Ecological Hospitality

Belonging is an essential human need. Early childhood settings need to demonstrate for children and their families that they are cared for and belong. Ecological hospitality is what I’m calling it. Hospitable interactions make a big difference for little ones (and big ones too). The physical space can show that everyone is important and valued. Positive and supportive attitudes, routines, rituals, practices, curriculum, and assessments are thoughtfully considered and created for ecological hospitality to exist.

We met on zoom one more time when we returned from our Reggio Emilia delegation. All of us shared one thing that was a highlight or favorite part of the trip to Italy. It was interesting for me to hear what people shared as their favorite parts. Many of us shared experiences that were relationship-based.

For me, it was my time with friends. I shared one of the highlights of waking up and going to dining room for breakfast every morning in Reggio Emilia. I get up crazy early and write every morning no matter where I am. I brought my writing with me to breakfast, and would drink delicious Italian coffee and start writing. I was usually the first one in the dining room and delighted when my friends arrived for breakfast.

The hotel staff treated me like family. By the end of the two weeks, I was starting to feel like Norm from the television show “Cheers” with the hotel staff and other guests. One lady from the front desk invited me to Sunday mass at the Reggio Emilia cathedral where she got married.

Another hotel employee reached into her own purse under the registration desk and handed me her own personal toiletries she brings to work. She showed care for me when I ran out of toothpaste. The hotel employee working the night shift apologized that the hotel didn’t have any toothpaste for guests who ran out so she reached into her Prada handbag and pulled out a brand new and unused tube of lavender Italian toothpaste. I was so grateful for her kindness. Now every time I go to Italy I bring home Italian lavender toothpaste with me.

 I’m writing this month’s blog during the winter holidays when I am on a polka cruise with my family. Surrounding myself with people who make me feel loved. My parents, husband, daughter, and two cousins are all here with me, as well as friends from Arizona. We dance polka everyday during our time on the ship. When we came back to our cabin from the polka party last night, there was a kind note from our ship steward. It may not have seemed like a big deal, but this little gesture meant a lot to me. Little things can be big things that help people feel like they matter.

Me hanging out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and getting a little writing done before I dance polka with my Dad and family. 

Caring people are what made me feel as though I belonged in both places—Reggio Emilia, Italy and polka cruise. When we create spaces for children and their families, safe and welcoming atmosphere should be present. Make room for the social environment to support the people in it. Use words and actions to create a welcoming place. Ecological hospitality is being good to people because it is the right thing to do. Children and their families are depending on it.

You matter. You are important. You belong here. You are welcome here (or as we say in Italian benvenuti).

 “The older I get, the more convinced I am that the space between people who are trying their best to understand each other is hallowed ground.” ~Fred Rogers

User Experience

“Make it a good one.” He always says this right before we hang up the phone. I talk to my Dad almost everyday. During the COVID-19 pandemic we logged many hours discussing everything under the sun. I told him that I was struggling with how to best shift from face-to-face teaching to a virtual format. My child development students were out in the field serving children and their families when the rug was pulled from under all of us around St. Patrick’s Day of 2020. For safety reasons during the global health crisis, people were quarantined and social isolation became the new norm.

Students and I learned together how to do fieldwork when being in person was no longer an option. Trying to finish up the semester with high quality learning experiences for my students was my first priority (as shared here in a blog I wrote April 2020 - click here if you want to read it). The pivot was something we did together. We were not alone. The most magnificent community partners, like cooperating professionals who were supervising our college students, partnered with us. So many new and different field activities were explored. One of them was creating digital content for children and families. That is how we started.

I learned what our early childhood programs were doing and I brought it back to my practicum students and encouraged them to consider creating digital content too, if it fit their practicum placement. My friends at the Seminole County Early Learning Coalition invited my students and me to create videos reading picture books that they could share with families.

The first video I made for them was me singing, The More We Get Together, and then reading a story about routines like brushing teeth. Not my best performance, but heck that’s how we learn from experience. Right?! Rita Mae Brown said, “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” My second video was using the same format, but this time instead of doing it indoors I took the show on the road and recorded the video in my backyard.

My reasoning for moving the location of the video outside was that I wanted to show children and their families that outdoor reading could be a fun activity. Bring your books outside! I cringe just a little when I watch that video and hear the garbage truck in my neighborhood.

The Early Learning Coalition invitation inspired me in other ways too. I had been creating audio podcasts for BUTTERCUP. I still was making the audio podcast, but during the pandemic I started to use video podcast format since I was getting more comfortable with making digital content. However, I had no idea how the consumer was experiencing these videos that I was making. It is sort of a similar experience when I write and have no idea what the reader is taking away from the words I write down. When I teach, I can see my students’ faces and read their body language as a way to monitor their reaction and pace course content. With digital content, we may not understand or know the user experience.

