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Annie Moses YC Editor in Chief

Welcoming in, Learning About, and Learning from Families

E arly childhood education is most effective and

rewarding when families and educators come together, developing respectful, reciprocal partnerships. This means that each and every participant is valued and engaged. In the best of worlds, children will feel support and inspiration from both their families and their teachers, radiating with sentiments like “My family made me who I am today” and “My teacher believed in me and helped me believe in myself.”

While there may not always be agreement, families and educators each seek to understand, assume the best of the other, and actively work toward shared goals and solutions in a strong partnership. As NAEYC’s position statement on developmentally appropriate practice advocates, these responsive practices “give educators the knowledge or insights they need to provide learning experiences that are fully responsive to each child’s needs and experiences.”

This issue of Young Children explores a range of topics about welcoming in, learning about, and learning from families. Opening the cluster, Hannah Kye writes about “The Preschool Birth Stories Project: Developing Emergent Curriculum with Families.” This project centered on families’ narratives about their children’s births. Family members actively engaged in the children’s learning by sharing their stories and connecting with teachers about the project’s direction. In a companion piece, “We Are Makers: Culturally Responsive Approaches to Tinkering and Engineering,” Kye uses another family-centered project about babies to discuss how culturally responsive pedagogy can help children see themselves and others as capable makers.

“Exploring Families’ Language Practices Through a Social Studies Inquiry in Kindergarten” by Ivana Espinet, Maite T. Sánchez, Sabrina Poms, and Elizabeth Menendez describes the authors’ collaboration in designing and implementing a family-focused social studies unit. Children and families explored their linguistic and cultural practices at home and in their Spanish-English bilingual kindergarten classroom. In sharing their work, the authors offer readers an example for working with multilingual families in other settings.

Creating and carrying out family-centered learning experiences depend on recognition and respect for families’ funds of knowledge. “Welcoming Black Dads: Action Steps and Reflections on Becoming Culturally Competent” by Lindsey L. Wilson and Josh Thompson outlines five practices to help educators become culturally competent and build relationships with Black fathers. Voices of Black fathers are included along with action steps and reflection questions for each practice.

Spurred by recent legislation, Brian L. Wright’s Viewpoint piece, “When Blue and Pink Are Not Enough: Saying ‘Gay’ Matters to LGBTQIA+ Families,” argues for the need to both engage young children in meaningful conversations about gender identity and expression and also outlines the need to welcome LGBTQIA+ families into the classroom community. Along with situating this legislation within the history of LGBTQIA+ discrimination, Wright identifies children’s books and accompanying activities to help establish a caring and equitable community of learners.

Next is “Creating a Breastfeeding-Friendly Early Learning Program” by Rebecca Dunn, Karrie Kalich, and Lynn Arnold. Informed by research and policy guidelines, the authors share strategies and resources

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We’d love to hear from you! Send your thoughts on this issue, and on topics you’d like to read about in future issues of Young Children, to [email protected]

Would you like to see your children’s artwork featured in these

pages? For guidance on submitting print‑quality photos (as

well as details on permissions and licensing), see NAEYC.org/ resources/pubs/authors-photographers/photos.

Four‑year‑olds in Ms. Susan and Ms. Andrea’s outdoor preschool were invited to create with a bin of blocks and piles of cardboard recyclables. They worked cooperatively to build this structure.

Is your classroom full of children’s artwork? To feature it in Young Children, see the link at the bottom of the page or email [email protected] for details.

to establish breastfeeding-friendly early learning environments. They also acknowledge how updated guidelines respond to issues of equity and different family structures.

The cluster closes with “Six Resources for Making the Most of Family-Educator Conferences” by Tricia Zucker, Michael Mesa, April Crawford, Shauna Spear, and Sonia Cabell. Based on work involving teachers and administrators in four districts, the authors describe six free, research-informed resources for effective family-educator conferences. They also embed examples of how these resources were received and used by preschool teachers at different schools.

Early childhood educators are called to foster relationships with families in strengths-based ways, which brings up many questions and complexities to navigate. I hope you find support in this issue for your work in creating learning environments and experiences in partnership with the families in your setting.

– Annie Moses

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Copyright of YC: Young Children is the property of National Association for the Education of Young Children and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Trust, Care, and Partnership Creating Communities Committed to Families and to Early Childhood Educators Michelle Kang

I am the mother of three amazing boys, each with unique strengths and abilities. In my journey as a mother, I have found that my sons’ teachers have been sources of knowledge and support—all the while cheering me on. Through early childhood and beyond, they have played instrumental roles in understanding my children and partnering with my husband and me. While recognizing and supporting the context in which we were operating as parents, their partnership over many years has enabled us to better understand and be responsive to each of our children.

