching Conversations

Episode 127: Coaching Emotions: Anger

Episode 128: Coaching Emotions: Sadness

Episode 129: Coaching Emotions: Joy

Episode 147: Coaching Resistance: Part 1 - What is Resistance

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Worksheets and Other Resources for Coaches This webpage offers a variety of documents that can help both new and seasoned coaches better serve their clients. Many documents are from Elena's book The Art of Coaching, but we've included some additional tools not found in the book.

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A Vision for Farm to Early Care and Education

As a leader and national convener in the farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) movement, NFSN aims to support the development of vibrant and equitable, community-based food systems and enhance the health and wellbeing of young children and their families through comprehensive farm to ECE initiatives. NFSN works to achieve this aim by (1) broadly sharing information and resources; (2) promoting state, regional, and national networking; and (3) supporting advocacy efforts.

To meet these objectives, National Farm to School Network convenes the Farm to Early Care and Education Working Group, a cohort of experienced leaders and stakeholders in the field that work collaboratively in identifying and addressing barriers and strategic opportunities to further the national farm to early care and education movement.

The National Farm to School Network Farm to Early Care and Education Working Group's vision for the future of farm to early care and education:

Racial Equity and Justice - Farm to ECE initiatives are a key leverage point to advancing racial and social equity.

ECE Environments - All ECE environments include:
- Access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant local foods;
- Gardening; and,
- Food, nutrition, and agriculture education.

Comprehensive farm to ECE initiatives are a tool to:
- Enhance the quality of ECE settings;
- Engage families and communities;
- Support comprehensive child development; and
- Meet learning and programmatic standards.

Food Systems - Farm to ECE initiatives support development of:
- The next generation of responsible food consumers; and
- Sustainable, equitable, and just local food systems.

ECE Professional Development - Information, resources, and supports empower all ECE providers to implement culturally relevant and reflective farm to ECE initiatives.

Collaboration and Community Engagement - Diverse stakeholders and sectors engage in collaboratively advancing farm to ECE programs and policy at the local, state, tribal, and national level.

Read more about the 2020 Farm to Early Care and Education Working Group's Vision and Key Strategies to Advance Farm to Early Care and Education at the link below. National Farm to School Network's early care and education work is supported in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) offers increased access to the same three core elements of local food sourcing, school gardens and food and agriculture education to enhance the quality of the educational experience in all types of ECE settings (e.g., preschools, child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start/Early Head Start, programs in K - 12 school districts). Farm to ECE offers benefits that parallel the goals and priorities of the early care and education community including emphasis on experiential learning opportunities, parent and community engagement and life-long health and wellness for children, families and caregivers.

In 2021, the National Farm to School Network and Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems surveyed early care and education (ECE) providers across the country to better understand current initiatives, motivations and challenges in applying farm to ECE activities in early care and education settings. More than 2,900 providers in 26 states and Washington, D.C. responded and shared with us the benefits and challenges of connecting young children to healthy, local foods, gardening, and food and agriculture education through farm to ECE. You can find the survey fact sheet, infographic, and sharing toolkit here. Our series of briefs, coming soon, will expand on survey findings.

The National Farm to School Network and The Policy Equity Group (PEG) are proud to release our Farm to Early Care and Education Shared Metrics: Outcomes, Indicators, and Measures for Farm to ECE Evaluation. This resource is intended for farm to ECE practitioners and evaluators to guide planning, implementation, research, evaluation, and reporting efforts. The resource focuses on outcomes, indicators, and measures specific to farm to ECE and emphasizes metrics related to equity. This work aligns to farm to ECE-specific metrics and tools to move our collective work forward under shared priorities and language. This alignment of priorities can also guide and improve decision making for policymakers and funders who can make better informed decisions on the growth and direction of the farm to ECE movement. The new resource consists of:

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics: Outcomes, Indicators and Metrics for Farm to ECE Evaluation

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics User Guide and Framing Resource

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Guidance Video

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Blog Post

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Sharing Toolkit

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Webinar (coming soon!)

The quarterly Farm to ECE Webinars presented by NFSN offer in-depth discussions, case studies and tools and tips for implementing farm to ECE at multiple levels.

Watch Archived Webinars:

Key resources for farm to early care and education:

Farmtopreschool.org, maintained by the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) at Occidental College

For more information, contact:

Tomas Delgado
‍‍Program Manager
tomas@farmtoschool.org

Email Tomas to join the farm to ECE listserv for important farm to ECE announcements, policy action opportunities and special events from the National Farm to School Network and Farm to ECE partners.

Join the National Farm to School Network to stay up to date on the latest news, resources and opportunities to help farm to early care and education grow in your community.

