Jean-Mari Dagarin, from The Early Childhood POV, joins me today to talk about a growing concern in early education: 'schoolification'—the push to bring formal academic practices into early childhood spaces. With over 30 years of experience as an early childhood advocate, administrator, college professor, and developmentally appropriate practice expert, Jean Marie has seen firsthand how these pressures impact young learners. Today, we’re unpacking what schoolification means, why it’s problematic, and, more importantly, how educators can combat it while staying true to developmentally appropriate practices.

Highlights:

1. Defining Schoolification: Jean Marie breaks down the concept of "schoolification" in early childhood, discussing how academic pressures are being pushed down to younger ages and why this is often developmentally inappropriate.
2. Examples of Inappropriate Early Literacy Practices: Jean Marie shares specific examples of early literacy practices that do not align with developmentally appropriate principles, highlighting the need for a child-centered approach. Laura shares some that she did before she knew better
3. Natural Literacy Development in Play-Based Learning: Jean Marie and Laura provide insights into how early literacy skills can unfold naturally through play, offering practical strategies for fostering language and literacy in a way that supports children's developmental stages.

If you want to think deeper about early literacy, what’s often done wrong, and how teachers can nurture children’s natural literacy development through play, this episode is for you! So, grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and let’s jump into this eye-opening conversation with Jean-Mari.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Learn more with the Play-Based Literacy Masterclass

Connect with Jean-Mari:

• Instagram: @the.early.childhood.pov
• Website: earlychildhoodpov.com
• Learn more with DAP 101

In this episode, I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Julia B. Lindsey, Ph.D., a leading expert in foundational literacy and the author of Reading Above the Fray: Research-based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills. With a wealth of experience as both an educator and researcher, Dr. Lindsey has made significant contributions to the field of literacy, including the creation of widely used knowledge-rich decodable texts. Together we simplify and break down all the different aspects of early literacy using research.

Highlights:

1. Explicit Reading Instruction: Hear some concrete reasons why some literacy skills have to be explicitly taught and the research that supports this. Learn simple ways to do this with young children in a play-based setting.
2. Phonemic Awareness: Julia simply explains the difference between phonemic and phonological awareness and their role in developing early literacy skills.
3. How It's All Connected: Laura and Julia discuss how reading and writing is deeply interconnected with language. They also share how joyful literacy learning can be for young children as they start to make sense of the code that they see all around them.

If you’re ready to start building in 5-7 minutes of explicit literacy instruction a day and aren’t sure where to start, this episode is for you. Find out how and why you should be doing this and what the current research says.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Learn more with the Play-Based Literacy Masterclass

Connect with Dr. Julia Lindsey:

• Instagram: @juliablindsey
• Website: www.juliablindsey.com
• Her book: Reading Above the Fray

Laura welcomes Dr. Jasmine Moses, an anti-bias early childhood educator dedicated to promoting anti-bias and anti-racist practices within early childhood education. Jasmine shares insights into how anti-bias education can help raise more aware, kind, and forgiving children. This chat covers the importance of addressing biases, involving the community in this collective effort, and using children's literature as a powerful tool to promote diversity, inclusivity, and critical thinking among young children.

Highlights:

1. Defining Anti-Bias Education: Laura and Jasmine discuss their shared understanding of this complex topic and the four aspects of this work.
2. Incorporating Anti-Bias Education into ECE: Learn how anti-bias work seamlessly fits into early childhood education. Jasmine provides insights into the important work adults must do to engage in learning alongside children.
3. Using Children’s Literature: Laura and Jasmine share resources, favorite books, prompts to use, and questions to ask yourself (and children).

If you’re ready to start being proactive rather than reactive when addressing topics of culture, race, gender, and more, this episode will help. Jasmine shares practical tips on selecting diverse books and offers an extensive list of recommended reads for both children and adults engaging in anti-bias education. Additionally, you’ll learn some places to start and how to start decentering yourself and centering this work.

Connect with Laura:

• Instagram: @little.stories.that.stick
• Website: Little Stories That Stick
• Free Guidebook: Culturally Responsive & Inclusive Storytelling

Connect with Jasmine:

• Instagram: @theantibiasece
• Website: The Anti-Bias ECE
• Free Guide: Now We're Talking

Resources:

• Social Justice Books
• • Guide for selecting children’s books
  • Book lists

Some of the Books Mentioned:

• Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks
• Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate, Anti-Racist, Justice-Minded Kids in an Unjust World by Traci Baxley
• Raising Anti Racist Children: A practical guide by Britt Hawthorne
• First Conversations books
• Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
• Big by Vashti Harrison