I have to admit that becoming a first‑time parent was worrisome for me. I remember throughout my first pregnancy all the time that I spent poring through parenting books, reading about child development, and wondering how we were going to raise our son without the help of our parents or other family members nearby. However, I didn’t know that talented, caring, and knowledgeable early childhood educators were just ahead in my parenting journey.

A few key moments jump out to me when I reflect back on the early childhood years of my children. When my oldest was a toddler, we noticed he had some unusual gifts: his early words turned into extraordinary episodes of repetition, and he often repeated words at times that didn’t make sense in his conversation (echolalia). A year later, his preschool teacher flagged that he did not want to play with other children, but he played happily beside them (parallel play). As first‑time parents, my husband and I didn’t know what either

of these things meant, and we remain grateful to our son’s preschool teacher for encouraging us to seek a developmental assessment. We eventually learned he lives with autism, and we were fortunate to be able to access early intervention services through our public schools. As he moved into kindergarten, the compassion and knowledge of early childhood educators continued, especially in the special education classrooms we experienced. I will always be grateful to his teachers in those critical early childhood years for supporting his learning strengths and needs and helping us along the journey.

I also feel fortunate to have had the benefit of NAEYC‑accredited early learning programs for my sons—programs in which families are recognized, welcomed, and involved in their children’s educational growth. We see this commitment every day as we visit programs around the country and observe educators who acknowledge families’ goals for their children, honor families’ contexts and cultures, and share their expertise in child development. As one of the tenets of developmentally appropriate practice, families are always at the forefront of educators’ minds and practices. (For an example, see this issue’s Member Spotlight educator, Shaila Kokil, who shares how she partners with families at Empower Children’s Academy in Niagara Falls, New York.)

Any educator who wants to be in a career caring for and educating young children should be able to choose this path without worry.

This dedication is a hallmark of our profession. Early childhood teachers have a deep commitment to young children and their families. However, as a society we illustrate time and again that we do not reciprocate the same level of commitment to the same educators who are doing this for young children and families. Across our field, many educators subsist on poverty level wages. As reported in the Early Childhood Workforce Index 2020, more than half (53 percent) of early

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Schildhood educators require some sort of public assistance. According to the First Five Years Fund, one in three early childhood educators lives with food insecurity. This creates a reality where educators—like Abby,* who recently shared her story with me—are forced to leave jobs they are passionate about because they cannot afford to support their families on the salaries they are paid.

We need to change this reality and to create a community where educators are appropriately recognized and supported. Any educator who wants to be in a career caring for and educating young children should be able to choose this path without worry. Their care, skills, engagement, and commitment toward young children and their families beckon us to do so.

NAEYC sees your dedication to children and partnerships with families as our greatest strength. We will continue to lift up the early childhood profession. We will continue to support you, advocate for you, and collectively, we will create a community—a place where you belong and where you and your practice as educators are honored.

As we move toward that future, my family and I thank you for the care and dedication you displayed toward us for so many years. I thank you now for trusting me and NAEYC to display that same level of care and dedication toward you and this profession.

*This educator’s name has been changed to preserve anonymity.

FORMAR CONEXIONES

Confianza, compromiso y colaboración La importancia de crear comunidades comprometidas con las familias y los educadores de la primera infancia Michelle Kang

Soy madre de tres niños increíbles, cada uno de ellos con fortalezas y habilidades únicas. En mi recorrido como madre, he descubierto que los docentes de mis hijos han sido fuentes de conocimiento y apoyo, y nunca dejaron de alentarme. Durante los primeros años, y después también, tuvieron un papel central para ayudarnos a conocer a nuestros hijos, colaborando con mi marido y conmigo. Siempre reconocieron y apoyaron el contexto en el que nos desempeñábamos como padres, y gracias a su colaboración durante muchos años, pudimos comprender mejor y responder a cada uno de nuestros hijos.

Tengo que admitir que convertirme en madre por primera vez me preocupaba. Recuerdo todo el tiempo que dediqué a estudiar libros sobre crianza y desarrollo infantil durante mi primer

embarazo y a preguntarme cómo íbamos a criar a nuestro hijo sin la ayuda de nuestros padres u otros familiares que vivieran cerca. Sin embargo, no sabía que apenas iniciado mi recorrido como madre, me esperaban educadores de la primera infancia talentosos, afectuosos y con muchos conocimientos.