User Experience (UX) is an important consideration when designing an engaging environment. Especially in the case of virtual environments, consider UX. Thinking about what the consumer sees is the visual design aspects of development. In addition to creating a visually interesting aesthetic, we also need to focus on the information architecture and interactions of the UX.

The ups and downs of the pandemic helped me to learn new ways of doing things. I still use the video format for my podcast. I have been learning a lot about lighting, cameras, and sound. Even two years after using this new approach to the podcast, I still struggle and that’s okay. We learn by doing is what Dr. Emer Ring recently said on Episode 52 (click here) of the BUTTERCUP podcast.

During my interview with Dr. Ring, the unexpected happened and my power went out. While she was talking, I quickly used my smart phone and logged back into the video conference without lights and camera.

I decided to keep Dr. Ring’s episode of the podcast as-is and not edit out the messy parts. WHY? I’m trying to model for my college students that on the merry-go-round of life there will be things that don’t go perfectly. Let’s give ourselves some grace. Things do not have to be perfect to be good.

So in the words of my Dad, “Make it a good one, my friends.” And by the way… it does not have to be perfect to be good.

My Dad (Ronald Galliano) and me on the carousel ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Reflections as an Intentional Practice

Have you ever wondered: “what do I do with the negative thoughts I feel?”

Mr. Fred Rogers asked children a similar question about what children can do with the mad they feel. It is a good question to ask when we are emotionally tasked with a challenging situation. For effective emotion regulation, adults can address negative thoughts and perceptions. Identifying negative thoughts starts with awareness. We can reflect on our negative thoughts to determine how they make us feel (Hole & McEntee, 1999). Stop and take a deep breath (Kamenetz, 2016). Inhale and exhale. Once calm, ponder how the thought makes you feel. What do you have to support or show that the negative thought is valid? Invalid? What could be a more accurate or different way to think about the negative thought? Sometimes we need to change the channel on thoughts like we do with the radio or television.

Compassion fatigue is real and can be a barrier to creating connections. We can address compassion fatigue by starting with ourselves to take time for self-care (Parlakian, Kinsner, & Gehl, 2018). Using praise and positive language is beneficial for children, as well as each other when we collaborate on teams. We can continue to strengthen the ways we build one another up by working on it everyday through communication and positive interactions (Goodwin, 2015; Jennings et al., 2017; Patti et al., 2018). Productive and positive conversations can be a foundation for trusting relationships.

If we create opportunities to practice, reflect, and monitor progress we can continue to get better. High-quality talk is something we can exercise like a muscle. What we practice all the time can become part of a more lasting or permanent repertoire. Practice does NOT make perfect. Instead practice makes permanent. What we practice again and again can stick. Reflect on feelings. Through reflections we can take time to ponder, wonder, and see the world and try to make sense of our feelings.

References

Goodwin, B. (2015). Getting unstuck. Educational Leadership, 72. Retrieved from www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/jun15/vol72/num09/Getting-Unstuck.aspx

Hole, S. & McEntee, G. H. (1999). Reflection is at the heart of practice. Educational Leadership, 56(8). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may99/vol56/num08/Reflection-Is-at-the-Heart-of-Practice.aspx

Jennings, P.A., Frank, J.L., Doyle, S., Oh, Y., Rasheed, D., DeWeese, A., Cham, H., Brown, J.L., Davis, R., DeMauro, A.A., & Greenberg, M.T. (2017). Impact of the CARE for teachers program on teachers’ social and emotional competence and classroom interactions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(7), 1010-28.

Kamenetz, A. (2016). When teachers take a breath, students can bloom. National Public Radio. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/08/19/488866975/when-teachers-take-a-breath-students-can-bloom

Parlakian, R., Kinsner, K., & Gehl, M. (2018). Mindfulness for early childhood professionals. Zero to Three. Retrieved from https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/2269-mindfulness-for-early-childhood-professionals

Patti, J., Holzer, A., Stern, R., Floman, J., & Brackett, M. (2018). Leading with emotional intelligence. Educational leadership, 75. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/summer18/vol75/num09/Leading-With-Emotional-Intelligence.aspx

Establishing a Consistent Daily Schedule and Routines

It can be a challenge to create a consistent daily schedule and routines. Hough (2019) describes the importance of recognizing the struggle. Children, like us, need predictable routines and a daily schedule of events and activities that remain consistent. This alleviates stress. To implement predictable routines, analyze the daily schedule. Note what happens throughout the daily schedule. Determine where there are problem areas and times that seem to go smoothly, as well as times of the day that are challenging. Implement a plan to address the problem areas. Observe what happens when the plan is implemented by collecting informal and/or formal data. Avoid roadblocks by responding to data. Make data-driven decisions. Make changes when needed to modify schedule and/or routines. Routines can promote an environment that feels safe, secure, and welcoming (CESEFEL, 2007; Perry, 2000).

