The field of early childhood education has always been a part of my life. My mother and mother-in-law taught K-3 for over 25 years in Viet Nam. I suppose I am a product of the environment I grew up in. Surrounded by the sounds of the schoolyard, of crayons and glue, I am at home.

A creative at heart, I thought I could do anything to win the heart of children. 
For myself, I enjoy working directly with children 3+ years old.  I know children love painting and doing some artwork and I know how they introduce art to children. Being an artist, I also find becoming a children’s illustrator very alluring. When I was young, I spent my summers creating bulletin boards, games and backdrops for my mother’s classroom and many of her coworkers. I love to create, and any job that lets me create for or with children is enticing. I have been teaching in Preschool for more than 15 years.  

 I am 100 percent sure I want to continue in this process in my education to help other students and be a well participate in the education system.   A child’s early life is filled with learning opportunities that are important to their future. Patience,creativity, a love for the field and a bachelor’s degree in child development are important elements of being an effective early childhood educator. That’s why I continue to pursue my higher education.

The area that I showed strength in my teaching career is helping children learn by listening to them, answering their questions, and providing a safe and supportive environment for learning. As preschoolers play, they develop skills that help them think, question, and explore the world. I help them learn to interact with others and solve problems in different situations. It is in these settings that children can begin to learn to regulate their emotions and express their feelings. Children learn to solve problems by themselves and with others. These experiences can be very useful when they arrive at school. I also allow them to make their own choice but also help them understanding good choices and bad choices to choose.  Besides this, I like to create my lesson plan based on children’s interest and also follow creative curriculum.  Building parent-teacher partnership is very important in my teaching career as well. 

The areas of growth that I will work more with children to connect new ideas and skills to what they already know and can do. I will help them build knowledge that connect to a child’s interests, such as bugs or airplanes. I will put my full attention to students realizing the work i would need to put into a classroom and it gives me a deeper understanding of what I need to pay attention to in the future working with the students. When teachers build learning experiences on what children know, they provide experiences that children find challenging but can do with a little help. This provides experiences that are “developmentally appropriate,” which are an important part of having early high-quality childhood experiences that lead to positive outcomes.

Going back to the school’s mission statement I think I have been working here for 4 years so I have seen our school promotes school and life readiness by providing multi-cultural early learning services to children and families especially those who need our services the most. We respect and preserve each child and family’s individually, cultural heritage and home language. We also promote personal and social responsibility with integrity and love in an environment defined by social justice and peace. It is full of culture and we put both of education system and integrate it with the schools symbolic which is extremely helpful for the students to see that they are celebrated. 

• My activity was a More, Fewer (Comparing quantities).  The reason why I decided to choose was because we were learning buildings topic, we talked about what materials did we need to build a house or a building? We also talked about rocks, sticks, straws, sand…we started to compare which one was heavier, lighter, which group had more or fewer (less) or the same, we used comparing quantities every day in our classroom.  Besides that, most on my students will be going to Kindergarten so it was good to review how they understood about comparison concept. students will get hands-on practice comparing quantities! Students will compare using fruits, buttons, blocks… and their classmates. Students will compare the number of objects in two groups. Students will use the words more than, less than or fewer than compare items.

• Prior to the activity I noticed many dual language learners didn’t understand what “fewer” or more” meant in big group teaching discussion so I decided to teach them in small group again.  I Invited 5 students to come to small group (mixed age).  I also prepared apples and bananas to demonstrate our activity.  
• The thing that went well during the recording was when I was talking and doing more and fewer activity, I explained to children that equal means that there is the same amount in each group, greater means more, and less means fewer. The children were engaging most of the time.  I also liked how the children were helping me taking apples away or putting more apples when I said “I need more apples or I need to take away two apples”.  I liked how they were able to compare fewer (less) and more in their own activity and it seemed like they were having fun through learning but at the same time, they were able to figure out which one had more, which one had less (fewer).  I noticed that two students who were almost 4 in this group didn’t know this concept but they understood when they engaged in small group with fruits and vegetables comparison.

• Even working with children for many years but I was nervous when making video tape myself.  I didn’t demonstrate simple comparison first such as split them into 2 groups. The first group should have 2 students, and the other should have 3, then ask them which group has more people and which one has less people.  Provide definitions for more and fewer (less ) in student home language.  I needed time for them to answer and asked them repeat after me or needed to say in full sentence such as apples has more than bananas or bananas has fewer (less) than apples…. Children love hands-on learning opportunities.  

• Preschoolers who are just learning to compare larger quantities begin by matching the objects one-by-one to see which group has more.  Then, as they gain more experience with comparing, children learn that they can use counting to compare quantities: “There are seven apples and eight bananas. Eight comes after seven, so eight bananas is more than seven apples.”

I believe that I need to put them in the same level of learning, it is easy for me to know how to use the new language to compare the two groups then have children repeat the comparison sentence after me. Next, as a group, practice counting each group to determine the total number in the group. Then, have the group practice using comparison vocabulary to describe the groups. After that, the children turn and talk to share which group they think is bigger with a partner. Use the following sentence frame, “I think ____ is bigger because ____.”

1. The book that I read to the children was “Lots of Feelings?” A Book About Emotions” by Shelly Rodner.  I chose this book because I want children to understand each other feelings and understand how each other is feeling.  This book shows anti-bias by showcasing pictures of actual children that are representing the emotions and feelings that people have during certain situation.  The book also has many different types of children representing different types of culture around the world. Look at pictures to figure out which people are showing happiness, anger, and other emotions. Lots of feelings are pictured in this book that is a great way to teach little learners on how to read faces and the emotions they express.

2. I chose this book because I notice that in my classroom the children are hurting each other feelings and have not been showing empathy to one another and even they don’t know how to apologize to please others.  I have seen many times when a child’s feelings get hurt, but the other child does not seem to care about how the other person was feeling.  I wanted to show children that people do have feeling too and we should work together to solve the conflict with our words.  

3. Prior to my reading preparation, We have many Dual Language Learners in our classroom and it is good to see many languages in read aloud. There are many children who need more support in emotions and connect them to what we read and explain to them. This book connects to what is happening in the classroom. I have many children who never been in school before so they don’t know how to show their feelings or solve problems with others.

4. I prepare different feelings pictures in different languages. strategies that I use was asking questions, having the children interacting with the book and covering up some of the words so they could read the pictures then revealing the words afterwards.  When asking questions, I wanted the children to tell me which child was feeling what.  I also wanted the children to teach me Spanish too, so I ask them to tell me how to say, “Happy” in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese.. or how to say, “Sad” in Spanish, Chines, Vietnamese…  When interacting with the book I wanted the children to show me their faces of the emotions shown in the book.  I wanted the children to recognize each other faces when they are feeling something.  Lastly I wanted the children to learn the words in English as well, so by covering up the word, then revealing it to them, I was able to create kind of a “guess the emotion game” base on the picture, then the word would be revealed. I also created a game called “Feeling matching game”, we had such a great time to play this game.

5. I learn that when reading to the children they will become more engage in the story and need to have 10-15 minutes for read a loud. When I ask them questions about the book and have pictures that show what I ask, get them thinking. When I was telling the children to make the faces of how one’s is feeling, they enjoyed interacting with the book.   If Dual language learners who are confused and don’t know the word to answer, they would point to the picture they think.

We also use a curriculum called ” Second Step”. After reading, we stand up and sing a song called ” If you happy/sad/angry/scary/mad/surprised and you know”, The children love to follow what the song says and show facial expressions.

As teachers in general and be a lead teacher in our classroom, seeking out these Funds of Knowledge offer us a chance to see a more complex view of the families we serve and develop deeper relationships with them which can be harder to do when working cross-culturally but brings great benefits to both the students and our teaching practice.

HOW TO USE FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE IN YOUR CLASSROOM AND CREATE BETTER CONNECTIONS

Funds of Knowledge are collections of knowledge based in cultural practices that are a part of families’ inner culture, work experience, or their daily routine. It is the knowledge and expertise that students and their family members have because of their roles in their families, communities, and culture.

