Do you have an open heart and open mind?
Children are organic beings and do not fit on a page in an academic curriculum guide. Like all people, children come to your learning environment with their own history, personality and learning style. It is our job as educators to be the facilitators of learning situations, protectors of their emotional well-beings and guides toward their own knowledge.
The curriculum in Open Hearts, Open Minds is created to challenge our own biases and help slowly expand children’s world views, to see past their own experiences and have empathy and understanding of others.
The thoughtful lessons use mathematics, artistic expression, writing, literature and discussions to create an environment where all children and families are seen and celebrated for their ethnicities, races, religions, places of origin, sexual orientation, gender identities, gender expressions, learning abilities, ages and personal preferences.
Children will learn from activists past and present as they gain confidence in their own voices to make positive change in our world.
As advocates for children the journey to educate is never over. There are an abundance of questions to explore, the past to ponder and the future to create. We must enjoy the ride while always keeping open hearts and open minds.
101 activities and over 200 book recommendations for children ages 3 to 11. The lessons focus on self-confidence, empathy, families, gender identity, holidays, disabilities, activism, historical events through an anti-bias lens such as Thanksgiving, Japanese Internment Camps and Women’s Suffrage Movement.
The book lists and lessons provided throughout this curriculum are meant to ignite your thinking and creativity. Use them as jumping off points to make the curriculum your own. You know your teaching style, learning environment and the children who fill it each day. Make each lesson the one you know your children need. Let their unique voices and visions of the world guide your path. Their questions will become your answers.
Though the lessons are broken up by age, this format does not need to be set in stone. Depending on how much experience your children have with this type of education you may want to adapt some of the lessons from the Pre-K to 1st Grade section for older children. With the exception of the first three lessons, the order of the lessons does not need to be followed chronologically or in isolation. Organize the lessons into your own unique schedule based on children’s interests, mandated curriculum and time of year.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meredith Magee Donnelly is an Early Childhood Educator with a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education. Meredith previously taught preschool, kindergarten and first grade in New York City. Meredith is a writer and owner of Homegrown Studio, an art play studio for kids. She resides in CT with her husband and three children.
