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Category: Parenting

June 21, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

All About Camp Sparkler: Q&A with Dana Stewart

For more than 100 years, researchers have been asking: What happens to student learning during the summer months? Researchers have found evidence of what educators call “summer slide,” “summer setback,” or “summer learning loss,” especially for children from low-income families (source).

These statistics are not destiny! Summer can be a time of growth, curiosity, exploration, and advancement! 2024 is the third summer of Sparkler Learning’s summer learning program — Camp Sparkler. Learn more about the program from Sparkler’s Education Director, Dana Stewart.

Q&A About Camp Sparkler

Sparkler: In your experience, is ” summer learning loss” real for preschoolers and young children?

Dana: Yes! I remember as a preschool teacher, we spend the whole year building up routines. By the spring, children are so practiced that they know exactly what to do in the classroom. If they go away for two weeks, and it’s like they never learned the routines. When we think about summer learning loss, we tend to think about older children and academic learning, but the same principles hold true for toddlers and preschoolers. They’re just learning different things in school.

Sparkler: As a mom and longtime preschool teacher and leader, can babies, toddlers, and preschoolers actually keep learning in the summer months?

Dana: Yes! In fact learning never stops with young children. I think that’s why it’s especially important for us — as caregivers of young children — to create opportunities for them to practice the skills that we want to promote throughout the year.

Sparkler: Why is the summer actually an important time for learning?

Dana: I think summer offers new opportunities for learning because a lot of us tend to slow down. The hustle bustle of the school year slows; children are less busy. This gives families opportunities to really dig into their children’s interests. We’re also outside more in the summer months, which gives children a chance to explore the natural world freely in a way that is more complicated when it’s colder outside. Summer can be an especially great time to involve children in sensory-rich activities like splashing in sprinklers, blowing bubbles, and playing in the sand.

Sparkler: Why have you built the Camp Sparkler program around stories?

Dana: Stories are amazing, stories are magic, stories connect people across cultures and around the world! Children are naturally drawn to stories, so they tend to be more engaging for young children, and the diversity of stories from various cultures offers lots of opportunity to explore different topics through play. Most people can’t get on an airplane and visit South America, Asia, and Africa over the summer, but through stories we’re able to give children a chance to go on this adventure and learn something about people and traditions from far away.

Sparkler: Sparkler emphasizes play — why is play important in the Camp Sparkler program?

Dana: Play is how children learn best. I think play is how everybody learns best. The physical experience of play is the best teacher. It’s the joyful self-directed practicing of skills that helps to crystalize new information. It generates new ideas and is the birthplace of creativity and ingenuity. The fact that play is FUN is maybe the most important aspect of play. We are motivated to play because it doesn’t feel like a chore. Playing WITH people you love is even better.

Sparkler: People are busy — how much time does a busy parent or caregiver have to spend playing with a child in order to make a difference?

Dana: The good news is that it doesn’t take much time at all. Even five or ten minutes a day can make a huge difference. The best is when you can spend a few minutes playing with your child and then set them up to continue playing, thinking, and processing independently for a few minutes.

Sparkler: What are some of the highlights of Camp Sparkler this year?

Dana: One of the things I’m most excited about at Camp Sparkler this year is the FAMILY TALES PROJECT, where we are encouraging children to listen to stories told by their grown-ups and turn them into a book of family lore. I’m excited to see the books that Sparkler families create this summer!

Sparkler: This will be your third summer leading Sparkler’s summer learning program. What brings you joy about Camp?

Dana: My favorite thing about camp is creating new play activities I’m really excited about and sharing those with families — and seeing their excitement as they play them together.

Sparkler: Will there be any new songs this year as part of Camp?

Dana: Yes! Last year, we had the Once Upon a Time song, which will be part of Camp again this year. We’ll also share about 3 new songs.

Sparkler: How can families access Camp Sparkler?

Dana: If a family already has a Sparkler account, they’ll start seeing camp activities on their app home screen on July 8, 2024. If a family doesn’t have a Sparkler account, they should create one, linking up with their local school or program and then they’re all set. Families can start anytime over the summer. It’s OK if they miss the first day or week. People can learn more on our website, and if there are other questions, just reach out to support@playsparkler.org.

