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The Foundational Principles of Anti-Racist Early Childhood Education

For children to have an anti-racist early childhood education, many steps must be taken by parents and educators. Some of these steps occur before children even set foot in school. From equal access to quality education to the language surrounding how children speak about race and culture, here are a few foundational principles of creating an anti-racist early childhood education. Equal access to quality education All children do not have the same levels of access to high-quality education, daycare, and after-school programs. For the most part, children of color, children who do not speak English as a first language, special …

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Growing And Guiding Early Childhood Education Leadership

Educational leadership is vital in any school whether it is elementary, middle, or high school. Depending on the school’s age range it is important for the leadership (which may be referred to as administration throughout the article) of the school to have different approaches and strategies to help guide their school to continual success and growth. What Is Educational Leadership? Educational leadership within a school or school district typically includes the administrative positions of principal, vice-principal, superintendent, curriculum director, and sometimes the department heads. These individuals are responsible for the creation of the everyday procedures to the overall big picture …

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Reducing The Role Of Implicit Bias In Early Childhood Education Settings

Implicit bias is defined as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. While bias is inescapable, that does not mean that it shouldn’t try to be minimized or addressed. When it comes to children, as with nearly every part of their early life, their experiences affect their trajectory far beyond their early education environment.  Their early education can play a pivotal role in addressing, as well as reinforcing, their implicit biases. Early childhood educators and leaders are critical in this process and can drastically reduce the negative effects of implicit biases. Implicit …

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

Everyone wants to raise their children to be smart, successful individuals. But many parents, teachers, and school districts are struggling to emphasize what’s most important for the development of their children.  School districts tend to emphasize mastery on standardized tests that usually consist of recalling facts and regurgitating information. Parents, and sometimes teachers, tend to emphasize completed work and good grades more than anything else. But there is increasing research to show that the most important skill children need to develop- far more important than the ability to recall information or write cohesive stories or create colorful project posters- is …

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

Creating crafts and playing are activities that might just seem like fun pastimes for a child, but they actually play a huge factor in a child’s sensory experiences. This means that by encouraging these two playful activities, kids are actually able to enhance their senses along with their creativity. Therefore, as simple as play and art may be, they are an essential part of how a child’s creativity develops over time. Why Are Play and Art so Important? Allowing a child to play and create art is not only a way to enhance that child’s creative skills, but it can …

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

Performing arts is a subject that kids tend to either love or hate. Many teachers and parents will allow kids to avoid performing and acting if they do not like it or if they have stage fright, but sometimes this does more harm than good. Performing arts is actually an important subject that all students should at least try out from time to time to help them improve their public speaking skills and confidence. Why Are Performing Arts Important? Kids can often be shy when it comes to standing in front of a crowd of people, which is why they …

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

Playing and allowing children to express their creativity is an important part of growing up. But how do you know when to start allowing your children to actually play? The answer is whenever. Children of all ages can learn to play, even if they are younger than five years old. Therefore, more playgrounds should be designed to allow even young kids to play. How to Play with Children 5 and Under There are plenty of activities that can be engaging even for very young children. You need to find things to do that will hold their attention for longer periods …

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Challenging Gender Stereotypes in the Early Childhood Classroom

Although research shows that while most parents agree that children should be treated the same regardless of gender in early childhood, they still treat male and female children differently in ways that support gender stereotypes. For example, when told a child was a boy, parents would handle a baby or toddler more roughly than when told the child was a girl.  Studies have also shown that mothers are more comfortable with the idea of their children behaving in ways that go against typical gender roles (such as young boys crying when they are sad) than fathers. And both mothers and …

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

We all know that exercise is beneficial for our health. Everyone knows it’s better to walk than to take a cab, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and to park your car further away to sneak in a little more exercise every day. The need for exercise and movement goes far beyond weight control or maintaining heart health. Exercise has a proven number of mental and emotional benefits as well.  Children also need physical movement as much as, if not more than, adults. Giving children the time and space for free play is vital to their physical, mental, and …

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

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

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