I always feel so fortunate to live in Oregon. We have the Bottle Bill and get 10 cents back when we recycle our cans, other people pump our gas, there is no sales tax, and the landscape is stunning. And we can say ‘GAY.’

This week Florida’s governor signed into the law the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This legislation requires that  school districts “may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels.”

I am curious if anyone who has worked with young children was actually involved in developing this bill or spent any time in early learning environments. Enter a classroom of young children and the topic of conversation centers on what they hold near and dear to their hearts; their identity and their families. And lots and lots of poop talk! They don’t need ‘encouragement’ to start these conversations; they just happen. 

I owned a preschool from 2010 to 2021, in addition I’ve worked in Head Start, a Montessori program, and a Parent-Child Co-op over the past 24 years. These conversations about our lives and the people we read about spring up organically. It’s developmentally appropriate and typical for young children to be interested in how we are alike and how we are different. Their curiosity is never-ending. 

“Miss Teresa, is that a boy or a girl?” in response to a character in a children’s book.

My typical response is to ask the child what they think.

“Well, they have eyelashes and long hair, so they must be a girl.”

“Hmmmm, I know that all the children and grown-ups in this room have eyelashes. That makes it hard to determine. And I know that people can have all sorts of hair. We don’t really know someone’s gender unless we ask them. It’s tricky when we’re reading a book, isn’t it?”

“Miss Teresa, do you have a husband?”

“No, I don’t have a husband. I have a girlfriend.”

“Oh, okay! Did you know I went skiing this weekend? I went so fast!” 

When I created Aspen Academy, one of my main goals was to provide physical and emotional safety, as well as create a welcoming environment for all children and families in our program. As educators, we concentrated on creating environments that were gender expansive and fluid, where children could express a wide range of emotions, interests, and behaviors that fell anywhere along the gender continuum. We strove to affirm all children and allow them to express their interests and find confidence in their strengths. 

An aspect of affirming all children includes recognition and celebration of their unique families. When selecting children’s literature for my classroom, I intentionally selected books with all sorts of families. Families with a mom and a dad, foster families, conditionally separated families (i.e., one parent incarcerated or serving in the military), same-gender parents, children being raised by their grandparents, and many more. This intentional selection of children’s books served to expose children to families like theirs and families different from theirs. These are the building blocks of fostering empathy, creating empowered future allies, and helping children to become comfortable with human diversity. When educators are prohibited from discussing sexual orientation (or as we say in preschool, ‘who we love and who loves us’), this also prevents us from discussing all family types, including ones with mixed-gender parents.

Regardless of personal belief, all families want children to feel happy and safe. Conversations around gender identity or family composition did not involve discussion of sexual activity or behavior. Gender is what is in our hearts and in our minds, not necessarily what is between our legs. 

Ahead of signing the law, DeSantis said teaching kindergarten-aged kids that “they can be whatever they want to be” was “inappropriate” for children.  He said, “It’s not something that’s appropriate for any place, but especially not in Florida.”

I am grateful that in Oregon we support children in developmentally appropriate ways to follow what they know is true for themselves in their hearts and in their minds. In Oregon, we celebrate families. In Oregon, we trust children. 

Resources for Additional Support

Welcoming Schools Book Lists

I spend four days a week around the mask-less. They are not motivated by politics, claims of being anti-government-mandate, or citing the 14^th amendment of the Constitution. They can’t even read. They are 3, 4, and 5-year-olds. They are preschoolers. They are not required to wear face coverings. They are small children who have been in this world for less than 60 months. About half of the children come to school in masks; their skill with them is, well, skill-less.

I’m tired. As the owner of a small preschool program, the past nine months have been exhausting. From closing unexpectedly, trying to secure every possible grant and loan made available to childcares in a pandemic, having to let an employee go and reducing the other’s hours by over half, experiencing hands so dry from sanitizer, bleach, and constant washing that they crack until the bleed, and panicking every time I hear a child or one of their family members is unwell. The list goes on and on. 