Sources: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. (2007). Helping Children Understand Routines and Classroom Schedules. Retrieved from http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/kits/wwbtk3.pdf 

Hough, L. (2019) 5 Easy Steps to Helping Early Childhood Educators De Stress. Harvard Ed. Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/ed/19/01/5-easy-steps-helping-early-childhood-educators-de-stress

 Perry, B. (2000). Creating an emotionally safe classroom. Scholastic. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/creating-emotionally-safe-classroom/

Psychological Safety

Early childhood educators are leaders. Learning leadership skills takes time and experience. We can leverage our experiences to continually grow in our professional practices. Effective design and implementation involve an iterative process where we observe, interpret, develop meaning and knowledge, make a plan, and try the plan (Lesaux, 2021). The “TRY” is the implementation part of the plan where we experiment. This Zaentz 5-part learning cycle (Lesaux, 2021) could be used in many ways. I will focus on using this cycle for performance evaluation.

Professionals often engage in evaluations of their performance and benefit from predictable interactions with their supervisors that are built on mutual respect and a caring environment. However, a basic need we have as professionals on a journey toward continuous learning and improvement is psychological safety.

Fran, the site director at You Are My Sunshine Center, was on her way to observe her staff member with little warning or predictable routine. She sprung the observation on her staff member at the last minute. Fran says to her staff words like, “I have to get these observations/paperwork done” and “don’t worry…no pressure.” These statements to her staff member show lack of awareness that this performance evaluation could be causing her staff stress, anxiety, and/or negative feelings.

Psychological safety can be created when we are in tune and responsive to the needs of others. Fran would benefit by observing how her actions and statements are creating a culture of warmth and care that bring out the best in her staff. These interpretations can lead to better understanding and goal setting.

One possible goal for Fran might be to establish a predictable procedure around performance evaluations. For example, she could use a preconference meeting with her staff that happens before the formal observation where staff share the lesson or activity plan prior to the formal observation. This could help staff have more control and help develop rapport between Fran and her team. Once Fran has tried the new performance evaluation plan, she would continue making adjustments as a result of the iterative process of using the learning cycle. Growth can occur when we feel safe in a caring environment. Just like flowers need the right conditions to grow, educators and children need psychological safety in order to thrive.  

Source: Lesaux, N. (2021). Zaentz 5-part learning cycle for effective design and implementation. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Small Moments, Big Memories!

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” ~Vincent Van Gogh

I love the above quote by post-impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh. It reminds me that great things come from small beginnings. To me, I feel like Van Gogh was talking about the importance of tiny, little, miniature moments. Small things and moments that are brought together can make a big difference. It is the daily activities and routines that can have a meaningful impact on a child’s overall development. 

When I was little, mealtime routines were a big event at my home and school. Every night my family sat around the table to eat dinner together. At school, we sat at our desks during lunch time. Tucked into my 1970s Donny & Marie Osmond lunchbox was evidence of my mother’s love when I was at school. I was so proud of that lunchbox. A former cool whip container held homemade pasta and meatballs, piece of fruit, spoon, and washcloth. It wasn’t until some of the girls in my class made fun of my food that I became self-conscious about what was in my lunchbox. I started to feel embarrassed by the ethnic food my Italian family sent me to school with and the recycled vessels like cool whip containers and butter tubs. Today I feel embarrassed that I was embarrassed by my school lunch. I remember feeling like I wanted to fit in with the other kids and have a lunch of peanut butter and jelly on plain Wonder bread. When I became a teacher, I tried to help my students feel proud of their heritage and culture. It is who we are.

If you celebrate Valentine’s Day, I have an activity you can do that celebrates reusing and recycling common household objects (like my parents did with cool whip and butter tub containers). Take a container that holds plastic or aluminum wrap. Remove the contents and the jagged edge that cuts the wrap/film or aluminum. This should leave your box smooth and safe to now decorate to your hearts content. In this picture you can see we painted the box and added wallpaper to the top lid. You and your children can create yours any way you like. Play with creativity. Once you have your box beautifully decorated, fill it with a yummy treat. We rolled Oreo cookies in frosting and sprinkles.

What would Van Gogh do? I think he would create lasting things. We can too. Create lasting memories out of the common daily activities and objects. During the pandemic many parents are looking for things to do with their little ones because we are spending so much more time together at home. Give children a scavenger hunt and have them find objects around the house that can be repurposed to create a Valentine’s gift ala the box of goodies. Reuse and recycle household object(s) to create beautiful artistic gifts for your loved ones. You can turn the small moment into a big memory for your child. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Child Find Using Phone

Connecting children with services they need is a concern in the face of the global pandemic resulting from Covid-19. Child Find is a system that focuses on early identification of delays and/or disabilities in children.

In America, Child Find has been in existence since 1975 when P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children’s Act, was passed by congress. Today we call this law the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The intent of IDEA Child Find is, “to create and implement a system to actively locate…children with disabilities.” There are many ways to actively locate children who may be eligible for IDEA services due to a delay or disability. One way is through developmental screening over the phone.