Camp Sparkler 2024

Blog PostsChildrenParentingsocial emotional

May 23, 2024 by Meaghan Penrod 0 Comments

Mental Health in Early Childhood: A Q&A With Dr. Sarah Gray

Tell us a little about yourself and what you do in the field.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at UConn, with a joint appointment in Psychiatry at UConn’s School of Medicine. My primary roles are in research and teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate level, including clinical and research training of our doctoral students in clinical psychology at UConn. My areas of specialty in both my clinical practice and my research are early childhood mental health, parenting, and trauma, with a specific focus on how parents and other important caregivers support young children’s thriving under conditions of adversity. I am also a parent to two daughters, ages 4 and 7.

We’ve heard a lot about a youth mental health crisis in America. Is this something that we’re also seeing among children 0-5? Do we know if the crisis we’re seeing is related to Covid or screen time or other factors?

Recent research that has come out during and after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic did show critical disruptions to some of the most important contributors to children’s mental health during the earliest years. These disruptions include increases in family violence, decreases in parental mental health specifically among parents of young children, and broad disruptions to support networks for families. Importantly, some of this research — including work coming out of our lab — has highlighted some of the processes that buffered young children and their parents from these risks to mental health, including healthy family communication patterns, and caregivers’ material and psychological access to positive pandemic-related experiences, such as more quality time spent with family members or more time spent donating or volunteering to help those in need.

What is the relationship between social emotional development and mental health in young children?

This is a great question. Social-emotional development and mental health are deeply tied to one another across childhood, but perhaps especially during the earliest years. In many ways, children’s mental health in many ways is defined by their ability to move through developmental milestones in social-emotional development – for example, when we see disruptions in young children’s ability to share their joy or sadness with caregiving adults, or their ability to control their bodies in developmentally appropriate ways, these are signs we may be seeing emerging mental health concerns. When we support young children’s social-emotional development – their ability to use their words to tell an adult they are distressed, for example, or their prosocial connections with important adults and their peers – we are supporting their mental health, too.

What can parents and educators do to support children’s mental health?

For parents and educators alike, your relationship with a young child is the strongest tool in your arsenal for supporting their well-being. Young children learn about themselves and about the world – how safe it is, what to expect from it – through their relationships with important adults. Caring, responsive, and predictable relationships with loving adults during the earliest years are the greatest foundation for mental health across the lifespan. One of the sayings in our field is “behavior is communication.” When you are confronted with a challenging behavior, instead of immediately reacting, try taking a minute to ask yourself, “what need is their challenging behavior trying to communicate to me? How can I respond to that need?”

Common mental health challenges look different than the same mental health challenges in adults. How do young children present with these challenges in ways that are different than adults?

Young children struggle with many of the common mental health challenges that adults do – depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, aggression – but of course, the way that they manifest looks different. In the area of posttraumatic stress, for example, we sometimes see developmental regression – this means losing skills that have already been developed, such as a return to bedwetting in a child who has already been potty-trained. Instead of re-experiencing the event through flashbacks like we may see in adults, young children experiencing posttraumatic stress might repeatedly play out scenes that they’ve experienced or witnessed in their pretend play. Sometimes this play might be healthy and constructive – helping them to make sense of what has happened – and sometimes it might be more “stuck,” repetitive, or disrupted, illustrating an unresolved narrative that might need clinical attention.

How can the mental health of the parent impact the mental health of the child?

There is a saying from pediatrician and psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott that I and many others in the field like that speaks to this question: “There is no such thing as a baby.” That is to say, there is always someone else caring for that baby, or else the baby could not survive. Young children’s emotional worlds necessarily involve caregiving adults, and the well-being of that adult is a lens through which the child learns about and experiences the world. One of the things I am most drawn to in therapeutic work with young children is that no one pretends we can just see an infant or toddler alone in our office and fix the issue – of course we need to address their broader social environments, bring the parents and other important adults in on the work of the therapy. I think this is true of adults, too, but it can be harder to bring those broader social worlds into the treatment room with adults.

What steps should a family take if they have concerns?

Talk to the other adults on your team! Pediatricians are always a great place to start – part of their training is focused on normative developmental milestones, and if families are concerned about children’s development or their mental health, pediatricians can be a great resource about “when to worry.” Teachers and early education professionals can also be a resource.

Are there any books or articles that are family friendly that you’d recommend if people want to learn more about the mental health of young children?

Yes. Alicia F. Lieberman is a giant in the field of early childhood mental health, and she has written a very accessible book called The Emotional Life of the Toddler that I have recommended to friends and families I’ve worked with alike. The organization Zero to Three is also an amazing national resource, and they have many fact sheets and informational resources online about just about any issue facing young children and families.

