This week’s resource comes to us from the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University. It’s entitled Sign Language Use for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing Babies: The Evidence Supports It, and it may be just what you’ve been looking for.  You can access it on the Clerc Center’s website under Resources, then Publications, or below for your convenience.

The Clerc Center collaborated with the American Society for Deaf Children to provide a Spanish translation to this publication.  This colorful handout is perfect to share with families who may be considering introducing signed language to their child. 

The Clerc Center also offers a wide variety information in an array of formats, including the following webinars you might find…

This week we are highlighting a resource from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) entitled, “Understanding Your Child’s Behavior: Reading Your Child’s Cues from Birth to Age 2.” It’s a very interesting and quick read, filled with practical examples and age-specific suggestions. The authors also include, “Three Steps to Understanding Your Baby’s or Toddler’s Behavior,” which is intended to help parents sort out the meaning of the cues they may see and hear from their young child. There’s also a fourth bonus step on viewing tantrums as communication with a variety of effective ways to respond. Check out this week’s resource…

Last year, Head Start’s Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC) updated their “Effective Practice Guidelines” on social and emotional development. This Web resource is divided into four subdomains:

• Relationships with Adults,
• Relationships with Other Children,
• Emotional Functioning, and
• Sense of Identity and Belonging.

Each subdomain is further divided into four sections: Know, See, Do, and Improve.

In these sections you will find teaching practices for infants and toddlers; videos featuring young children; suggested practices for teachers and home visitors; and planning goals, actions steps, focused observations, reflections, and feedback to support the work of professionals who work with very young children… including Early Start service providers.

There’s a lot of information in this…

How Do Babies Learn to Crawl? is an interesting article from our colleagues at Zero to Three. The authors take the pressure off parents who might be expecting crawling by a specific age. They also define three different types of movement that many babies go through, which includes the traditional hands and knees crawl pattern, with the caveat that “it can take a while to get moving, and that’s okay.” They offer half a dozen strategies parents can try to support their babies in learning to move. Ultimately, the authors say, “there’s no wrong way to crawl” and note that some babies skip that stage altogether! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

The…

As part of their Parenting for Social Justice series, Zero to Three has published Celebrating Differences: Antiracist Parenting Right From the Start. The article includes “five facts about how children come to understand differences.” These include:

1. All children notice differences;
2. It’s not okay to use differences as an excuse to stereotype others;
3. Racism is learned;
4. Racial bias starts early, between ages two and four; and
5. Diversity makes a difference.

The author supports the idea that “talking to children about racism is part of our responsibility as parents” but acknowledges that this may not always be easy. She suggests reflecting on one’s own biases and re-thinking one’s views on race. This…

The Harvard University Center on the Developing Child has created an infographic for parents and professionals alike to explain the basics of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACES and Toxic Stress: Frequently Asked Questions describes how ACES work to impact very young children and their families and how the effects of ACES can be mitigated. Wiew and download this graphic on the Center on the Developing Child website: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/aces-and-toxic-stress-frequently-asked-questions/

The ICC-Recommended Early Start Personnel Manual (ESPM) describes core knowledge and role-specific competencies needed for early intervention service provision, incorporating current research and evidence in the field of early intervention. To access the…

This resource from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) reviews the research on language development for young children who are dual language learners (DLLs) and offers tips for early childhood professionals to help multilingual babies and toddlers in their care feel safe, learn, and grow. 

View this resource in its entirety at the National Association for the Education of Young Children website: https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/may2020/rocking-and-rolling.

The ICC-Recommended Early Start Personnel Manual (ESPM) describes core knowledge and role-specific competencies needed for early intervention service provision, incorporating current research and evidence in the field of early intervention. To access the ESPM,…

The California Department of Education (CDE) recently distributed a handout entitled “Early Intervention Special Education Resources.” It gives a brief overview of three important programs:

• Desired Results (DR) Access Project
• Seeds of Partnership Project
• Supporting Inclusive Practices (SIP)

Read the overview here:…

The Manifesto for Race Equity and Parent Leadership in Early Childhood Systems, published in 2019 by the Center for the Study of Social Policy, invites early childhood systems and programs to commit to "address[ing] inequities and racism by giving parents a voice and opportunity to be engaged and lead at all levels of change."

The Manifesto includes five "Core Commitments" for early childhood systems, with strategies to implement each of the commitments. This resource is also available in Spanish.

To learn more about the Manifesto, visit https://cssp.org/resource/parent-leader-manifesto/.…

Did you know that “research shows . . . having a strong foundation in early math . . . can lead to higher achievement in both math AND reading later in school.” That’s the kind of wisdom you’ll find in this tip sheet from the U.S. Departments of Health & Human Services and Education. The article defines S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math) education in easy-to-understand terms then offers a long list of tips that families can try in their home language. These tips address such concept areas as measurement, counting, shapes, spatial relationships, patterns, and many more . . . all things inquisitive young minds are interested in learning. Give this tip sheet a read and see what S.T.E.M.…