If someone close to the child (e.g., parent, family member, familiar caregiver) has a concern, they can contact their local provider(s) who could follow up on their concern by conducting a developmental screening assessment with them over the phone. A phone interview would consist of the professional using their developmental screening instrument to guide them in asking questions over the phone.

Questions are derived from the screener. Questions from the developmental screening instrument could be filled out by the professional based on answers provided over the phone by the person familiar with the child.

Considerations for using the phone to conduct developmental screening include: (a) arrange a time for the phone interview that is optimal for parent(s), (b)  allow for the possibility for the child to participate in the phone interview because the parent may need time to interact with the child in order to determine if the child can do a skill, and (c) conduct the interview in the family’s preferred language.

Once the interview is finished the professional could score the screening while the parent is still on the phone and share results, or scoring could be done later and results shared at another time.

Follow up is a critical part of the process and should be done in a timely manner. Follow up with the parent with results of the screening assessment. Share resources and recommendations for next steps.

The phone interview is a strategy that can be used when a remote context is needed like during a quarantine. However, a phone interview strategy to conduct IDEA Child Find can be used anytime when a phone interview can help screen children.

For more information check out this webinar called “Child Find: Identifying Children for IDEA Services in a Remote and Virtual Context.” I made this webinar for the Brookes Coffee Chat series and it is now available on demand at the following link:

https://brookespublishing.com/resource-library/child-find-identifying-children-for-idea-services-in-a-remote-and-virtual-context/

Things to Consider as a Result of COVID-19

The vice provost of our university’s digital learning program, Dr. Thomas Cavanagh, wrote on Twitter that one of the lessons he has learned recently from this national experiment in remote teaching is that it is impossible to over-communicate.

I’m reminded of this lesson daily about communication. Effective communication is imperative even though we are physically distant from one another as we move our work to a virtual/remote format. The world has changed so much since the last time I wrote a blog entry. It feels like 327 years ago…but it was only about a month ago on March 1, 2020 when I was writing about bulletin boards.

A global pandemic has changed all of our lives. For me, I’m healthy and safe at home with my family. Yay! I am extremely grateful. The quarantine has been going well. I get to work from home teaching adults who are working on their undergraduate and graduate degrees in Child Development and Early Education. COVID-19 has changed how I interact and teach my students. I’m lucky to have the support and resources of my university to teach online.

In addition to the physical space, another thing that has changed for me is my work attire. I’ve added a new accessory to my work-from-home wardrobe. Virtual classroom teaching and virtual office hours attire for me now includes mouse ears. Yup, that’s me….

Marisa Macy

I love my students and I love Disney so I’ve tried to stay positive by signaling happiness with the way I dress for virtual teaching. Luckily I have several sets of ears between my Disney wardrobe and my family’s wardrobe that they have agreed to share with me. Thank you, fam! Here’s a picture I took a while back at a store in Disney Springs where I shop for mouse ears. I am looking forward to the day I can go back there and shop.

Another lesson that I’ve learned during this move to a virtual/remote format is how valuable it is to connect with people. Some ways I’ve been staying connected with others is through electronic communication, video conferencing, and phone calls. I haven’t talked this much on the phone since I was a teenager.

This global pandemic has been challenging for everyone. For my college students it has been rough on them in many ways. Students may not have the equipment and/or resources at home to fully function in an online capacity. Many students have had their final field experience disrupted and moved to a virtual/remote format. Several of my students did not even get a chance to say goodbye to the children they had been working with all semester which has been heartbreaking for them. Graduation celebrations have been postponed or canceled. I feel terrible that students may not get to experience the joy of walking across the stage at graduation and shaking our Dean’s hand at commencement. I’m so sorry for these and other things that are being missed out on as a result of the quarantine.

With so many things that have changed as a result of moving to remote/virtual format, we may find ourselves using time differently. Quarantine time may be an opportunity to add some professional activities that were hard to find time for before the global pandemic. I created this list with the help of my spring 2020 practicum students (thank you CB, JC, NF, EK, EP, KT, and JV … you guys have been such a pleasure getting to know better this semester!).

Here are things to consider if you are looking for ways to experience gratitude,  learn, and grow during COVID-19.

1.   Make a smile file. A recipe box with index cards are where I add things that happen I want to remember that make me happy. Here is an example of something that happened to me that is on an index card in my Smile File. What would you add to your file?

2.   Create a parent newsletter.

3.   Develop or revise program/agency handbook.

4.   Find ways to communicate with children and/or parents using other modalities. Learn or work on proficiency in other languages to include sign language.

