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PRE-K UPDATE
JULY 1, 2020
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is proud to be part of Long Island's Regional Technical Assistance Center for Pre-K and Early Education (LI-RTAC). Visit its web page for links to all partner organizations. Many have important COVID-19-related resources to offer:  www.nassauboces.org/rtac 

"That '70s summer"--is this year a chance for kids to enjoy unstructured play outside?
"COVID-19 is challenging the notion that downtime is wasted time, or that children must be occupied with a project that has no obvious benefit," writes reporter Hallie Cotnam from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). She interviewed
Happy cute boy learn to ride a bike with his mother. Mother teaching son to ride bicycle at park.
a child psychiatrist and other experts, who suggest that once kids are "liberated from the shackles of online learning" there may be an opportunity for them to ride bikes, build forts and "get very, very dirty."  Especially since many camp programs and lessons are off the table.

Cotnam quotes Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free Range Kids movement: "Parents being distracted is giving kids back the thing that made childhood good, which is free time to be bored, so bored that you figure out something to do."

Of course, there are differences between 2020 and the possibly romanticized summers of earlier decades--and COVID-19 is only one of them. For one thing, there's a suburban advantage. If you live in a neighborhood that's not safe or in a city apartment, it's a lot harder for parents to offer kids an outdoor experience. Read more.


Yes, "Nature Deficit Disorder" is real and taking children outdoors is the cure
An article in last week's New York Times explained the link between the outdoors and children's mental health: "Research has shown that access to green space is linked to a child's well-being. For example, adding greenery to school play yards has been
A small child looking at a moth resting on a branch
shown to increase prosocial behavior in kids. They help, cooperate, comfort and share more; the loss of access to this greenery has the opposite effect."

Reporter Meg St-Esprit McKivigan interviewed parents in New York, California and Chicago who observed changes in their children's behavior when COVID-19 trapped everyone indoors. And she talked to a psychologist who told her that "Prioritizing time in nature, exercise, and even some unstructured downtime is analogous to prioritizing our children's mental health, which is more important now than ever."

Families without a yard or access to a nature preserve, can walk in a tree-lined neighborhood, make a point of watching birds and other wildlife through a window or take art supplies to any patch of green outside. "Even a tiny bit of green space can be a place to slow down, watch an insect, move some dirt around."
YOUR CLASSROOM
Academic performance isn't the only learning outcome; why play should be front and center, now more than ever
Writing for Scientific American earlier this month, the president of LEGO, Esben Staerk, makes the case for the role of play in education: "Play provides an opportunity to build social (communication and collaboration), emotional (resilience and self-
Little child with glasses playing with lots of colorful plastic blocks kit in maths museum. kid boy having fun with building and creating geometric figures.
regulation), and physical (fine and gross motor) skills, as well as cognitive ones." 

Staerk refers to an international survey conducted last year, which found that 95% of teachers think hands-on learning builds students' confidence. That confidence promotes resilience, he says. "Students who are confident learners are more prepared to face adversity head on." 

With all the changes we've seen in the past few months, Staerk says, it takes the kind of resilience that is built through playful learning to help students, educators and parents rise to the occasion. "Whether in living rooms and backyards or in physical or virtual classrooms, students need to continue building this resilience. With it, they will view challenges as opportunities, tap into their creativity and confidence to find solutions, and ultimately be better prepared to rebuild and reimagining the world around them."
COVID-19
Kids can't see a smile or a frown when you're wearing a mask; here's how to help them understand your feelings
The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) has produced a handout with 10 tips for helping children identify emotions when your face is partially covered by a mask. The first step: looking at yourself in a mirror, with your mask on, to better understand what clues to your feelings are and aren't visible, and pay attention to what can be seen--e.g., body movements, hand gestures.

Another tip is to talk about your feelings as much as possible. For example, you might say, "I'm feeling sad that it is raining right now." It's also helpful to increase your use of gestures. For all ten tips, click here. 

Other NCPMI resources related to COVID-19 include handouts in English and Spanish on talking to children about the virus and about the importance of hand washing. 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Do you want to learn more about "growth mindset"? We've got the workshops for you

For more details and to register for the free workshops listed below, click here.

The Process: Developing and Cultivating an Early Childhood Growth Mindset Culture
The District Coordinator for Mineola's Growth Mindset Initative and the Superintendent of Schools discuss creating a growth mindset culture at the building and district level.
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Growth Mindset: Building the Foundation in Our Earliest Learners
Two Pre-K teachers share their experience with creating a growth mindset in their classrooms, and explain how it has changed their pedagogy.
Date: Thursday, August 20, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.


Seats still available in our webinar on working with EMLLs
Last week, new census data was released that revealed that Long Island is continuing to become more diverse, with Asian and Hispanic populations growing. So it's more important than ever to understand the needs of EMLLs (Emergent Multilingual Learners) and their families.

Developing a School-Wide Approach for Supporting Multilingual Learners (EMLLs)
Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Time: 12 noon - 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Cristina Medellin-Paz

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Want to improve your math lessons? Get kids moving 
"We understand the challenges of coming up with new ways to present materials," say the educators at Math & Movement--and that includes online instruction. For founder, and New Yorker, Suzy Koontz that means understanding how getting kids moving can help them learn. Free webinars offered this summer include:

Kinesthetic Strategies to Improve Math Outcomes
Dates: Tuesday, July 7, Tuesday, July 14 & Tuesday, July 21 
Time: 10 a.m.

Trauma and Math: Using Movement to Support Students with ACES
Dates: Wednesday, July 15 & Thursday, July 22
Time: 10 a.m.

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Free symposium on resilience from Yale and Scholastic
This two-day event features experts from Yale's Child Study Center, Scholastic, Harvard and the Special Olympics. Topic "Strengthening Resilience Through the Power of Literacy: Helping Children Heal, Grow and Thrive in a New Normal." Participants will explore strategies on planning for reopening schools, supporting social-emotional wellness and building resilience. Dates: July 22 and 23, 2020. Click here for details about the schedule and to register.

About Us
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a collaborating partner in the state-funded Regional Technical Assistance Center, which supports Pre-K and early childhood education on Long Island. The other collaborating partners are the three Long Island BOCES, the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., the Child Care Council of Suffolk, Inc. and the Family Leadership Network. 




NASSAU BOCES 
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220  Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org