Funds of Knowledge can include learning quilting or spinning wool into yarn. It could be how to fix a car, how to care for a crying baby, or how to prepare a Seder. What makes using these Funds of Knowledge so powerful is that it is culturally relevant to students.  It brings more diversity into your classroom for students that don’t relate culturally. It offers teachers a chance to become researchers of their students’ lives.  This allows us to better connect with our students’ home cultures and ultimately to act as a bridge when needed. And it creates a deeper connection to learning materials and classroom activities for our students. As teachers, seeking out these Funds of Knowledge offer us a chance to see a more complex view of the families we serve and develop deeper relationships with them which can be harder to do when working cross-culturally but brings great benefits to both the students and our teaching practice.

• Make home visits and parent orientation before school starts in our preschool setting and use these meetings to get to know the parents about their careers, their favorite topics, their favorite foods, their favorite thing to do with their children.

• Creative curriculum that we use in our classroom, it has many topics we choose during the year. Before teaching each topic, we need to send out the letter to all parents and ask them engage in activities that relate to our topic. Invite parents/ caregivers into your classroom to share their talents and expertise. This is where knowing the parents helps. We learn about community helpers, we invite one mom is a fire-fighter; ask her to come in an talk about fire safety, many moms are nurses, nursing assistants, we invite them her with their uniforms and the tools they use at work, we invite one dad makes the best cookies; ask him to make them with the children. When we learn about building topic, we invite parents who work in construction field to come and share their job and what are they doing in their field and also show us what they use to protect their hat, their bodies….Most parents will come in if we ask a head of time. On lunar New Year, we invite families come and celebrate New Year with us, they share their family traditions and read stories in circle, we also receive red envelope and do the Lion Dance….parent-teacher partnership is very important in our classroom and we need to respect and appreciate other cultures and help children understanding about that.
• Use the knowledge we learn from the families both with visits/ parent meetings and when they come in to share as a tool for connecting with their child. Those small significant bits of knowledge about each students family, of course, allow us to better connect with each one of our students.
• Develop empathy in our children. Firstly, We model the behaviors that we want to see. It makes a big impact to first see one’s parents acting with compassion. It makes it more likely that children will try as well. Secondly, we can build helping behaviors into daily life in our classroom and talk to our children’s parents about how helping is incorporated at school or at home. We have a “classroom helper chart” with jobs that rotate among children in the class. this way help children inspire the same kind of thoughtfulness and care to one another.
• We use Second Steps in our classroom, many real pictures and picture books that show how to play, talk, empathy… to our friends. Also how to control our feelings when we have uncomfortable feelings…
• How to use money wisely. Teaching moment at house center when we learn about clothes topic, we use coupons to save our money when we buy clothes or accessories at our store. Which one we need or we want. Explain about that.
• Benefits of nature for children: Learn how playing outdoors in nature can benefit your children intellectually, socially, emotionally, and physically, and discover activities for fostering their development.
• Working with play dough, we can learn how to make play dough, cookies, pizza, sizes of them….

Funds of knowledge can be everywhere in our classroom, we need to spend more time with children to teach and learn about that.

It’s our job to teach children positive lessons from their mistakes—and to make sure we don’t hold their mistakes against them.

Positive Guidance in the Classroom

We believe that the foundations for all healthy social-emotional development in the classroom include:

• Nurturing, trusting relationships
• A safe, peaceful environment
• Effective positive guidance teaching and practices

Teachers have to:

• Spend quality time every day talking and listening to each child.
• Give children the same respect given to adults.
• Set realistic expectations for children. Unrealistic expectations set children up for failure and often lead to frustration and behavioral issues.
• Create classroom environments that promote independence and engagement. Materials should be organized so children can easily access and use them. The classroom should have both noisy and quiet areas, and plenty of soft spaces.
• Observe children to understand the causes of behavioral challenges, such as fatigue, confusion, or frustration. Help children solve problems and find solutions.
• Model positive communication and social interactions. Teach social skills directly when needed.
• All problem-solving skills will be taught in conjunction with reflective thinking skills based on open-ended questions.
• All guidance techniques and measures will focus on teaching children to see others as equally important to themselves, regardless of who they are, what others may be or what others look like.

We do not use name-calling, belittling, comparing, shaming, threatening, accusing, or purposely humiliating a child as positive guidance techniques. NO CORPORAL PUNISHMENT will be used (spanking, slapping, hitting, jerking or tugging at children) to get a child to cooperate. 

