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This week, Kisa and Mike talk with Mike Brown and Nick Terrones about magick in the classroom. Liberated teaching is about being in the moment, but that can take years to achieve. There are countless skills to use, but over time you discover that you can't force these skills on children. Often, the best thing you can do is nothing except be reflective and responsive to what is happening.   We talk about Mike and Nick's podcast Napcast, episode 75: Guided by Plants: Bay Leaf and the Things We Teach Without Saying a Word. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2pTEhPLlgggLliaoez1aZn  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

This week, we share an episode of Pre-Primary Sources where Lizz Nolasco talks to Kisa and Mike about racial identity development.   Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias education are (should be) part of all educator training; but what do we know about how children develop positive racial identity? Kisa Marx and Mike Huber (Liberated Learning podcast) join Lizz Nolasco to talk about a small piece of racial identity development. Bonus XL episode because it turns out there's a lot to unpack!  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

When children and adults can show up as their authentic selves, it fundamentally changes the culture of the group, both when they are part ot the group and when they leave. Each cohort will develop its own culture whether that means the painters, the searchers for dinosaur bones, or the donkey-kickers. The way they get down—the ethos--stays the same. The way the rock out—the culture—changes as the members change.  Things mike forgot: Fred Rogers mentor was Margaret MacFarland, a child psychologist who focused on the meaning of interactions between children and mothers. She co-founded the Arsenal Center with Benjamin Spock and Erik Erikson.  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Interdependence is a part of liberation. So is autonomy. Kisa and Mike return to an issue they first discussed in episode LL021. The balance of interdependence and autonomy requires ongoing discussion. We don't have to choose one over the other but rather power with a child whenever possible and power for a child when it is needed. By focusing on each child's agency, children become active in their interdependence. They learn to see the needs of others and learn to support each other. It's more than just sharing. Before a child can share, they have to feel that something belongs to them. Then they have a gift to give.    Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

We are inundated with sensory input every moment. We learn to filter out information that seems insignificant while also making assumptions. We couldn't interact with others or move about in the world without these abilities. But if we're not careful, we can rely on our unconscious biases. We need to reflect on our actions and make changes when we notice these biases showing up. We must also remember that children change, and our interactions must change as well.   Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Kisa and Mike talk about the idea of Joy as Resistance. We need to resist the idea that people of the global majority are trauma vessels. Nobody is. Everyone deserves joy and everyone can experience trauma. Acknowledging this does not mean we ignore how disparate people's experiences can be. In the musical Hadestown, Orpheus is introduced with the line, "He could make you see how the world could be in spite of the way that it is." The experience of joy is not in opposition to equity and justice; it is embodying the possibility of equity and justice.  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Code switching is perspective shifting. It involves the cultural context of the speaker and the intended audience. Kisa and Mike discuss some of the gray areas of code switching. They then pivot to working with children and the importance of flexibility and taking each child's perspective.  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

When we talk to other educators, we want to be clear and intentional. But that does not mean each of us will use the same words. Kisa finds that Chat GPT will whitewash her words when she uses her Southside vernacular. Mike's white suburban upbringing more closely mirrors normative language. All communication has a cultural context. Kisa and Mike talk through ways they choose when to use academic jargon, conversational language, quotes from songs or vernacular. There is no singular "correct" language, but rather it is contextual. Too often, when the argot of educators is used, there is an assumption that people will look up unfamiliar terms. If a phrase is non-normative (i.e., not from white middle class culture), people expect it to be defined. Sometimes you just got to stumble through it.     Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

When we Interact with children, we often use scripts, phrases we can repeat to get children engaged. Scripts can be helpful for beginning a conversation or working through emotional times. But relying too much on a script can take us out of the moment. We need to be sure to connect to the child, not the script.   Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Our conversation with Cay Burton turns more personal when Cay talks about their hope to be the adult they needed when they were a child. Cay reminds us that we don't need to have all the answers. We just need to approach difference with compassion, acceptance and love.  Cay's article can be downloaded using this link: https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/jcs/issue/view/1643  Cayley Burton (she/they) has a Master of Education (MEd) in early childhood education from the University of British Columbia. Cayley is a queer early childhood educator, researcher, advocate, and writer living on Treaty 7 territory in Calgary, Alberta (Mohkinstsis in Blackfoot). Email: [email protected]  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Liberation requires that each member of a community feels free to be themselves while accepting others for being themselves. Our differences are gifts--not threats--to collective well-being. We continue our discussion with Cay Burton focusing on how adult fears can interrupt children's appreciation of the range of human experience.  Cay's article can be downloaded using this link: https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/jcs/issue/view/1643  Cayley Burton (she/they) has a Master of Education (MEd) in early childhood education from the University of British Columbia. Cayley is a queer early childhood educator, researcher, advocate, and writer living on Treaty 7 territory in Calgary, Alberta (Mohkinstsis in Blackfoot). Email: [email protected]  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

LL029 It's Also Mermaid Tails  Rudine Sims Bishop once wrote, "Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us." But because human experience varies from person to person, what each of us sees also varies. When educators read to children, adult interpretations and goals for children too often get in the way of things; children live what they know of their lives. We continue our discussion with Cay Burton as they tell some of the stories from their research on Queer Circle Time. We keep circling back to the conclusion that our work as liberators is making a safe space for children and adults to express their many facets which includes their social identities but also their joys and fears. It can be a child feeling safe to express their gender, but it's also mermaid tails.  Cay's article can be downloaded using this link: https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/jcs/issue/view/1643  Cayley Burton (she/they) has a Master of Education (MEd) in early childhood education from the University of British Columbia. Cayley is a queer early childhood educator, researcher, advocate, and writer living on Treaty 7 territory in Calgary, Alberta (Mohkinstsis in Blackfoot). Email: [email protected]  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

This week we are joined by Cayley Burton to talk about their article, Queer Circle Time: Inviting Children’s Responses to 2SLGBTQI+ Picture Books. We talk about the importance of representation; children having mirrors that reflect an aspect of their experience. The talk quickly goes deeper and talks about the need for educators to take the time to let children express themselves authentically. When we move quickly, children may only give us the answer they think we want. Slowing down and actively listening to children allows us to hear their answers. We see their humanity when we approach with curiosity.  Cay's article can be downloaded using this link: https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/jcs/issue/view/1643  Cayley Burton (she/they) has a master’s of education (MEd) in early childhood education from the University of British Columbia. Cayley is a queer early childhood educator, researcher, advocate, and writer living on Treaty 7 territory in Calgary, Alberta (Mohkinstsis in Blackfoot). Email: [email protected]  Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Actions speak louder than words, but words matter. The power is in matching words with actions. We teach a child to ask, "Is there anything I can do?" rather than "Sorry," so they understand that apologizing requires action, not just words. Coaching a teacher is more effective when you tell them one thing to focus on and then have them observe and try it out. Intentionality is the key whether using words, gestures or actions.    Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Being an educator is vulnerable because we are showing an early draft of our authentic self. We can't improve our practice until we let others see how we show up. Then we need to let the children and our co-workers inspire us to be our best educator self. Like everything, we may feel a bit of imposter syndrome when we try something new, but over time, we can integrate practices that are working and come closer to our ideal. The trick is that we always have to be OK with realizing that there is no end point. There is always more to learn.    Kisa and Mike refer to the Everything ECE Podcast episode, Why Movement Comes Before Mindfulness with Lisa Danahy https://podcast.elfoundations.com/playlist/WvbVjPR8by/file/6NKzrrXvDz    Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/  Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd    Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness