1.Closing The Play Gap: Why Play Is An Asset, Not A Luxury graphic
The Argument: Play should not be viewed as a “reward” for children who complete their “real work.” All children should have access to high-quality play that promotes inquiry learning. Yet in many early childhood classrooms we have the unfortunate reality of affluent classrooms practicing child-centered, inquiry learning through play and many classrooms serving low-income students practicing literacy and math through rigid, scripted academic drill sheets. This is unacceptable.
Multiple Perspectives
The Curriculum Push Agenda: “The state standards and standardized tests our schools are accountable for require academic measures earlier. Give children open-ended play and they might not learn to read at the benchmark we need them to!” Some administrators, curriculum directors, and policymakers feel pressured to teach to standardized test scores. They see play as taking away from precious instructional time.

Development Science Says: “Children forced to learn complex tasks that involve memorization and abstract concepts before their brain has developed a strong play foundation will suffer in future cognitive flexibility and executive functioning skills.” The science of early child development has found that play isn’t OPTIONAL when creating healthy cognitive growth. It’s NECESSARY.

Questions:
How can we shift the mindset of play for stakeholders who only see value in data? Help them understand that play = academic readiness!

If play is a luxury, are we condemning low-income students to a life without it?

 

2.Screens in the Sandbox: Shifting the Conversation about Digital Media Essay
Position: Screens have a place in early childhood settings. The conversation should no longer focus on if technology has a place in early learning, but how we can be intentional about its use. Technology should never replace hands-on manipulatives or human connection, but can be used as another tool, a digital paintbrush if you will, to extend children’s abilities to create and express themselves.

Multiple Perspectives:
My various lenses: The Screen-phobic Lens: Teachers and parents who prefer that technology and screen time have no place in early childhood. Concerns include lack of attention, sitting too much, loss of hands-on fine-motor manipulation.

The Super-Powered Lens: When children are given opportunities to create using digital media tools (recording their own sound stories, capturing photos of nature, working together to code using block-based coding programs) they become creators instead of consumers.

Questions:
How can we empower parents to put down the digital babysitters and pick up tools for family exploration together?

What boundaries do we need to create so that digital media enhances rather than replaces the sensory experiences offered in the physical classroom?

 

Resources

Favorite Professional Links 

1. National Association for the Education of Young Children

Website Link: https://www.naeyc.org/ What it is: This amazing organization is the premier professional association for those who teach young children. They have peer reviewed journals, position statements, classroom tools and more based around DAP.!  Why I Love It: This website reminds me what kind of teacher I strive to be. When I need to back my classroom decisions with something teacher-reviewed and researched, this is where I go. It also has all of the proper lingo at my fingertips when I need to fight for developmentally appropriate practices like play with administration.

2. Harvard University Center on the Developing Child

Website Link: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/ What it is: This center breaks down the neuroscience of how babies and young children’s brains develop. They have very straight forward “briefs” that explain executive functioning, toxic stress, serve and return and more. Why I Love It: This website helps me to ground my identity in neuroscience. Instead of seeing behavior, I can recognize what traumatic environments or stress can be doing to the brain.

3. Defending the Early Years (DEY) Website Link: https://defendingtheearlyyears.org/What it is: A advocacy group working to organize early childhood professionals to fight back on inappropriate privatization and excessive academic testing being forced on young children. Why I Like How it Aligns: DEY empowers me to be an activist teacher. They have tool kits and resources that provide me with the background information and stats I need to write my state senators, facilitate parent workshops, and advocate for fair play spaces.

4. Zero to Three Website Link: https://www.zerotothree.org/What it is: An umbrella of resources specifically for babies and toddlers and their needs. Links to everything you want to know about co-regulating, reading emotions, and partnering with parents.Alignment with Professional Identity: This website helps me center myself on being family-guided. They help remind me that you can't teach a child without including their family. They provide me with tangible things that I can hand to parents to help gain their trust and create goals.