Corporal punishment is prohibited at all times by staff, parent/guardians, visitors etc. while on DLEC premises.

Conscious Discipline

Conscious Discipline is a comprehensive self-regulation program that integrates social-emotional learning, school culture, and discipline. It provides adults and children the skills to be disciplined enough to set and achieve goals, conscious enough to know we are off track, and connected enough to others so we are willing to persevere. Conscious Discipline is an adult-first model where the adult becomes the intervention strategy. 

Second Step

Second Step is a social-emotional curriculum that utilizes puppets, description of pictures, and skill practice to help children develop skills of empathy, self-regulation, and problem-solving. 

Handle with Care DLEC Education Staff uses Handle With Care, to ensure that children whose actions may be harmful to themselves and/or others are assisted in regaining self-control in a manner that is safe and respectful to the child. HWC’s young children’s program balances appropriate protection, containment and limit-setting with the child’s development of self-sufficiency and independence. If verbal intervention is not sufficient to contain the behavior, HWC also offers a physical program designed specifically for young children.  HWC centerpiece proprietary child holding method is the “Modified PRT (Primary Restraint Technique) for Smaller Children™.”   Handle With Care training and program is a federally approved vendor and is in full compliance with Children’s Healthcare Act of 2000;Health and Human Services Departmental Appeals Board rulings; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulations; Federal case law; Americans With Disabilities Act; No Child Left Behind Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, and, including various other federal and state laws. If HWC is used, the Education staff will work with parents to create a plan, which will outline the process for support the child in the classroom and at home, describe the situations in which Handle with Care may be implemented and provide HWC training for parents interested in being trained. 

We also discuss and provide some Positive Guidance techniques at home for parents:

Positive Guidance at Home

Parenting can be profoundly rewarding, but it can also be challenging. Every child and every family is different. Parenting styles and attitudes vary, and there is no one “right” way to parent. However, many parents have found that children respond well to a combination of:

• Nurturing, loving relationships
• Clear expectations and structure while allowing for adaptations and change
• Opportunities to make choices
• Natural and logical consequences
• Parental modeling of appropriate behaviors

How Do Environments Affect You?

There are certain places you like to go: maybe a favorite restaurant, a local park, a sporting arena or a good friend’s home. What about those places makes you feel welcome or secure? What makes you want to go back? Thinking about these places, you might remember the people around you, the color of a room, if there is sunlight, the smells and sounds, furniture and accessories or temperature.

Now consider places you don’t like to go: maybe the dentist’s office, the airport or a noisy restaurant. What makes these environments less pleasant for you? In some settings, we feel relaxed and comfortable. In other places, we might feel tense, overwhelmed and confused. The environment has a powerful effect on us. It influences how we feel, what we do and the ways we respond. Some of us dislike places where we feel we can’t control or predict our experiences. In some spaces, we may also feel we don’t belong or are not appreciated.

Just like adults, preschool-age children are affected by their environments, even if they cannot yet express these feelings in sophisticated ways. It’s our job to ensure classrooms and other learning spaces for children make them feel welcome, secure and ready to learn.

Designing Your Space to Meet Preschool Children’s Needs

Creating a supportive learning environment requires time, reflection (thinking) and planning. Whether children spend three or twelve hours a day in your program, the environment plays a major role in helping children develop and learn. Research suggests that a high-quality classroom environment can help close the achievement gap (Mashburn, 2008). That is, children who enter school less ready to learn are those that benefit the most from supportive classroom environments. Your supportive classroom can also be an important source of consistency for military children (a group that may experience a great deal of change in their daily lives). A supportive environment is:

• Well-organized: orderly, planned and safe.
• Dependable: a stable “home base” for children who need it.
• Flexible: able to adjust to meet the needs of different children.

Such supportive environments send children a variety of positive messages about their learning (Dodge et al., 2010), such as:

• This is a good place to be.
• You belong here.
• You can trust this place.
• There are places where you can be by yourself when you want to be.
• You can do many things on your own here.
• This is a safe place to explore and try out your ideas.

