There is absolutely no question that the children of today will be greatly affected by climate change. They will not have the luxury of slowly learning about environmental issues, rather they will be faced with them their entire lives. However, this topic is rarely addressed with young children. We worry that it’s too big, too scary a topic to worry them about. I disagree. I think that we do children a disservice by not equipping them to navigate a rapidly changing environment, and by not modeling how to reduce their own environmental impact. …
An educator’s look at what we’re really teaching around the holidays.
I have worked with young children for over fifteen years now. Throughout my experience, there have been certain things that I have always done without question… Children should wash their hands before eating, we always wear sunscreen in the summer, and we always make handmade gifts for the parents at Christmastime.
This year, I said goodbye to the usual Christmas crafts, and I couldn’t be happier about my decision. Here’s why:
From an Anti-Bias Perspective
Not every child celebrates Christmas. In fact, not every child celebrates a gift-giving holiday…
In a pre-pandemic 2019, Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future protests were inspiring youth around the world to join forces and demand action for climate change. As the protests and school strikes joined traction, Global Climate Strikes were planned for September 2019 and my colleagues and I decided to make a field trip out of it for our five- and six-year old students. Here is my experience bringing my kindergarten class to their very first protest.
Lead-up
It was extremely important to me that my students could develop an understanding of why the protest was happening. Young children can comprehend a…
I teach a mixed age group of children from 2–6 years old. As you can imagine, we have plenty of conflict throughout our days! On a whim, we decided to try something new in my classroom and see if it could help the children get through these rough patches. We made a Peace Table.
What is a Peace Table?
Borrowed from the Montessori educational method, a Peace Table is a welcoming area of the classroom designed to encourage conversation and conflict resolution. …
It’s a strange time right now for everyone. As adults, we’re trying to adapt and make sense of everything going on… and the same is true for the young children in our lives. None of us are prepared for this situation, and we’re all taking things one day at a time. With schools closed, and teachers and students socially distanced from each other, it can be an especially trying time for kindergarteners and preschoolers. From a pedagogical perspective, some steps can be taken to make things a bit easier on them. …
Jessica Shea
Berlin-based Early Childhood Educator