Blog PostsParenting

April 9, 2024 by Meaghan Penrod 0 Comments

The Power of Early Intervention: A Q&A With Dr. Marianne L. Barton

In honor of World Autism Month (April), a Sparkler family & community engagement specialist, Meaghan Penrod, spoke with Dr. Marianne L. Barton, Clinical Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Connecticut Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Barton is a licensed psychologist and has worked for more than 30 years providing evaluation and treatment to young children and their families in multiple settings. Dr. Barton is one of the authors of The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised, (M-CHAT-R/F) and the Working Model of the Child Interview, as well as the Activity Kit for Babies and Toddlers at Risk.

Sparkler: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do in the field?

Dr. Barton: I am a Clinical Psychologist with specialized interest in Early Childhood. At UConn, I am the director of our training clinic, the Psychological Services Clinic and I oversee Clinical training for our PhD students. I supervise treatment and assessment services, complete assessments with students, consult to local Birth to Three programs, teach graduate courses and engage in research. My research is closely tied to my clinical interests. For example, because of our frustration at not seeing children with suspected Autism until they reached school age, several years ago my colleague Deb Fein and I developed the M-CHAT, a screening tool for young children that is now completed across the country at well-child pediatric visits. We are currently working on a series of videos that would help parents teach and engage with young children with autism.

Sparkler: How would you explain autism to someone who doesn't know much about it?

Dr. Barton: I think of Autism as a neuro-developmental disorder that interferes with a child’s ability to build reciprocal social relationships. Young children with ASD struggle with all of the behaviors that allow them to initiate and sustain social interaction, such as making eye contact, following someone’s attempt to direct their attention, showing things to others or pointing to direct attention. Some children develop communication skills, including language, others struggle to communicate. Children also develop repetitive behaviors, and sensory interests such as spinning toys, watching things fall or spin etc. Repetitive behaviors or restricted interests are required for a diagnosis of ASD. Beyond those two characteristics, there is enormous variability in children diagnosed with ASD. Some have comorbid intellectual disability or ADHD; others do not. Most develop functional communication skills; a small percentage remain minimally verbal.

Sparkler: What are some common misunderstandings people have about autism?

Dr. Barton: I think that people rely more on atypical behaviors, such as hand flapping, to identify children with autism, rather than the difficulties with social interaction. Children with many kinds of difficulty engage in atypical behaviors (for example, ADHD, Intellectual Disability, sensory concerns); unless they also have significant social deficits, they would not be considered autistic. I think people also under-estimate the extent of the progress that individuals with autism can make with intensive early intervention. A small number of children (15-20%) make so much progress that they no longer qualify for the diagnosis. Some of those teen-agers and young adults are indistinguishable from typically developing individuals. In recent years, the diagnostic criteria have been loosened to permit the diagnosis of individuals with less severe impairments. That has allowed for the identification of more children and the provision of services earlier.

Sparkler: How does early intervention support young children with autism?

Dr. Barton: If we can identify children early and provide intervention most children will make significant progress. Services typically focus on improving functional communication skills and developing skills at social interaction. When necessary, intervention may also focus on teaching adaptive skills and reducing atypical behavior. Over many years, we have learned that children with autism can learn many of the skills that typically developing children acquire on their own; children with ASD may require specific teaching to acquire those skills. Early intervention will allow children to address the social difficulties associated with autism and develop more typical friendships and social relationships. It also supports brain development which remains flexible in our youngest children. Finally, intervention provides greater support to families, teaches parents the skills they need to engage their children and reduces some of the stress and isolation that family members experience in raising a child with special needs. We have a great deal of evidence that early intervention results in significant gains in skills, healthier developmental trajectories, improved outcomes for both children and families and markedly reduced costs over the course of a child’s life.

NewsParenting

July 3, 2023 by Admin 0 Comments

Announcing: Once Upon a Time at Camp Sparkler

For Release: July 3, 2023

CT OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD, 211 CHILD DEVELOPMENT, AND SPARKLER LEARNING LAUNCH EIGHT WEEKS OF FREE, VIRTUAL “CAMP SPARKLER” FOR CONNECTICUT FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Families Can Explore Folktales From Around The World and Learn Through Play Together to Spark Imaginations, Have Fun, and Earn Badges and Prizes

CONNECTICUT — Sparkler Learning teamed up with the CT Office of Early Childhood and 211 Child Development today to launch Camp Sparker, a free, eight week, virtual summer camp for families with children five and under in Connecticut. Starting today — July 3, 2023 — families will find a weekly lineup of stories and activities throughout the summer. Each week, families will find a story told by someone from the culture where it originated, as well as a lineup of off-screen, play-based learning activities for parents and children to play together. Families can access Camp Sparkler via Sparkler’s free mobile app, which is available for iOS and Android, smartphones and tablets. Families will receive digital badges for participation; the 100 families who participate the most throughout Camp Sparkler will get gift cards.

