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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
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Learning is inherently social, so how can early educators succeed at a distance?
Author and psychologist Wendy Ostroff is concerned about the development of young children whose learning is taking place remotely because of the current pandemic. "It's not easy for educators working remotely to replicate the in-person classroom experiences that encourage play, autonomy, and experimentation in our youngest learners," she writes in the November issue of Educational Leadership,
the magazine of the ASCD.
In fact, she points out, play and socializing are even MORE crucial during virtual experiences because "the learning environment is so diminished compared to the setting in which children's brains have evolved and developed...running around with friends in a sensory milieu which includes dynamic emotional interactions, almost constant real-time problems to solve, exploration, and surprise."
Ostroff offers several suggestions for how to encourage playful learning, even over Zoom, including anecdotes from teachers she has observed at work. One is to "Be their muse." She notes that it's harder for children to get inspired without the usual "multisensory energy" of the classroom, and suggests ways you can get kids interested.
Another tip is to mix up the daily schedule. "Learning online can quickly get monotonous...Distance learning for young children must use different modes of engagement: alert screen time, soft and quiet time, and rambunctious play time."
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YOUR CLASSROOM
"Bear Breath," self-hugs and more; free toolkit on using yoga to support students during a pandemic
Since 2001, Yoga Ed has been a resource for educators wanting to use yoga and mindfulness to improve children's mental and physical health. During this pandemic year, the organization has responded with a free set of "trauma-sensitive tools" for the
2020-21 school year.
"The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our schools and education system as a whole amount to collective trauma on a global scale," says the introduction to their toolkit. They offer specific exercises to address particular manifestations of this stress. "Bear Breath," for example, is intended to help a child with excessive anxiety. "Joy Breath," on the other hand, is a specific set of movements designed to counter feelings of sadness--or when a child has been too sedentary.
Each of the 10 breathing and movement exercises is accompanied by photos of a child carrying out the simplified yoga pose, a description of the benefits and step-by-step instructions. Download the 16-page toolkit here.
Eleven practical ideas for trauma-sensitive classrooms Any classroom can include students affected by trauma, say the experts from "The Inclusion Lab," a blog from Brookes Publishing. In a post written before the pandemic--and with even more relevance now--they run down 11 ways to create a safer and more nurturing space.
One tip: Distinguish between a 'can't" and a 'won't'. Defiant actions may actually stem from what they call the "downstairs brain" reactions, activiations of a child's flight, fight or freeze survival response. Thus, no consequence-driven response will make a difference.
Another approach is to provide water and snacks. "Students who have experienced early childhood trauma often experience significant changes to their insulin receptor sites, which means they're at risk for dramatic behavioral changes when their blood sugar starts to drop below optimal levels." Click here to find out the other nine tips.
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PARTNERS
Child Care Council's Barbieri to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at "Virtual Thanksgiving"
On November 19, the recently retired Executive Director of the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., Jan Barbieri, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island (HWCLI). The presentation will take place at a Virtual Thanksgiving Dinner, to be held from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Click here for details on how to register.
Under Barbieri's leadership, the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc. was a founding partner in The Long Island Pre-K Initiative, and she was an active member of our Advisory Council from the beginning.
HWCLI is a network of nonprofits, corporations and individuals that addresses our region's challenges and seeks to create systemic solutions.
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Virtual film screening and discussion: documentary about the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
"Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope" is a one-hour film that delves into research about ACEs and the birth of the movement to treat toxic stress. Experts and practitioners profiled in this documentary discuss its effects and how to use science to help the next generation break cycles of adversity and disease. You can join a virtual screening, followed by an interactive discussion with Tim Hathaway, Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse New York.
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
This event is co-hosted by the regional Leadership Initiatives of Long Island, New York City and Western New York.
From the New York Association for the Education of Young Children: intensive training for curriculum creators
Up to 18 hours of remote training is available for preschool teachers and leaders who want to obtain the foundational knowledge needed to create curriculum that embodies the Core Beliefs of the New York State Core Body of Knowledge and the New York State Early Learning Guidelines. These beliefs are common to the research foundation of emergent curriculum, Creative Curriculum and HighScope, and this professional development series is appropriate for teachers and leaders who use these approaches.
The series is broken into three sessions, each with several choices of dates. Each session costs $25. For the full rundown on schedules and topics, click here.
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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.
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| NASSAU BOCES
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220 Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org |
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