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As a leader and national convener in the farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) movement, NFSN aims to support the development of vibrant and equitable, community-based food systems and enhance the health and wellbeing of young children and their families through comprehensive farm to ECE initiatives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Vision for Farm to Early Care and Education

As a leader and national convener in the farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) movement, NFSN aims to support the development of vibrant and equitable, community-based food systems and enhance the health and wellbeing of young children and their families through comprehensive farm to ECE initiatives. NFSN works to achieve this aim by (1) broadly sharing information and resources; (2) promoting state, regional, and national networking; and (3) supporting advocacy efforts.

To meet these objectives, National Farm to School Network convenes the Farm to Early Care and Education Working Group, a cohort of experienced leaders and stakeholders in the field that work collaboratively in identifying and addressing barriers and strategic opportunities to further the national farm to early care and education movement.

The National Farm to School Network Farm to Early Care and Education Working Group's vision for the future of farm to early care and education:

Racial Equity and Justice - Farm to ECE initiatives are a key leverage point to advancing racial and social equity.

ECE Environments - All ECE environments include:
- Access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant local foods;
- Gardening; and,
- Food, nutrition, and agriculture education.

Comprehensive farm to ECE initiatives are a tool to:
- Enhance the quality of ECE settings;
- Engage families and communities;
- Support comprehensive child development; and
- Meet learning and programmatic standards.

Food Systems - Farm to ECE initiatives support development of:
- The next generation of responsible food consumers; and
- Sustainable, equitable, and just local food systems.

ECE Professional Development - Information, resources, and supports empower all ECE providers to implement culturally relevant and reflective farm to ECE initiatives.

Collaboration and Community Engagement - Diverse stakeholders and sectors engage in collaboratively advancing farm to ECE programs and policy at the local, state, tribal, and national level.

Read more about the 2020 Farm to Early Care and Education Working Group's Vision and Key Strategies to Advance Farm to Early Care and Education at the link below. National Farm to School Network's early care and education work is supported in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) offers increased access to the same three core elements of local food sourcing, school gardens and food and agriculture education to enhance the quality of the educational experience in all types of ECE settings (e.g., preschools, child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start/Early Head Start, programs in K - 12 school districts). Farm to ECE offers benefits that parallel the goals and priorities of the early care and education community including emphasis on experiential learning opportunities, parent and community engagement and life-long health and wellness for children, families and caregivers.

In 2021, the National Farm to School Network and Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems surveyed early care and education (ECE) providers across the country to better understand current initiatives, motivations and challenges in applying farm to ECE activities in early care and education settings. More than 2,900 providers in 26 states and Washington, D.C. responded and shared with us the benefits and challenges of connecting young children to healthy, local foods, gardening, and food and agriculture education through farm to ECE. You can find the survey fact sheet, infographic, and sharing toolkit here. Our series of briefs, coming soon, will expand on survey findings.

The National Farm to School Network and The Policy Equity Group (PEG) are proud to release our Farm to Early Care and Education Shared Metrics: Outcomes, Indicators, and Measures for Farm to ECE Evaluation. This resource is intended for farm to ECE practitioners and evaluators to guide planning, implementation, research, evaluation, and reporting efforts. The resource focuses on outcomes, indicators, and measures specific to farm to ECE and emphasizes metrics related to equity. This work aligns to farm to ECE-specific metrics and tools to move our collective work forward under shared priorities and language. This alignment of priorities can also guide and improve decision making for policymakers and funders who can make better informed decisions on the growth and direction of the farm to ECE movement. The new resource consists of:

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics: Outcomes, Indicators and Metrics for Farm to ECE Evaluation

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics User Guide and Framing Resource

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Guidance Video

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Blog Post

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Sharing Toolkit

Farm to ECE Shared Metrics Webinar (coming soon!)

The quarterly Farm to ECE Webinars presented by NFSN offer in-depth discussions, case studies and tools and tips for implementing farm to ECE at multiple levels.

Watch Archived Webinars:

Key resources for farm to early care and education:

Farmtopreschool.org, maintained by the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) at Occidental College

For more information, contact:

Tomas Delgado
‍‍Program Manager
tomas@farmtoschool.org

Email Tomas to join the farm to ECE listserv for important farm to ECE announcements, policy action opportunities and special events from the National Farm to School Network and Farm to ECE partners.

Join the National Farm to School Network to stay up to date on the latest news, resources and opportunities to help farm to early care and education grow in your community.

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As a leader and national convener in the farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) movement, NFSN aims to support the development of vibrant and equitable, community-based food systems and enhance the health and wellbeing of young children and their families through comprehensive farm to ECE initiatives.