Representing A Starting Small at NYSAEYC

Good Evening! I am blogging from the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children Early Childhood Conference.
I am thankful to be able to have attended the following workshops- Eco Healthy Child Care and Infant and Toddler training, Lessons on Maternal Depression.
I will give you several links and will add some to our link section. These came from the eco-healthy workshop I attended. I do not vouch for these websites, except Healthy Toys, which I have looked at before.

ecologo.org
greenseal.org
healthytoys.org
www.mbayaq.org
earth911.org
www.acmineth.org

Website Updated with lots of information

Website is updated: www.astartingsmallproject.org

Would you like us to present at your school, church or community group?

Our workshops thus far:

Tools for Teaching Tolerance--Activity-based Discussion Centers. The workshop rotates through 4 self guided “centers”, Self Development, Wrappers, Skin Tone and Resources. Each center focuses on ways to develop a culture of tolerance. Members of a Starting Small Project help facilitate discussion and answer any questions as the students work for 15-20 minutes, playing with the materials and then moving onto the next center. The students then have specific guided questions to answer.

Putting Together a Teaching Tolerance Tool Kit for Your School, Classroom, or Community Group
Coming soon...

Child Havens: Creating Intentional Environments that Promote Positive Interactions, Open Communication and Respect for all Children

This workshop will explore ways to arrange your physical space and the materials needed to promote communication and collaboration among children. We will discuss the elements of creating intentional spaces and room arrangement.

Together We Can Create Communities of Support, Respect and Acceptance

Communities are essential resources for young children and their families. The schools in which children attend, the churches and synagogues where they worship can help to give the children a sense of identity, and of belonging. Today, we will explore the ways we can help the families in our community feel supported, respected and accepted.

Please contact Karen A Taverna for more information
taverna@moonandme.com

17 Ways to Murder an Idea

Another great article from Exchange Everyday-

A promotional booklet entitled "Imagine" put out by the consulting firm Synecrticsworld lists "17 Ways to Murder an Idea." Here are my favorities...

• See it coming and quickly change the subject.
• Ignore it. Dead silence intimidates all but the most enthusiastic.
• Feign interest but do nothing about it. This at least prevents the originator from taking it elsewhere.
• Laugh it off. "Ho, ho, ho, that's a good one, Joe. You must have been up all night thinking that up.
• Modify it out of existence...You seem to be helping the idea along, just changing it a bit here and there. By the time the originator realizes what's happening, the idea is dead.
• Drown it in cold water, as in "We don't have the staff to do it...the intangible risks would be too great...that's all well in theory, but in real life..."

I hope this will serve as a reminder to myself and others that listening and really hearing people and their ideas is extremely important.

Teens

You remember being a teen, right? Being a teen can be hard, they need our support, love and guidance. Check out this article from Mothering.com

Global Village School Book List, Check it Out!

Great book list courtesy of the Global Village School.

If you are local, A Starting Small Project has many of these books that you would be welcome to borrow for your reading pleasure. Just email taverna@moonandme.com to make a request.