Short and Sweet: Why Representation Matters (Part II)

African-American 3 year old brings me a copy of The Magic School Bus On The Ocean Floor to read to her. She opens the book to find Keesha on the third page with her hair in cornrows. She smiles, and pulls down the hood on her sweater to expose her own cornrows.

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Feelings

I saw an interaction this morning that stopped me in my tracks. A child, newly three, was crying because he had lost a toy in the car. Then he began yelling. Then kicking. The upset kept intensifying as his caregiver watched, not wanting to stop him from getting through his feelings (as she told another adult who asked if she could assist). She's surely been told somewhere along the line that accepting children's feelings means not stopping them. Yay!...But she's missing some follow -up. Children need to know that it's okay to be angry or sad or excited or whatever else they feel. But they also sometimes need help getting through to the calm after. An adult standing by, mute, communicates a lack of interest, not acceptance. The child intensifies, needing guidance and reassurance. The adult, so good - heartedly eager to accept the child as they are, remains unphased. The child cries out more for the centering that occurs when an adult they're attached to can initia

Well, Duh.

Friday afternoon, I walked back into my classroom to a scene that is not unusual in any group of young children. One child had just hit another (both three years old), attempting to get a coveted toy. I walked over to the two, and as I always do, I looked at the crying child who had been hit and said, "Wow, it looks like Y is really hurting." Then, I recognized that wasn't the whole picture, and looked at the child who had hit (this time), who was already averting their eyes, and said, "It looks like A is hurting too." A turned around, stunned at my ability to perceive what was obvious to them. This time, at least. "Yeah!" They exclaimed. Y stopped crying and looked at A. I offered hugs to both, and attempted to sportscast what I saw. "A wanted that toy, and Y had it! Y didn't want to be hit." A looked at Y, and said, "Yeah, and I really wanted the truck, but I didn't want to hurt you." Both children found a spot i

"Why Didn't You Tell Me That?"

Everyone knows the feeling of being at the top of their game. In early childhood, that looks a little different than in other professions. The playground where I work is divided into two levels, out of necessity (Bay Area real estate is at a premium!). The upper level has our play structure and a fair amount of open area to run. The bottom level is a little more compact. The steps at my school are not unsafe, but they are wood steps, and on this particular day, they were wet. This child knows "we don't play on the stairs," but there were robbers to be chased down, and the stairs were playable area. As the child started his descent, I had that moment of clarity. I walked over to him, made eye contact, and said, "Hey, do you know why I don't let you play on the stairs?" He shook his head. "Do you remember the ice you saw on the bench? That's on the stairs too, and I don't want you to slip and fall." He digested this for a moment,

On Subsequent Inspection...

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