“We are excited to offer this free, virtual summer learning program to children and families across Connecticut,” said Dana Stewart, Director of Education at Sparkler. “We can’t wait to take an imaginary trip around the world with Connecticut families this summer — all thanks to the power of stories!”

“Sparkler gives parents, grandparents, and all caregivers in Connecticut an easy way to better understand and celebrate a young child’s development and tap into resources, if needed, in one place,” said Lisa Tepper Bates, President and CEO of the United Way of Connecticut. “United Way of Connecticut/211 Child Development is pleased to partner with Sparkler to serve as a resource to parents for information and answers about your child’s healthy development. Parents can connect with us via Sparkler, or directly by calling 211.”

Camp Sparkler starts the week of July 3, 2023 and runs through the week of August 21. In order to participate, families need to download the Sparkler app from the Google Play store or Apple App Store and register with a local Connecticut program code or the access code CT. Any Connecticut family with a child five and under will be enrolled and able to participate as much as they want.

Families will earn a Seed Badge for their first completed Camp Sparkler play each week, a Sprout Badge for two plays in a week, a Leaf Badge for three plays in a week, and a Blossom Badge for five plays in a week. Gift card prizes will be awarded to the 100 eligible families who participate the most throughout the summer program. In order to be eligible for prizes and badges, families must press “We Did It” after completing an activity and submit a photo of each completed activity via Sparkler.

Here is the lineup of the weekly stories:

Week 1, July 3-9: The First Fire, a Cherokee story (North America)
Week 2, July 10-16: The Two Frogs Who Hop Between Osaka and Kyoto, a Japanese story (Asia)
Week 3, July 17-23: How the Beetle Got Her Gorgeous Coat, a Brazilian story (South America)
Week 4, July 24-30: The Enormous Turnip, a Russian story (Europe)
Week 5, July 31-Aug 6: The Empty Pot, a Chinese story (Asia)
Week 6, Aug 7-13: Why the Cheetah’s Cheeks are Stained with Tears, a Zulu story (Africa)
Week 7, Aug 14-20: The Rainbow Serpent, an Aboriginal Australian story (Australia)
Week 8, Aug 21-27: Now it’s YOUR turn! Let’s tell stories! (Global)

Camp Sparkler will help families grow children’s skills through hands-on, play-based learning. The play activities will help families support their children’s developing hearts, minds, bodies, and words. Activities will help families work on social and emotional skills like self regulation; early math and literacy skills; problem solving and memory; and fine and gross motor skills.

Families who sign up for Camp Sparkler are welcome to access all of Sparkler, including free developmental screening using the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®. Families who have questions or concerns about their children’s development can use the app to engage with care coordinators at 211 Child Development who can answer questions and connect them with needed answers or local resources. In Connecticut, Sparkler is funded by the State’s Office of Early Childhood to offer statewide developmental screening and support to families with children 0-5 and to programs serving children in that age range.

Learn more about Camp Sparkler: https://playsparkler.org/campsparkler23/

Learn more about the CT Office of Early Childhood: https://www.ctoec.org/

Learn more about 211 Child Development: https://cdi.211ct.org/

Press Contacts:

For Sparkler: news@playsparkler.org

For OEC: Maggie Adair, maggie.adair@ct.gov

Blog PostsBooksLiteracyParenting

March 1, 2023 by Dana Stewart 0 Comments

3 Ways to “Turbocharge” Storytime

Research shows that reading to young children promotes brain development and early literacy skills. Reading to children — even long before they are able to follow the story — helps to build communication and language skills. It also helps strengthen vision, memory, problem-solving skills, and their bond with trusted caregivers.

A recent study estimates that children whose parents read 5 books to them each day will start kindergarten having heard 1.4 million more words than children whose parents never read books to them. The words that children hear when we read to them tend to be more complex, difficult, and varied than the words that they hear when you and others talk with and around them.That translates to a bigger vocabulary and stronger communication skills.