My friends and family have always joked that I am a walking germ. I spend my days with folx who are learning to wipe their bottoms, cover their coughs and sneezes, and not pick their noses (and then eat it). With Covid, these hilarious (and disgusting) antics of young children are no longer amusing; they have the potential to be dangerous. I am not a scientist and I realize that child-to-child transmission of Covid is rather low. But they can be carriers. Even if I was blasé about the risks of Covid, anyone who takes it halfway seriously would not want to be near me, even in a mask. Small people sneeze and cough into my masked face. They try to open their lunch containers with their teeth and when unsuccessful, they hand them right to me to open. 

There are two of us working in my program this year. We have one sub. One. We are balancing on such a fine line every damn day. If either of us gets a fever, unexplained cough, or any of the many Covid symptoms, and that ONE sub is not available (who has 3 children of her own and who she is schooling at home this year), we CANNOT be open. And we CANNOT be open for days. 

I did not camp with friends this summer. I live in the same town as my parents. I have not hugged my dad since February. I’ve hugged my mom twice since March, and both times, it was more of a ‘well fuck it, we should just hug.’ I’ve seen a few dear friends for socially distanced meals at homes, usually outside and masked until we are eating. I have not dined in a restaurant since early March; everything is delivered or take-out. I did not float the Deschutes River during our hottest days; too crowded. Our annual family reunion was canceled, the one time of year I see half of my relatives. I chose to teach my University courses 100% remote. I avoided my favorite hiking trails, as they were simply too crowded for my comfort level. No birthday gatherings either. 

I will likely be spending Christmas alone. There is a possibility my family will get together outside around a fire pit, however, the average high temperature in December is 41 and the low is 23. My parents are 70 years old. It will be brief and non-traditional. 

I am doing everything in my power to keep my little school safe and open. And it’s exhausting. We’ve already had 3 Covid scares among our program; luckily, everyone’s tests came back negative. 

Here is what gets me… When I see folks on social media associated with the preschool, being… well, ‘social.’ I feel scared. I feel angry. I feel discounted. I feel envious. I feel like our school being open is not valued. Why do these people get to spend time with friends? Why are they in enclosed spaces, unmasked with others? 

Yesterday one of the preschoolers shared when Covid is gone, her cousins will move here. I said when Covid is gone, I will hug my parents and my dear friends. 

We are all in this together. It takes one case, ONE, to shut down our program for at least two weeks. 

Perhaps I am feeling sorry for myself. There are so many experiencing it much worse. No-one close to me has contracted Covid that we know of – a friend’s father, a partner’s grandmother, and a colleague’s daughter. I am fortunate. I want to keep it that way.

I am taking this seriously. I want to stay open. I want to do my job. Take it seriously too. Wear a damn mask.

Featuring special guest blogger: Stefany Cunningham, B.S. (Areas of study include kinesiology, early childhood development & education, and psychology)

During this difficult and isolating time, writing letters to loved ones will foster your child’s knowledge of several literacy components, as well as foster social-emotional health among everyone involved (your children, the recipients, and you!). Right now, in the eyes of young children, the world can be a confusing place as new social restrictions are being put into place and our everyday lives are jostled. Children at this time have less power to initiate social connections with people who live outside of their homes than ever before.

Writing letters can serve as a healthy outlet for young children to remain in contact with those they are currently unable to see in person. In addition, it gives them the power to initiate a social connection that email is unable to provide (children can’t hop onto their own email accounts whenever they please, but they certainly can find a writing utensil and a piece of paper!). Your children will love to write letters to people they are missing dearly: grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, and teachers. 

There are a couple different ways families can go about this activity depending on the age of their children and how much experience the child has with writing. 

If your child has experience and interest in writing letters and words, they may wish to write the letter themselves (with a little help from their adults, of course!). Children with writing experience may need an adult to spell out words for them or have an adult write out words on a seperate sheet of paper for them to copy down in their letter. 