5.  Create a resource list or binder.

6.  Work on curriculum or curricular enhancements.

7.   Attend virtual meetings, workshops, and/or trainings.

8.  Write reflection paper. Storyboard your ideas and experiences.

9.  Make a virtual bulletin board or design your future spaces.

10. Watch video clips on skills like positive behavior supports and other topics that enrich professional development.

11. Communicate with parents. Share tips and/or activities they can do with their child during quarantine.

12. Collaborate with related specialists (e.g., speech language pathologist, therapists, other), if applicable.

13. Set up a time to check in with others on a regular basis.

14. Participate in webinars that pertain to Early Education. I’ll be doing one on authentic assessment in May for Brookes Publishing. Stay tuned….

15. Make a parent letter/video/song/other of what parents can do at home with their children while they are away from school.

16. Look up different ideas and hands on activities to do with children. Here is an example of an art activity I love to do with my daughter.

17. Research and make program brochure.

18. Learn and use tools to implement developmental activities.

19. Create developmentally appropriate resources for parents to use during the COVID-19 quarantine.

This historical time in our lives is an opportunity for us to grow together. Right before the quarantine, I interviewed Mr. Bill Isler for the Buttercup iTunes show. Mr. Isler ran the Fred Rogers Productions Company and contributed and appears in the Tom Hanks movie about Mr. Rogers entitled, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (2019).

Mr. Bill Isler

Mr. Isler shared some wonderful stories about his time with Mr. Rogers. One thing Mr. Rogers encouraged children to do is talk about their feelings and look for the helpers. Children and adults could all benefit by remembering kindness during these times and look for ways to not only survive but thrive during this difficult time. We will get through this together. Stay safe, stay connected, and look for the helpers, and/or become a helper. Wishing you good health!  

See ya real soon. Charge on!

I LOVE Bulletin Boards

I LOVE bulletin boards. There. I said it.

Some people collect objects. I collect pictures of bulletin boards. My students and friends send me pictures of bulletin boards to add to my collection. If you’re reading this and thinking, “Marisa Macy sure is strange” then you are 100% correct, my friend!

Bulletin boards are more than just the visual version of background noise in a busy school, classroom, hallway, or on a door.  To me bulletin boards are sources of beauty and inspiration. A masterpiece is created with just some paper, scissors, tape, push pins, and glue. Bulletin boards are gorgeous works of art that hang in an educational setting for a short time before they are torn down and replaced with a new one. Unlike Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” with a permanent placement hanging in the Louvre, bulletin boards are only here for a short time. Maybe that is part of what makes them so special to me…the temporary nature of this art form. Beauty is found in the impermanence.

Here are some bulletin boards that I adore. Thank you to these bulletin board artists. Enjoy!

Seize the Play

Play patterns change across childhood. At seven, my daughter plays differently than she did at 3 years old. I wanted to learn more about her ideas on play. Here is an interview I did with her.

 Me: What makes play fun?

Adriana: If you’re smiling, that means you’re having fun.

 Me: Do you need toys or electronics to play?

Adriana: No. I like to play with dirt at recess. But I do like toys and electronics for playing, though.

 Me: What is the best part of play?

Adriana: The part where everybody is happy. Or the part where everything is going wrong and we get a solution for it. 

 Me: How do you know you’re playing?

Adriana: If it is fun. I call spelling fun. Spelling tests are playing for me. Same thing for recess and at home. 

 Me: What do grown-ups need to know about play?

Adriana: They need to know the whole list of games like: hide-n-see, jump rope, hopscotch, hula hooping, hand games, Red Rover, and soccer.

Today, seize the play! Side effects may include: joy, giddiness, and general awesomeness.

Bringing the Ivory Tower into Homes

Access to higher education is made possible when educators and administrators incorporate strategies to support all students in inclusive learning environments. More than ever, students with disabilities are seeking alternative options to traditional classroom experiences. Students with diverse areas of abilities are seeking online learning for various reasons. In a study of university faculty, over half did not know if they had training or resources to ensure accommodations (Phillips et al., 2012). Many online educators are unaware of legal, practical, and/or ethical responsibilities for students with disabilities.

An article that offers information about how to create an accessible online learning environment is, “Bringing the Ivory Tower into Students’ Homes: Promoting Accessibility in Online Courses.” The article shares information about: professional development, modeling diversity, assignment choice, universal design for learning, and the use of authentic assessment to measure student learning and determine outcomes. Appropriate accommodations for individual learners with disabilities, as well as universal design concepts for the entire class can lead to an accessible online learning environment that meets legal requirements and recommended practice standards. Seven categories of accessible features fall into: images, tables, page content, multimedia, color, and auto-testing tools. When the ivory tower goes into students homes in the form of online courses, accessibility is the key to unlock learning and development.  

Drawing courtesy of Adriana Macy age 6

Sources:

Macy, M., Macy, R., & Shaw, M., (2018). Bringing the ivory tower into students’ homes: Promoting accessibility in online courses. Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal, 11(1), 13-21. doi:10.18848/1835-9795/CGP/v11i01/13-21.  This paper won the International Award for Excellence.