Another recent study indicates that even greater benefits can be obtained by making reading together a more interactive experience. Rather than simply reading the words on the page, when we make stories interactive by asking questions, inviting children to share observations, and using books to spark playful interactions together, we effectively “turbocharge” storytime. This type of reading, called “dialogic reading,” increases stimulation of the cerebellum — an area of the brain involved with skill acquisition and learning. Strategies such as pausing for children to complete a sentence, asking open ended questions or encouraging them to recall what happened a few pages back, and helping children make connections between what is happening in the book and their real-life experiences are all a part of dialogic reading.

Below are some ways that parents/caregivers can make reading more engaging for young children.

3 Ways to Engage Kids During Reading:

1. Be a Voice Actor

You may feel silly at first, but silly is great for keeping children engaged! Try to use a different silly voice or accent for each character to help them know who is speaking. Use your tone of voice to help children know what is happening — use a sad, weepy voice during sad moments, sigh with relief when problems are resolved, whisper if someone is sneaking around, and speak louder when a character is angry. If the story contains sounds, use your voice or body to make sound effects: crash! bang! boom! knock! la la la!

2. Make Connections

Nothing engages children in a story more than seeing themselves in the characters. When characters in the story have the same experiences or interests as your children, pause and point out the similarities. For example, “That duck’s favorite shoes are red, just like yours!”

3. Remember the Pictures

Take time to examine the illustrations. You might find that the pictures tell their own story! Ask children to locate interesting details, talk about the characters’ facial expression and their emotions, or talk with older children about the illustrator’s color choices and style. Pictures help children focus and encourage them to share their own observations with you. You can use pictures to ask questions: “Can you see anything red?” or “What is beside the dog?” or “How many butterflies do you see?”

Share This Info With Sparkler Parents

Use Sparkler’s library to share “Reading aloud to [Child]” with families so they can explore this content in their Sparkler app. If you encourage them to click this link from a mobile device, they can open the unit directly within their Sparkler mobile app!

Blog PostsDiversity and InclusionParentingRace

February 7, 2023 by Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith 0 Comments

A Guide for Caregivers Helping Their Children Become Part of a More Just & Decent World

Raising children is hard. It can be beautiful, fun, and rewarding — but it is challenging, too. Caregivers and parents are often desperate for support, ideas, and concrete ways of answering our children’s big questions.

As a child psychologist, I hear many of those questions from kids and from parents. Their big concerns are about how people get along, why the world works the way it does, what is fair, and how to understand themselves. Many of their big and, frankly, toughest questions involve race.

With such a contentious topic and the many dynamic feelings and opinions, our job as caregivers can seem impossible.

Parents ask and tell me:

“What do I tell my young child about race anyway?”
“I don’t want them to learn about race in the ways that I did.”
“How can I protect them from discussions they aren’t ready for?”

These are all questions I’ve heard from caregivers over my years of practice. I hear families, educators, and others serving children saying that they need help. They need the help of folks who understand children and who have had these conversations before. They also want access to the research about what this all means for kids and families.

The new guide, “Discussing Race with Young Children: A Step-by-Step Activity Guide,” is a most welcome resource for every young family! It doesn’t solve all the problems related to race, but is a helpful guide for caregivers who want to support our children in becoming part of a more just and decent world. This guide was created with children’s stories, questions, and experiences at the heart of it. It was also created with a clear understanding of what caregivers are facing — the questions, stories, and conflicts that commonly arise.

The work here is well-researched and supported by many experts who understand children’s needs. Most importantly, this guide provides an opportunity to really listen to our children and to be in conversation with them — and it encourages us, as caregivers, to grow and learn with them.

This guide accompanies us as we play, listen, and learn with our children. I am sure that in these conversations and guides, you will come up with even more questions — but you will also learn something new and feel supported. This is not easy work, but with help like this guide provides, it can be beautiful, fun, and rewarding.

ParentingScreening

January 21, 2023 by Admin 0 Comments

Q&A: How to Support Families with Ongoing Screening and Promotion

Sparkler spoke with Zulema Rubalcava Barron, the Developmental Screening Manager at Support for Families of Children with Disabilities in San Francisco, about the importance of ongoing developmental screening and promotion in the early years.

What is developmental screening and why is it important?

Developmental screening is a snapshot in time of your child’s developmental progress. It’s like taking a picture of your child and being able to see how much they’ve grown from the last time you took their picture, except with a screening, we can see your child’s developmental strengths and which skills might need more practice or support. Every child is unique and that’s why it’s so important to use the information from the screening to be able to help your child and their individual strengths and skills continue to grow and learn.