Remember: Your child is learning and growing. The best way to support literacy skills at this age is to show them that reading and writing is enjoyable. Their letter forms do not have to be perfect, as it’s about the process not the product. Your children will have plenty of time to learn how to properly dot their I’s and cross their Ts as they grow older. 

If your child has not explored writing letters or words yet, they can still be heavily involved in the writing process by dictating to their adults what they want the letter to say. Or, if your child wants to “write the letter themselves” by scribbling all over the paper, this is an early attempt at writing and this is valuable too! 

Either process will help children build literacy skills in meaningful ways. Children will have the opportunity to express their thoughts and emotions in writing fostering a deep, meaningful connection with literacy (and receiving a letter in return is a bonus, meaningful literacy experience!). When children experience a meaningful connection with literacy, they are exploring the following literacy concepts:

• Knowledge of Print: When writing letters to loved ones, your children will explore the concept that verbal language can be documented and read aloud, and that print carries a message (more importantly, their message! How powerful they will feel expressing their thoughts and emotions on paper!). Additionally, children will gain a better understanding that print must follow certain arrangements. For example, English is written from left to right; starting at the top of the page and moving downward (Dodge, Colker, & Heroman, 2009). 

• Letters and Words: When your children write letters to loved ones, they are learning letter and word identification. In addition, they are also learning how we use letters and words to communicate with others. Authors Diane Trister Dodge, Laura J. Colker, and Cate Heroman (2009) explained, “Really knowing letters involves understanding that a letter is a symbol representing one or more of the sounds in the English language; that these symbols can be grouped together to form words; and that these words have meaning” (p. 129). What better way for children to explore how to use letters and words for communicating than to connect with those they care about through print?

• Literacy as a Source of Enjoyment: Motivation is a key feature in literacy development. Why do people read and write? Because we want to hear stories, gather information, or we want to communicate our own stories and information. Communicating your own thoughts and emotions, or reading the thoughts and emotions of someone you truly care for is far more motivating than copying or reading letters on a worksheet (Dodge, Colker, & Heroman, 2009). 

We hope your family enjoys this opportunity to foster a love of literacy while simultaneously enriching your family’s social-emotional health! Please subscribe to Pine Nuts: Musings on Early and Higher Learning and join Aspen Academy on social media (Facebook and Instagram) for more activity ideas!

References

Dodge, D. T., Colker, L. J., & Heroman, C. (2002). The creative curriculum for preschool (4th ed.). Teaching Strategies. 

I was supposed to be on a plane to New Zealand today for a preschool study tour.

To make this trip possible, I’d sold my car, took on an extra class this summer, and applied for scholarships. I also recently transitioned from a dual-income household to a single-income one (thanks divorce!).

Instead I’m trying to find ways to help my tiny preschool survive the next two-and-a-half months. 

My number one goal is help to my staff avoid filing for unemployment. I work with two fabulous teachers; teachers with degrees, teachers who I’ve known since they were students in my college classrooms. 

The average assistant preschool teacher in Oregon earns between $12 and $15 an hour. My employees work approximately 20 to 22 hours a week. If they apply and qualify for unemployment, do the math on what 60% of that income looks like for them. That few hundred dollar discrepancy could mean the difference between evictions, missed car payments, and so on.

So, I sent this email out to my preschool families (names edited to protect privacy):

Dear Families,

Last summer I read several of Brené Brown’s books (didn’t we all?). This seems like a great time to put the power of vulnerability into practice. 

• “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

Right now, we have no control over the outcomes; reaching out to you with this request requires courage on my part, and a lot of vulnerability. 

In light of Governor Brown’s declaration that all Oregon schools remain closed until April 28^th, we have decided to extend our planned closure through April 28^th. As such, the first possible date that we will return to preschool will be Wednesday, April 29^th, and we will continue to re-evaluate this date as new information and recommendations unfold.

My first priority during this time is to maintain Wilma and Thelma as employees of our school, while helping them to avoid unemployment. I don’t want to lose them! My goal is to continue to pay them (regardless of what happens) through their last day of the 2019/2020 school year – June 10^th. My second priority is to ensure all bills related to the school are paid in full and on-time. Continuing to provide a high quality, model preschool program has many hidden costs. Luckily at this time, we are not paying for snacks or replenishing supplies. 

