Here are some examples of how our commitment to DEI might be observed in our classrooms each day:

• Teachers taking the time to speak directly with each child every day, checking in on the well-being and developing a meaningful relationship with each child
• Having students participate in "Show and Tell"
• Discussing family traditions or favorite meals
• Providing art materials such as crayons and construction paper that can match many different skin tones
• Using more inclusive language in songs during music to reflect multiple family structures (for example - "may there always be family" and "may there always be friends" instead of "may there always be mommy, daddy, and me"
• Placing photographs of students and their family members from home visits in the classroom
• Having books in the classrooms with diverse protagonists that are about daily activities and topics such as food, family, play, and work
• Creating self-portraits based on observations
• Having diverse representations of people in toys such as dolls and figurines in the classroom
• Learning snacktime blessing in American SIgn Language
• Having students share what they call their family members
• Celebrating different ways of playing with the same toy (e.g. a teacher pointing out that one child likes to build high towers with blocks, while another builds long lines with blocks.)
• Welcoming students to come to school even if they are not potty-trained
• Having questions of the day where children can express preferences (e.g. Do you like green? or Would you rather play inside or outside?)
• Reiterating concepts like "colors are for everyone" and "there's not such thing as a girl toy or a boy toy - toys are toys:)"
• Practicing taking turns
• Involving students in distributing art supplies or snacks in the classroom
• Encouraging children to use inclusive words in their play. Let's play "family"  instead of "mom and dad"
• Showing support and encouraging children to "use their words" and providing them with useful phrases or language when they need something
• Guiding children to speak to each other while problem solving and resolving conflicts
• Identifying when characters in books are being bullied, relating to how they feel, and practicing the words you might use to stop that from happening
• Having job charts that allow children to learn personal and collective responsibility, increased agency, and experience pride when supporting the class
• Teachers guide children to use language to advocate for themselves and others when disagreements or conflicts occur
• When a child struggles with self-regulation, teachers remind all children that 'we are all learning"
• Encouraging children to think of ways to support/help each other when they are having difficulty adjusting to the school day
• Teachers guide conversations with children to build empathy with one another, sharing that each child is a person with feelings who can sometimes make mistakes. Encouraging children to see beyond those mistakes or actions