How early should families complete an Ages & Stages Questionnaire?

I love talking about the wealth of information that families can find in the Sparkler app! The Sparkler app has so many great learning activities at your fingertips that are so easy to do with your child. The questionnaires are great but using the “Play” tab to get ideas of how to play together will not only promote your child’s development but will also create timeless memories of having fun, as a family (and while they’re learning too)! There are also so many amazing parenting tips on the “Home” page, so that, as a parent, you can also continue to learn and grow your own parenting practices.

Should all families complete ASQ? Or just families with concerns?

The great thing about these questionnaires is that they’re meant for every family, even if you think your child is doing great. Like I mentioned before, all children develop at their own pace and all children can benefit from support at times. The ASQ gives you great individualized information about your child’s development, so that we can celebrate their success and provide support where (and when) they most need it.

People say “repeat screening” or “screening over time” is important. Why? How often should families be doing this?

The first five years of a child’s life are so important! These years are building the foundation for your child’s future growth and learning, so it’s important to check in periodically, especially in those first three years, when children are learning and developing so rapidly! There are different recommendations about how often we should ask families to fill out these questionnaires, but I don’t see any harm in letting families fill them out as often as they want. In general, you can’t screen too much, but you can screen too little; my hope is that families complete these questionnaires at least twice a year, if possible.

Families tend to enjoy completing the questionnaires. I’ve always thought it’s because it helps them celebrate all the things their kids CAN do! How have you seen parents react to the ASQ over your career?

Most families I’ve worked with tell me that they really like answering the ASQ’s because, not only do they learn more about their child, but also learn more about child development and the milestones children reach as they grow. Families often tell me that they continue to learn so much just by observing their child playing after completing an ASQ because they now have a better sense of what to look out for and how to continue to support their child’s development. I’ve also had families tell me that they’re so grateful they did this because they thought their child was developing typically, but after filling out the questionnaire they were able to see that their child was delayed in meeting some of their milestones and were able to get support from their teacher, pediatrician, professionals, etc., to the benefit of their child.

Do you have any tips for a provider having a conversation following screening with a parent who does have concerns about their child’s development?

Always start with strengths! Every child has things they’re doing really well, even if there are concerns in other areas, and it’s important that families hear what those strengths are before talking about the concerns. Be specific about the concerns and let families process the information in whatever way works for them; that might look like giving them more time, less time, more information, less information, etc. And, also remind families that as their provider, you’ll be walking alongside them to support them throughout the process of finding out more information about their child’s development or looking for resources that can support their child.

How can families use Sparkler in an ongoing way to support learning after completing a screening?

Support for Families helps families who have concerns to access evaluations or needed services. Can you tell us a bit about that care coordination piece and what supports there are for families in San Francisco with developmental concerns?

We’ve been around since 1983, helping families who have children with developmental delays or concerns, disabilities, and/or special health care needs in San Francisco by proving information, education, and parent-to-parent support. We have an amazing team of care coordinators and family resource specialists that speak multiple languages who partner with families to navigate the different systems that provide evaluations or other services. We typically get referrals from all different sectors, like early childhood educators, health care settings, or other community agencies, but families can also self-refer themselves and call themselves if they have any questions or just want to explore resources. We also have fun family events, parenting play groups, support groups, parent workshops…the list goes on!

How can Support for Families help programs that are using Sparkler and ASQ with their families?

We’ve been partnering with the Department of Early Childhood (DEC, also formerly First 5 and OECE) to help sites with their developmental screening systems, including using Sparkler. We have a variety of trainings on the ASQ and ASQ:SE, talking to families when concerns arise, and other trainings that support educators on everything from promoting self-regulation to supporting sensory needs to using visual aids, etc. We know that as we start screening, children who need a little more support will be identified and we want to make sure that this process is supportive for everyone — families and the providers who serve them. You can find all our supports on the Support for Families website.

You’ve been doing screening/early intervention for a long time! Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

I’ve been working with families for most of my career, as an early interventionist at first, but have been working on making sure there is universal access to developmental screening in San Francisco for more than 16 years now, with different projects, but always with a focus on making sure that families have all the support they need to help their child grow and learn.

ParentingPlay Activities

December 13, 2022 by Admin 0 Comments

The Gift of YOU!