Phillips, A., Terras, K., Swinney, L., & Schneweis, C. (2012). Online disability accommodations: Faculty experiences at one public university. Journal of Postsecondary Education & Disability, 25(4), 331-344.

Communities of Play Innovation

Cities that promote play are at an economic advantage because people want to live, work, spend time and money in positive play environments. A sense of community can be established when families and children are able to play in public locations (Ehrenhalt, 2014). Play deserts occur in places where children have limited play opportunities. Crime, community facilities, and obesity are some of the factors leading to play deserts (Sharaievska, 2014). Location may also hinder opportunities for play. At least four things are needed to create communities of play.

#1) Safety. The basic ingredient for play is that it must be safe. Communities of play are environments where great care has been taken to ensure children are protected from harm. Safe play communities have low or no crime.

#2) Clean and welcoming facilities. Families seeking play communities for their children want clean spaces that are attractive and welcoming. The well-being of children is maximized when there are facilities conducive to play. Clean water, playgrounds, spaces, equipment, toys, and more are needed to attract children and families (Juster & Leichter-Saxby, 2014). 

#3) Access. Play environments must be accessible to people with diverse abilities. In my community, we recently renovated our community playground so that it could be more accessible to children with motor delays and people who use wheelchairs. The results have been more inclusive play for all our children. Such a valuable investment.

Access to play communities that are close to home and work are necessary to making play a priority for families. Schedules are busy and there are many things to do each day which may push opportunities for play to the bottom of the to-do list. Families do not need an extra errand to transport children far away to play.Community planning is necessary for the development and maintenance of play communities. 

#4) Supervision. Children require adult supervision. Parents, grandparents, family members, teachers, parks and rec staff, city employees paid to supervise community activities, and other adults designated to ensure the safety and well-being of children are necessary to play communities. Public spaces for play should be managed by qualified adults trained to properly supervise children.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states in Article 31 that children have the right to: “rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.” Children benefit when they are able to play in safe, clean, accessible, and supervised environments. Childhood is enhanced where there are nurturing and caring communities of play.

"I Spy with My Little Eye" playground.

Sources:

Ehrenhalt, A. a. (2014). Cities, families and places to play. Governing, 27(7), 14-16

Juster, A. H., & Leichter-Saxby, M. (2014). Citizens at play: Children's participation through community-based opportunities for child-directed play. Global Studies Of Childhood, 4(2), 77

Sharaievska, I. (2014). Family leisure and the play desert. Parks & Recreation, 49(8), 36-37.

Happy Place

There are happy meals. There are happy birthdays. There are books about happiness. There are even songs about being happy. Thank you, Pharrell Williams!

The pursuit of happiness is in our American DNA. But how do we create happy environments for young children?

This is a question we can explore when designing spaces. In our early childhood theory and practice class this week we are reading about the physical environment. There are many things to consider when designing the physical environment for young children. What may be most important is to create a HAPPY PLACE!

A happy place for children would consist of at least five things.

1.      Safety.

2.      Accessibility.

3.      Functionality.

4.      Developmental appropriateness.

5.      Beauty.

A local bank is offering teachers a contest to renovate their classrooms. Contest winners will receive $2,000 to spend on classroom renovations. What would you do with an extra $2,000 to spend on your early childhood space? We can look to the Danes for answers.

Despite their long winters, Danish people are considered some of the happiest people in the world. What makes Denmark one of the happiest nations?  In Denmark, the concept of “hygge” is focused on creating a nice atmosphere. In their books, Wiking and Søderberg share the way to create happiness the Danish way with the concept of hygge (pronounced hoo-ga). Dr. Meik Wiking reveals the Danish secrets of hygge and the keys to happiness that he and other researchers study at the Happiness Research Institute. He says, “Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things. It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world and allow ourselves to let our guard down,” (Wiking, 2017, p. vi). Sounds really good to me! We could all use more hygge when we go to our happy place!

Sources:

Søderberg, M. T. (2016). Hygge: The Danish art of happiness. New York: Penguin Books.

Wiking, M. (2017). The little book of hygge. Danish secrets to happy living. New York: HarperCollins.

Animals Strike Curious Poses

One day physicist Dr. Helen Czerski visited a pond in Winchester in the south of England. She noticed a little girl asking her mother a curious question. The child wanted to know why the duck she was observing didn’t get cold feet. Hmmm… Young children are naturally inquisitive about their surroundings and they ask awesome questions! Their sense of inquiry comes natural to them. I have visited many early childhood classrooms to observe my student teachers. I try not to be seen. I prefer to be like a fly on the wall, however young children usually want to know who I am and why I am there. They generally notice when something is out of place in the environment. Children are relentless seekers of information. Adults can support children by being responsive to their inquiry. We can even try being more like children by following some age-old advice from Jane Austen, “indulge your imagination in every possible flight” (Austen, 1813- Pride and Prejudice).