Environments not only affect how we feel and send messages about how to act, they can influence what we learn. The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education recognizes the tremendous impact of the environment by referring to it as the “third teacher” (with parents and teachers as children’s first and second teachers, respectively). The Reggio Emilia approach was developed by Loris Malaguzzi and named after an area in Italy. This approach states children are powerful learners and their interests should guide adults’ decisions surrounding learning, including how the environment is arranged and materials provided. The Reggio Emilia approach believes the learning environment plays a critical role, and that intentionality (thoughtful planning and action) on behalf of teachers in the design of spaces and the selection and arrangement of materials significantly influences children’s level of engagement and learning (Edwards, 2002). We will return to these ideas in future lessons in this course.

Places for Play and Learning: Interest Areas

When you walk into a retail or grocery store, how do you find what you need? If you are looking for grapes, you probably feel confident you can find them with other fresh fruits and vegetables. If you want a new pair of socks, you probably have a good idea about where to look. Obviously, some stores have better designs than others, but many retail establishments use simple design principles: objects with similar uses are stored near each other, and signs guide you. (Bright Horizon Newsletter)

Now think about a child in your classroom. How does he or she know where to find toys and materials or use the environment to make decisions?

There are many differences between retail establishments and classrooms, but organizing materials by their purpose makes sense in both environments. In stores, we might call these groups of similar items “departments.” In environments for young children, we use the terms “interest areas” or “learning centers” to describe spaces designed for certain purposes or that hold materials with similar uses.

When a child enters a well-designed interest area, they know:

• The materials that can be found there.
• The type of play (loud, quiet, social, solitary) that might happen there.
• The expectations for how to behave there.
• How to explore, learn and have fun there.

As a preschool teacher, you design learning opportunities for children every day, and your classroom or outdoor environment sets the stage for most of these opportunities. Interest areas are key tools for learning in preschool learning environments. You can use children’s needs, interests and abilities to design your interest areas.

There are 10 common interest areas recommended for preschoolers in my Preschool classroom. These include:

1. Blocks: Great block areas contain a variety of materials to spark curiosity and exploration. Children use the block area to explore how things work; they build, tear down, fill, dump, stretch, reach, balance and create. Block areas should be large enough for several children to play at once. You might have a variety of large and small blocks (wooden, cardboard, foam or interlocking). You can also make blocks yourself from cardboard boxes or sturdy fabric. Many block areas include natural or recycled materials children can include in their structures. It is important to include accessories like toy figures, cars and construction equipment. The accessories you offer should change periodically and be based on children’s current interests and learning goals.
2. Dramatic Play: The dramatic play area allows children to take on roles and try out new ideas. Children use their imaginations as they cooperate with one another and they practice self-care skills as they try on dress-up clothes. A great dramatic play area offers children a chance to act out their own home and family themes with props like a kitchen, table, clothes, food and babies. It’s also important to offer a variety of other play ideas for children to explore as they become interested. Children may use props to create a bakery, doctor’s office, flower shop or nearly any other scenario. Once again, the additional props or dress-up items offered can vary according to children’s current interests, or ideas you are currently exploring (e.g., community helpers such as firefighters or police officers).
3. Manipulative/ math center: Toys and games allow children to develop important thinking skills, social skills, and fine motor skills (the ability to use hands and fingers well). Your toy and game area can include a range of puzzles, board games and small objects. This area can provide a good opportunity for children to identify and match colors, shapes, sizes and textures.
4. Art: The art area provides opportunities for children to express themselves and develop fine motor skills. Visual art can include painting, drawing and sculpturing. This is a space for inspiration and creativity. Great art areas include a variety of materials for children to use and explore, such as sponges, rollers, glitter, tape, paint, stamps and recycled materials of all types. They also include commonplace or unique items that can be used in new ways (e.g., “block printing” with paint and different plastic blocks). Many art areas also include displays of famous artwork, books and the children’s creations. Keep in mind that you do not have to have every material or art tool imaginable accessible at all times; you may change out some materials, tools, and displays based upon the experiences of focus that day or week.
5. Library: The library is a quiet space where children can relax and enjoy reading. A great library includes a variety of books: fiction, nonfiction, alphabet books, number books, nursery rhymes and resource books. It typically includes soft furniture or pillows. Books can be displayed on shelves or in baskets for easy access. The library can also include a listening station, felt board, literacy activities or other materials that introduce children to language and print. Although the library is a great place for supporting children’s literacy development, remember that it’s important to include print materials (such as books, maps or magazines) and writing materials in every interest area (see the Communication course for more information). Some classrooms may also choose to have a dedicated “writing center,” perhaps near the library or art space, with a variety of writing utensils and forms of paper available (e.g., lined and unlined paper, post-it notes, etc.).
6. Discovery/ Science : The discovery area is children’s gateway to scientific exploration. It contains materials meant for open-ended exploration. A wide variety of natural materials are often displayed for children to explore (rocks, pinecones, starfish, etc.). Other materials appropriate for the discovery area include PVC pipe, magnets, weights, etc. Tools for exploration are also provided, such as microscopes, magnifying glasses, balances, ramps and measuring tools. Children can also participate in experiments or care for a class pet here.
7. Sand and water: Sand and water areas provide opportunities for measuring, pouring, comparing and creating. Although the space is called “sand and water,” you are not limited to providing just sand and water. Many teachers consider this a sensory area. Your sand and water area can offer a variety of materials to explore, such as leaves, snow, packing peanuts, shredded paper, etc. Many children find the sand and water area soothing.
8. Music and movement: A space for children to engage in large movements allows them to make their own music and respond to the music of others. It’s important to provide a variety of materials here, such as streamers, ribbons, shakers, musical instruments and recorded music. The music and movement area can provide an opportunity for dance and rhythm.
9. Cooking: The cooking area lets children practice real-life skills and is a great way to introduce a variety of cultures to the classroom. By preparing simple recipes with an adult, children learn important math, literacy and self-care skills. The interest area for cooking need not be dedicated to cooking experiences alone, but rather cooking experiences could take place in a more flexible part of the room, perhaps at the table(s) children typically use to eat morning or afternoon snack, or the tables available to use in the toys and games area.
10. Computers: Many preschool classrooms provide computers for children to use. The use of computers, or other technology and media (e.g., tablets), can provide developmentally appropriate learning opportunities to children of a variety of ages. Computers and the Internet can expose children to people, animals and places that they cannot experience in person. Children can also use computers and media to document and share their own experiences. Using interactive ebooks and playing games that facilitate learning of letters, letter sounds and numbers are additional ways children can use computers to meet learning goals.

Some important elements are found in every effective room design:

• Clear Boundaries: Use shelves, furniture or other barriers to help children focus and avoid distractions. Large, open spaces encourage running and roughhousing. Arrange your furniture and interest areas to break up large, open spaces.
• Clear Ways to Enter and Exit: Help children know how and where to come into an interest area. If you use a “center management system,”—a system of tags, pictures or symbols to limit the number of children who play in an interest area—make sure children know how to use it and are able to meet their needs and interests throughout the day.
• Sufficient Materials: Have duplicates of favorite toys. Also, make sure there are enough materials that several children can play in social areas, like dramatic play and blocks. Children are more likely to have meaningful play together if there are enough materials to use together.
• Engaging Materials that Spark Children’s Interests: Consider what children in your class like. Add materials or rotate materials regularly so children have new experiences. Think about the pictures, displays, print or writing materials that support children’s learning and engagement in each area.
• Separate Loud, Active and Quiet, Calm Spaces: Examples of quiet interest areas are the library, listening center and writing center. Loud, active centers might include the block area, dramatic play area and the sand or water (sensory) area.
• Access to Needed Materials: Sand and water, discovery and art spaces should have easy access to sinks. Music and movement, technology and cooking areas might need access to electrical outlets. Soft carpeting in the library and block area can make it easier for children to sit and comfortably interact with materials on the floor.
• Learning Objectives: Align materials and interest areas to learning objectives.
• Keep Safety in Mind: Make sure you can see and supervise all children at all times.

Denise Louie Education Center Vision:

Educating and empowering children and families to reach their full potential so they can advocate for themselves, our community and the world.