‘Tis the season for giving gifts. As children grow into toddlers and preschoolers living in our highly commercialized world, their natural curiosity and drive to play may lead them to want more and more and MORE.

Children’s drive to connect with their primary caregivers is stronger than the need for any toy on the shelf. Sparkler’s new parent tip — The Gift of YOU — highlights several low- and no-cost gift ideas for young children. These include:

Homemade coupons for their favorite activities. Children can redeem their coupons for special playtime with their grown-up.
Make something special like a car or play fort out of a large cardboard box (check appliance stores for free large appliance boxes!)
Create a scavenger hunt through your home or neighborhood and look for items together.
Create a dress-up box with your old hats, scarves, purses, ties, and other accessories.

You can share these tips with families through Sparkler from the Library tab of your dashboard. You’ll find more tips and tricks for a free, fun holiday season — full of love and play in the app.

Blog PostsParentingRaceSimilarities and Differences

November 17, 2022 by Sarah Brown 0 Comments

Parenting With a Big Heart: How My Three Year Old’s Comment Helped Us Change Our Family’s Approach to Race

When Auggie was 3, he surprised me with the off-handed comment that “only grownups could have brown skin, and not children.” It really took me aback. We live in NYC after all, a city with so many different kinds of people!

My first impulse was to remind him of the friends he had who were black. But … I could think of one. The more I thought about it, our neighborhood has a lot of white people. Our nursery school has children who speak many languages, whose family come from many different countries, but again, nearly no families of color, or those that look different from him on the outside. He has had black teachers, we have black grown up friends. He didn’t have friends who were children of color, and as preschoolers do, he decided something about the world, based on the information presented to him.

We spent a lot of Auggie’s daily life in largely white spaces — white neighborhoods, white schools. NYC is so diverse and also so segregated. And we hadn’t really talked about race before, because he hadn’t brought it up.

How We Responded

We made some conscious changes based on this initial conversation: visiting more playgrounds and areas of the city more frequently, where children and families did not all look the same. I realized in choosing early picture books for Auggie, I had told myself that most of the characters were animals anyway, so I didn’t need to worry too much about representation. I realize now that when he wasn’t in an environment where there were children of color, books were a primary place we could surround ourselves with diverse friends.

Auggie is 6 now, and we talk about race often, with conversations often motivated by him. While I wished that conversation when he was 3 had been the big shift, it was actually the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 that did it. We marched, we explained, we talked about all the ways our country isn’t fair for people of color.

“Fair” is very important for the 4-6 set, and it resonated with him. He points out when books leave folks out, or have “old ideas” now. His elementary school was particularly chosen for its diverse student body, and focus on social justice. It really helps me to have a village of supports around him to bring up these conversations again and again. I’m a progressive educator, and always approached a lot of my child’s learning by letting it emerge from him and his interests.

But I learned that these topics may not emerge on their own, particularly if my son is surrounded by others who look only like him.

It’s our job as parents to provide and build a community who is diverse and inclusive, to provoke these conversations, and to point out and stand up ourselves for things that aren’t fair in the world around us.

Blog PostsBooksDiversity and InclusionParenting

May 20, 2022 by Winnie Cheung 0 Comments

Parenting With a Big Heart: Using Stories to Deepen and Broaden Children’s Perspectives

In a bustling elementary school hallway in Queens, NY, a fellow six-year-old asked me: “Are you Chinese?”

“No. I’m ABC!” I replied. I was proud to be ABC, American-born Chinese. The term “ABC” is one I’ve heard other kids use and it was an important part of my identity. Growing up in a diverse neighborhood, there were a lot of Asian people in my life — Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Korean, Pakistani, Taiwanese, Toisanese, mixed-race Asian; the list goes on. I loved the term ABC because it encapsulated who I felt I was, both American and Chinese. To be honest, I didn’t want to be only Chinese, despite being surrounded by other Asian Americans like myself.

The benefits of being considered American were clear to me. I learned about heroes in American history in school. I saw movies and TV shows with American people being class clowns, princesses, and superheroes. America was the country that provided opportunities for my grandmother and parents and they reminded me often how lucky I was to be American. We were living the American dream and culture. And yet, I didn’t see myself or the people that looked like me in American history or in the TV or movies I watched.

Do Asian American Children See Themselves in Children’s Media?

I’m now a proud mother of two young kids and am so excited to see the increase of representation in Asian American stories since I was a child. However, there is still work to be done.