Man's Best Friend Receives Accommodation

Maybe it has always been here and I just now noticed it. Across from the gates in Concourse B at the El Paso, Texas airport exists a quiet and relaxing lounge for service animals. 

Years ago I had an internship with Dr. Debra Hamilton. We traveled throughout the county providing home visits to young children with disabilities and their families.  Dr. Hamilton had a black lab named Hagar who was her service dog. 

One family we worked with that summer had a toddler who was losing her vision just like Dr. Hamilton. When we would pull up to her driveway, "Sonya" and her siblings would be lined up at the window waiting for Hagar to arrive.  Dr. Hamilton promised the children they could play with Hagar if they allowed "Sonya" and us time to work during the visit. 

Hagar was always laser focused during the session. Once we were done working, Hagar turned into a playful puppy with his tail wagging enthusiastically when his service vest came off. 

Thank you El Paso airport! What a thoughtful way to serve those who provide so much service to others. 

Bird Feeder: Spring Craft

Are you looking for a spring activity to do with the little ones in your life? Look no further than your kitchen pantry and bathroom. To make a feeder you can set out on nearby trees for your feathered friends, gather the following things: peanut butter, sunflower seeds, and toilet paper rolls. Start by smearing the peanut butter onto the cardboard. Next, coat the peanut butter rolls with seeds. You’re done! Simple!

Bird feeder

Have fun doing this craft with kids, and get ready to see the birds nibble their way through spring. Attracting birds to a child’s environment creates endless opportunities to learn and be entertained by nature.

Mise En Place

My husband and I are friends with another couple who are foodies. We are not. My husband is a telephone-chef, and I am an experimental cook who cannot follow a recipe to save her life. We enjoy hanging out with our friends and have learned a lot about their hobby.

One weekend, in the cold of winter, we took a drive up to Hyde Park to take a cooking class at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Vassar College and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home and presidential library are in this area too, as well as the Morse Code Museum. It is worth a trip to see the Hudson and this gorgeous part of New York.

The CIA weekend classes are offered to non-chefs, or the home cook. There is a separate more intense educational program for serious students. The weekend classes have different topics than the regular CIA curriculum. For example, my husband and I took the Soups for All Seasons class where everyone in the course made soup.

The soup class started in a traditional classroom with desks and chairs. Chef Paul DelleRose gave us a packet of written materials, along with a CIA cookbook. He explained cooking concepts. We took notes! He wrote on the chalkboard. We took notes! He provided us with direct instruction on how to use the equipment, materials, ingredients, and read a recipe. We took notes! Chef took a sip of tea and we all took notes!

Chef gave all students a CIA apron, we washed our hands, and then we were ready to cook. Chef and the opening pages of the cookbook say that what happens prior to cooking is the most important stage of the process. This is not unlike teaching where environmental planning is an essential stage.

Chef Paul and his assistant helped each student in the class with their soups. When we were done cooking, we poured the soups into little sample cups. Everyone in the class got to taste 16 different soups. When the class was done, we met up with all the other CIA weekend classes in a big banquet hall for a delectable feast prepared by the CIA staff. We also got to sample cured meats the Charcuterie class made. We sat with our friends and compared notes on our two classes.

They went to an advanced gourmet class and made a savory meal plus a dessert. The cooking environment between our classes were standard. They had ovens, sinks, knives, pots, and pans just like we did.

The one thing that was different between the basic soup class and advanced gourmet class was how the environment was used. Members in the advanced class were sophisticated in how they cooked in their kitchen space. When they cut meat with a knife they cleaned and returned it to where it belongs. When they used a colander to drain liquid, it was returned to its home on a shelf. When they were done using their food prep space, they cleaned it and got it ready for the next steps of the recipe they were making.

In my entry-level soup class, everyone’s kitchen space looked like a tornado hit. Messy! The French expression mise en place translates into “everything in its place.” Chef Paul went over this concept in the classroom before we entered our kitchens to make soup. But, apparently none of us got it. I wonder if Chef felt like saying, "Unless you clean up this pig sty... NO SOUP FOR YOU!"

Mise en place is harder than it would seem to actually apply in a kitchen when you are learning a new way of cooking. An efficient kitchen and classroom has everything in its place. When an environment is organized it runs smoother and safer.

Intentional environmental planning can be observed in preschools where teachers implement a protocol of visually organizing the classroom. The use of pictures, icons, and visual summaries help students become independent in their setting. For instance, bins have pictures on them so children know where to return classroom materials when they are done. This helps children who are not reading words yet or have a disability, because they can understand the visual information. 

Teachers use intentional arrangement of the environment to set students up for success. Parents organize space in ways that are conducive to the needs of their family. Take note, to have a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" experience with kids implement mise en place.

Fink, B., & Culinary Institute of America (2009). The Culinary Institute of America's new book of soups (2nd ed).  New York: Lebhar-Friedman Books.