While I believe strongly in our ‘preschool’ model, at the end of the day I technically operate a “Certified Family Child Care.” Providers, like myself, do not qualify for unemployment benefits or paid family leave. As a result, there are many small programs permanently closing their programs; some may never re-open. I don’t want to see us in the same position. 

My wish is to be able to charge full tuition in April because our program budget (including staff pay, mandatory bills, and so on) is based on receiving full tuition from all children enrolled. I realize this is a very BIG wish. 

My hope would be to implement some sort of sliding scale tuition model, based upon the acknowledgement that there exists financial disparities between many of our enrolled families. I want to continue to safeguard access for all currently enrolled families who wish to remain a part of our school community. I would like to raise funds to support our program’s commitment to equity and access for all currently enrolled families (if needed).

Many of you are experiencing the reduction of work hours, unemployment, and added costs of child-care for families working from home. Following is what I envision moving forward (for April): 

• The spring term supply is waived. This can be credited to families who paid for the entire year upfront. 
• For those of you who paid for the year up-front, please let me know if you would like any tuition refunded or credited for April.
• For those of you paying monthly, please pay what you can. 
• If you can contribute nothing for April, please connect with me to make arrangements holding your child’s spot. 
• If you feel you will no longer need our services for the duration of the 2020 school year, a 30-day paid notice is kindly requested.
• I’m happy to think outside-the-box with anyone! One example I came across was the local Waldorf started a GoFundMe to continue to pay their educators. 

In the meantime, Wilma has started a series of educational emails and social media posts we’ll be sharing with families soon. Thelma is working on getting children’s scrapbooks together for our June Family Social (fingers crossed!). And I’m doing everything in between! 

It is my hope, with your understanding, flexibility, diligent handwashing, and continued support, we can get through this together. 

I was hoping for an It’s a Wonderful Life type of moment where everyone realizes the hard work George Bailey has done for the community. In my case, the intentional work, dedication, and passion I’ve put into creating this phenomenal early learning environment; a program like no other in our community. Largely, I am experiencing my George Bailey moment (at least for April’s tuition). 

I am not entitled. I am vulnerable. The average owner of a Certified Family Child Care Home (what my preschool operates according to State licensing) earns less than $30,000/year. 

I am also fortunate to be a university instructor at two different universities. But as contingent faculty, I lack job security and access to unemployment benefits. As one university I work for moved exclusively to on-line learning for spring term (although, they would prefer the term ‘remote’ – that’s a topic for another post), my 60-hour practicum course in local preschools is in jeopardy.

I am also losing my university-sponsored health insurance coverage as soon as April 1^st. My two classes put me at .43 FTE (while last term, two classes put be above .50 FTE) due to expected low enrollment numbers.

I had insurance coverage for the preschool study tour and have thus far recouped the initial hotel and the majority of flight costs (thanks Air New Zealand!). The study tour was a $2500 experience, of which I had been awarded a scholarship from one university and departmental funds from another. Yep, I work for TWO universities and own an in-home preschool. As the tour didn’t occur, I’m out the entirety of study tour funds, as I won’t be receiving the 40% support funds I had anticipated. My fingers are crossed than my travel insurance coverage pulls through.

I remain so grateful for my preschool families; we’re all on this journey together. Families whose businesses have been forced to close are telling me they will continue to pay. Families in quarantine are paying. People are doing what they can to help my school remain viable, because they believe in what we do.

One suggestion was to start ‘teaching’ the preschoolers on-line. Young children do NOT need screens; parents need screens. We live in a beautiful mountain town. Most of my preschool families have access to yards, private transportation, and personally-owned recreation equipment. The kids need to be outside. They need to build. They need to dig. They need to create. They need to be read to. They need to sing. They need to be held and snuggled. They need to PLAY. 

And play we will, because we will survive this. My staff will survive this. I will survive this and I’m determined my little preschool will too.