Affirming how I felt about representation, in Nickelodeon’s Shades of Us study, conducted from 2019 – 2021, focusing on understanding race, identity, and the American family, about half of Asian kids shared that it is important to be represented in media. But many (40%) disagree with how they’re portrayed in movies and TV shows currently. The research also found that across top performing shows in kids TV shows, Asian American characters are not frequently supporting characters and even less likely lead characters. This has an impact on Asian American kids. When asked who they would cast in a role of an Asian American character, they chose “nerd” or “sidekick” for themselves, casting white characters as a lead — showcasing an internalization of the stereotypes they see.

There is an opportunity to tell more stories showcasing Asian American characters as complex and full of nuance, so all children can see those opportunities for themselves, outside of stereotypes.

Michelle Sugihara, executive director of CAPE, writes in a recent Geena Davis Study: “For the past 30 years, we have fought for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) representation in film and television, because what we watch on our screens should reflect the world in which we live and project a better one.”

In another recent study, Nickelodeon gave kids free range to share stories about themselves, with a prompt to take their “culture” (whichever it may be) into consideration, and they shared beautiful stories centering themselves, sometimes doing mundane things (a Native Hawaiian preschooler wanted to create a show about garbage trucks) to intimate cultural moments (an Indian-Pakistani Muslim 12-year-old wanted an epic tale about celebrating an Islamic wedding and wearing salwar kameez).

I want my children — and other American children — to read, watch, and experience these stories and more like them.

We Need to Share Both Vertical AND Horizontal Stories

As I think about ways to honor AANHPI (Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander) Heritage Month, I am using stories to deepen and broaden my children’s perspectives. There are two main types of stories — and I am using both with my children this month:

Stories that provide an in-depth look into cultural experiences (these are called “vertical stories”)
Stories that incorporate characters into stories of daily life without overt cues or a sole focus on their ethnicity/cultural background (these are called “horizontal stories”)

I love both types (and when they overlap) because, as a parent, I can show them to my children to give them a broad spectrum of Asian American stories. Learning stories about specific Asian American heroes and parts of Asian American cultures helps my children (and all children) gain context and imagine what they could accomplish. And seeing Asian Americans doing everyday things — going to school, playing in the park, etc. — normalizes the Asian American experiences to help Asian-American kids develop a sense of identity and belonging. For non-Asian kids, these stories illustrate a shared experience to build empathy.

How Can We Use Both Types of Stories With Young Children

Here are a few ways vertical and horizontal stories help:

Instilling pride: One of the things that connects Asian American culture and many other cultures is food. I love the series of books by Little Picnic Press that celebrate food, language, and cultural diversity.
TV shows/movies with characters that normalize seeing Asian Americans as lead: A favorite show of my 4-year-old is Blue’s Clues and You with Josh Delacruz, a Filipino-American actor, dancer, musician, and singer. He loves finding clues as much as counting bananas to help Blue make Josh’s lola bibingka. Another example of “horizontal” stories is the book Let’s Do Everything and Nothing by Julie Kuo. This story conveys everyday experiences of a mom and daughter with beautifully illustrated scenarios, from climbing a snow-peaked mountain to lying in bed. The cultural nuances of zhuyin books and a rice cooker are in the background and subtle, but present enough for someone who has a similar lived experience to “feel seen.”
Stories that feature cross-cultural experiences: I’m always looking for stories that include mixed race/multicultural kids because that is what my family looks like today. My kids have so many mixed race/multicultural kids that are in their lives, either with friends, family, or in their school. I Love Us! is one I appreciate because it showcases all different types of families, getting ready for school, feeling sick, catching a train, and getting tucked into bed. I also seek out books, TV shows, and movies that are outside of Chinese American culture, so my children can get a glimpse of all of the amazing diversity that exists in our world. A great example of this is Noggin’s Celebrate Our Differences video featuring diverse kids.
Stories about trailblazing Asian Americans in American history: Analiza Wolf’s Asian Americans who Inspired Us is the “vertical story” I needed as a child to know that Asian American history is American history. It is just as important to learn about Neil Armstrong as it is to know Ellison Onizuka, the first Japanese Hawaiian to go into space and bring with him Kona coffee beans. Now, every time my son sees a spaceship he says “It’s Ellison!”

As we continue to expose our kids to celebrate and honor Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in our history and our lives, we can also use media as jumping points to start conversations.

I like to tell my kids they are completely Chinese and completely American. And maybe as they get older, they will decide to identify as American-born Chinese like me.