Lagniappe

I love shopping at Nordstrom. It is not because of the piano player perched next to the escalators. It is not because of the free samples of perfume. It is not even the cheap but delicious coffee, or the lime and chicken cilantro salad from the café. The reason I love shopping at Nordy’s is because of the way I get treated when I shop there.

The customer service practices keep me coming back again and again. Being able to return something that just didn’t quite work out is a fabulous feeling. I no longer have to suffer buyer’s remorse. Once I bought a pair of “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans” (NYDJ). I’m not kidding when I say NYDJ has some kind of miracle ingredient in the fabric. They stretch in a slimming way. I thought I won the trouser lottery when I bought my first pair. A few days later I got a card delivered to me. The envelope in the mail was addressed to me from Nordstrom. I was curious to see what was inside. A bill? No. A coupon? No. An advertisement? WRONG!

The salesperson who changed my life by introducing my bumper to these amazing pants wrote ME a thank you note. Her handwriting was beautiful (she must have had some great teachers who taught her cursive)! I should have been the one sending HER a thank you note.

The Nordstrom associate understood lagniappe in serving customers. Merriam Webster defines lagniappe as, “a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure.”

I have been on the receiving end of lagniappe many times. My uncle Lorenzo took me with him to shop at an outdoor market near Naples. He did most of his shopping at outdoor markets and specialty shops. No super stores.  Unlike in America, you don’t just “run” an errand. People there just didn’t seem to be in a hurry. I watched my relatives savor their meals, savor conversations, and savor the good life—vita bella! A shopper will no doubt see people they know at the market, and shopping for groceries is an event.

I wanted to buy some blood oranges. I’d never seen a blood orange before, and I was captivated by the vendor singing and trying to attract customers. It was fun being there and just observing his shenanigans. I handed the Tenor Vendor singing “O Sole Mio” a handful of lira (Italian currency before the Euro) and he gave me my purchase. In addition to what I bought, he gave me about two cups worth of hazelnuts. He also gave me and the other customers quite a show that even Luciano Pavarotti would envy. Now I have a word for it.... That’s LAGNIAPPE!

In the U.S. we have "gift with purchase" that is similar to what the Italian produce man did where he gave his customer a little something extra. Another company known for lagniappe is Disney. Every year, my husband and I take my daughter to Disney World for her birthday week. In 2015, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We checked in around 4pm. The person at the desk asked if we were celebrating anything special. "Our child's birthday," we said. We went up to the room to drop off our suitcases. Then we went to one of the parks.

When we got back to the room, we noticed a tray on our table. There were confetti sprinkles, a cloth napkin, and a note. “Check your fridge for your gift,” was written on the note. There sitting in the refrigerator was a round eight inch vanilla cake with two layers of strawberry filling. It said, “Happy Birthday” and even included our child’s name. Not just the generic Happy Birthday, but her name was written in frosting on the cake. Correct spelling and all.

I thought my husband was the cake fairy, and he thought it was me. We put our heads together to solve the cake mystery. A good working theory is needed anytime one tries to solve a mystery. After watching hundreds of Law & Order reruns, I have come up with my own theory about who the guilty party is. My theory is that it is usually the person least expected. The one character in the show you would never imagine is the suspect.

So, who could our cake fairy be? Who is the person least expected to send a cake for my daughter’s birthday week. I thought it was my in-laws. “Could it be Grandma and Grandpa?” I asked my husband. “No, I don’t think they know we’re here,” he replied.

“Could it be Nonno and Nonna?” I speculated. Then I realized, they too didn’t have the details of where we were staying. “Maybe it is Mickey Mouse… he’d be the one least expected to surprise you with a cake,” I said to my three year old. I called down to the main desk and they confirmed my theory. Eureka! It was Mickey Mouse! That is going the extra mile. That’s LAGNIAPPE!

Mickey Mouse knows lagniappe...

My theory works (almost) every time. Try it the next time you are perplexed. Another American company known for lagniappe is the Marriott. I took my daughter to Seattle to visit family when she was fifteen months old. We drove four hours from our house in central Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. Instead of getting on the flight the same day, I decided to break up the trip and stay over in Philly for the night. The trip to Washington would be about 6 hours and I didn’t think the 10+ hours of travel would be good for my baby.

We checked in and asked for a crib for my daughter. They sent someone up with a crib and crib sheet. The Marriott employee set up the crib for us. Then he gave us a teddy bear wearing a Marriott shirt. That’s LAGNIAPPE!

When I take my car in for an oil change, the dealership throws in a car wash. That’s LAGNIAPPE!

In all these scenarios, someone went above and beyond what was expected of them to make their customer happy. It was unnecessary, but greatly appreciated. I think it would be an amazing paradigm shift if we started treating families like they are cherished customers. Customer satisfaction should be an important goal in the delivery of services we provide our students and their families in educational settings. LAGNIAPPE!