Cuando recuerdo los años de la primera infancia de mis hijos, hay momentos clave que me llaman la atención. Cuando mi hijo mayor era muy pequeño, nos dimos cuenta de que tenía algunos dones atípicos: sus primeras palabras se convertían en episodios extraordinarios de repetición, y a menudo repetía palabras en momentos en que no tenían sentido en su conversación (ecolalia). Un año después, su maestra de preescolar nos señaló que no quería jugar con otros niños, pero que jugaba felizmente al lado de ellos (juego en paralelo). Como padres primerizos, mi marido y yo no sabíamos lo que significaban ninguna de estas cosas, y hoy seguimos agradeciendo a la maestra de preescolar de nuestro hijo por recomendarnos que pidiéramos una evaluación del desarrollo. Con el tiempo, supimos que tiene autismo y tuvimos la suerte de poder acceder a servicios de intervención temprana a través de nuestras escuelas públicas. Cuando comenzó el jardín de infantes, seguimos encontrando la compasión y los conocimientos de los educadores

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de la primera infancia, sobre todo, en las aulas de educación especial que conocimos. Siempre estaré agradecida a sus maestros en esos años fundamentales de la primera infancia por haber apoyado sus fortalezas y necesidades de aprendizaje y por habernos ayudado a recorrer este camino.

También me siento afortunada de haber tenido la ventaja de contar con programas de aprendizaje temprano acreditados por NAEYC para mis hijos, programas en los que las familias son reconocidas, bienvenidas e invitadas a participar en el crecimiento educativo de sus hijos. Vemos este compromiso todos los días cuando visitamos programas en todo el país y observamos educadores que reconocen los objetivos de las familias para sus hijos, honran los contextos y las culturas de las familias y comparten sus conocimientos sobre desarrollo infantil. Tal como lo describe uno de los principios de las prácticas apropiadas al desarrollo, las familias están siempre en primer lugar en la mente y las prácticas de los educadores. (Para ver un ejemplo, lea a Shaila Kokil, la educadora elegida como miembro destacado de este número, que cuenta cómo trabaja en conjunto con las familias en Empower Children’s Academy de Niagara Falls, Nueva York).

Todo educador que desea dedicarse a cuidar y educar a los niños pequeños debería poder elegir este camino sin preocupaciones. Esta dedicación es un rasgo distintivo de nuestra profesión. Los educadores de la primera infancia tienen un profundo compromiso con los niños pequeños y sus familias. Sin embargo, como sociedad demostramos una y otra vez que no respondemos con el mismo nivel de compromiso a los educadores que hacen esto por los niños pequeños y las familias. En nuestro sector, muchos educadores subsisten con salarios ubicados en la línea de pobreza. Como lo indica el índice de la fuerza laboral de la primera infancia 2020, más de la mitad (53 %) de los educadores de la primera infancia necesitan algún tipo de asistencia pública.

Según la organización First Five Years Fund, uno de cada tres educadores de la primera infancia vive en situación de inseguridad alimentaria. Esto crea una realidad para los educadores —como el caso de Abby*, que recientemente me contó su historia— que los obliga a dejar un trabajo que los apasiona porque no pueden mantener a sus familias con los salarios que cobran.

Tenemos que cambiar esta realidad y crear una comunidad en la que los educadores reciban el reconocimiento y el apoyo adecuados. Todo educador que desea dedicarse a cuidar y educar a los niños pequeños debería poder elegir este camino sin preocupaciones. Sus cuidados, sus habilidades y su compromiso con los niños pequeños y sus familias nos convocan a impulsar este cambio.

NAEYC considera que su dedicación a los niños y la colaboración con las familias son nuestra mayor fortaleza. Seguiremos elevando la profesión de la educación de la primera infancia. Seguiremos brindándoles nuestro apoyo, abogando por ustedes y, colectivamente, crearemos una comunidad, un espacio en el sientan que pertenecen, y en el que ustedes y su ejercicio profesional como educadores sean reconocidos.

Mientras avanzamos hacia ese futuro, mi familia y yo les agradecemos los cuidados y la dedicación que nos han demostrado durante tantos años. Es mi turno de agradecerles por haber confiado en mí y en NAEYC para demostrar el mismo nivel de cuidado y dedicación hacia ustedes y esta profesión.

* Se cambió el nombre de esta educadora para preservar su identidad.

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Copyright of YC: Young Children is the property of National Association for the Education of Young Children and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.