Denise Louie Education Center Mission:

Denise Louie Education Center promote school and life readiness by providing multi-cultural early learning services to children and families especially those who need our services the most. We respect and preserve each child and family’s individually, cultural heritage and home language. We will promote personal and social responsibility with integrity and love in an environment defined by social justice and peace. 

Providing high quality early learning services and family support is critical to the success of our community. Children who do not have access to high quality early learning experiences are 25% more likely to drop out of school, 40% more likely to become a teen parent, 50% more likely to be placed in special education, and 70% more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

Our children deserve better — and we cannot afford not to solve this problem. Investing in early learning now means we won’t be paying nearly so much down the road for “safety net” and correctional services. Beyond budgets, Denise Louie kids deserve a chance at a quality education and opportunity to be successful. Children from low-income families deserve to grow up in the same high-quality learning environments you would choose for your own children. A Rice University study found that a child from a high-income family will experience 30 million more words within the first four years of life than a child from a low-income family. Denise Louie helps close the “opportunity gap” so that kids can enter kindergarten ready to be successful and their families have the tools to support them.

Children Demographic:

Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income, at-risk children (three to five years old) and families.

Denise Louie Education Center has four center site locations, one administrative office, and one Early Head Start office in Seattle, Washington.  Additionally, we have 3 Play and Learn groups set up on a weekly basis throughout Seattle at the Columbia City, Rainier Beach and Lake City public libraries.

Our Head Start (HS) preschool program serves predominately immigrant and refugee families whose children are between ages three and five, and have an income under $24,600 for a family of four. Priority for enrollment into the program is given to children in foster care, homeless families, and children with special needs.

• 3 preschool centers
• 241 children
• 4.8% of Head Start eligible children in Seattle were served by DLEC
• 97% received dental, hearing, vision and/or physical exams
• 85% of preschoolers met or exceeded expectations and were prepared to enter kindergarten

Embracing Diversity:

Asian 33%, Hispanic Latino 19%, Black or African American 24%, White 16%, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 1%; Bi-multiracial 7% and American Indian or Alaska native 1%.

Denise Louie Education Center Vision:

Educating and empowering children and families to reach their full potential so they can advocate for themselves, our community and the world.

Denise Louie Education Center Mission:

Denise Louie Education Center promote school and life readiness by providing multi-cultural early learning services to children and families especially those who need our services the most. We respect and preserve each child and family’s individually, cultural heritage and home language. We will promote personal and social responsibility with integrity and love in an environment defined by social justice and peace.

Providing high quality early learning services and family support is critical to the success of our community. Children who do not have access to high quality early learning experiences are 25% more likely to drop out of school, 40% more likely to become a teen parent, 50% more likely to be placed in special education, and 70% more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

Our children deserve better — and we cannot afford not to solve this problem. Investing in early learning now means we won’t be paying nearly so much down the road for “safety net” and correctional services. Beyond budgets, Denise Louie kids deserve a chance at a quality education and opportunity to be successful. Children from low-income families deserve to grow up in the same high-quality learning environments you would choose for your own children. A Rice University study found that a child from a high-income family will experience 30 million more words within the first four years of life than a child from a low-income family. Denise Louie helps close the “opportunity gap” so that kids can enter kindergarten ready to be successful and their families have the tools to support them.

Children Demographic:

Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income, at-risk children (three to five years old) and families.

Denise Louie Education Center has four center site locations, one administrative office, and one Early Head Start office in Seattle, Washington.  Additionally, we have 3 Play and Learn groups set up on a weekly basis throughout Seattle at the Columbia City, Rainier Beach and Lake City public libraries.

Our Head Start (HS) preschool program serves predominately immigrant and refugee families whose children are between ages three and five, and have an income under $24,600 for a family of four. Priority for enrollment into the program is given to children in foster care, homeless families, and children with special needs.

• 3 preschool centers
• 241 children
• 4.8% of Head Start eligible children in Seattle were served by DLEC
• 97% received dental, hearing, vision and/or physical exams
• 85% of preschoolers met or exceeded expectations and were prepared to enter kindergarten

Embracing Diversity:

Asian 33%, Hispanic Latino 19%, Black or African American 24%, White 16%, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 1%; Bi-multiracial 7% and American Indian or Alaska native 1%.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.