Childhood Obesity Awareness Month - September

How many of you knew September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month?  Well, I did not until I came across it when researching another topic for my early childhood education courses. Therefore, the blog is late, but this is an issue that needs to be discussed 365 days.

What is Obesity?  According to Wikipedia, obesity is defined as “a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health”.

The State of Obesity documented since 2012 pediatric obesity has been on the rise for North Carolina children between the ages of 2 to 18.  Data showed 15 percent of 2 to 4-year-olds are obese.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated one in six children across the United States are obese with Hispanic and African Americans having higher rates compared to the groups.  These children are at early risks for Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, psychological problems, bullying and even stroke.  With attention being given to National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and these recorded statistics let’s move toward eating more balanced meals and snacks, engaging in physical activities more regularly and talking with people for commitments to building awareness toward reducing or eliminating childhood obesity.  From financial implications of childhood obesity health issues with awareness and lifestyle changes will save money to prolong their lives toward becoming productive citizens into adulthood.

What can Early Childhood Educators do?  Below is a list of ideas that Early Childhood Educators can do for children, parents/family members, and working collaborative with community members.

1.     Talk with children during circle time using props and plan culturally developmentally age appropriate center related activities on healthy and unhealthy foods.

2.     Prepare healthy snacks through creating food charts for children to make their own snacks, talk about taste and so forth.

3.     Plan and implement physical activities that relate to lesson plan themes or projects.

4.     As part of parents and/or family members car/home chats challenge child with parents/family members to record number and names of healthy foods eaten.  When child comes back to school graph the foods along with category as vegetables or fruits.  Discuss.

5.     Parents/family members continue the car/home chats with different physical activities engaged in throughout the day.  When child comes back to school teacher can record on board and discuss importance to physically moving.  Also, suggest to parents/family members they can take walks around their neighbor to count the number of trees, cars, buildings and so forth.  When child comes back to school graph with class reinforce most and less viewed on walk.  Also, family can go to local parks, swimming pool, bowling, skating, jumping rope and engage in many other fun physical activities.

6.     Invite family consumer educator/nutritionist to facilitate parents/family members group on finance budget, purchase healthy foods and meal preparation.

7.     Invite pediatrician to facilitate parent/family members group on what is overweight/obesity, body mass index (BMI) and health issues in general for children.

8.     Invite dentist to facilitate parent/family members group on what is healthy dental care for children.

9.     Invite mental health consultant to talk with early childhood educators and paraprofessionals to discuss effects of childhood obesity, bullying and other emotional social behaviors of children with strategies/techniques can incorporate at the school.

10.                        Plant class/school garden with the children.  Discuss fruits and vegetables planted and have tasting party once harvest.  Also, chart growth along with allowing children to guess height and how taste.

11.                        Fieldtrips to local farmer markets or grocery stores.  Have the produce manager talk with the children and taste different fruits/vegetables, if possible.  NOTE:  If your program does not allow fieldtrips contact local farmers and invite them to come to the classroom and talk with the children, sharing produces grown and have a taste party.

12.                        Contact local children’s librarian to see if s/he can come to class, read and act out storyline on healthy foods and/or on physical activities to move.  Also, have an activity to follow-up from story content for children to do once librarian has left.  One book that would be good for follow-up is Stone Soup.

Therefore, I challenge everyone particularly African American and Hispanic families to make needed lifestyle changes so children will have healthier happy lives.  Yes, remember the Let’s Move campaign led by Michelle Obama that was aimed at reducing childhood obesity and encouraged a healthy lifestyle in children.  Childhood obesity will not win our children because they are more important to us.

Early Childhood Educators Professional Development Mentoring and Coaching Program

When one hears the words mentoring and coaching do they really know what it means for early childhood educators?  In the 21^st century, the concept of having a mentor (mentoring) and coach (coaching) is becoming the norm to ensure that early childhood educators are incorporating high-quality culturally developmentally age appropriate practices for all children (typical and atypical).

Being early childhood educators overall is a complex and demanding profession, it is important that they are given needed support systems as they transition from theory to implementation of the real-world as an educator.  For in a lot of early childhood facilities (e.g., child care centers, Head Start) turnover rate is high and the children do not receive consistency of educational care through domain skills.  Research supports that early childhood educators who receive coaching and mentoring assistance remain in the field and same facility for longer time that will help them improve and strengthened their skills and assimilation to the field.  Early childhood educators need to stay abreast of State standards, educational requirements, curricula, stay energized in the classroom and mental health skills not to get burnout, but being renewed to continue to educate children, family members, colleagues and stakeholders.  Yes, early childhood educators are lifelong learners and working in conjunction with mentor (mentoring) and coach (coaching) in a partnership to enhance classroom learning environment, behavior management, assessment, individualization per child, developmentally domain skills, working with colleagues and so much more.

Here are three early childhood educators’ personalities who are employed in a child care facility and approached to participate in the Early Childhood Educators Professional Development Mentoring and Coaching Program.  Let’s check out a brief profile of all three.

Teacher One, has been teaching at the facility for 15 years an initially feared what had she been doing wrong in her classroom and these people will not understand what’s going on or the same of administration and will not listen to me.  Also, afraid that her job will be in jeopardy and not unsure if need to start seeking new employment. 

Teacher Two, feels that she has obtained degree(s) and know how to work with children and their families.  Totally understands child development and theorical background of why she does what is incorporated throughout the day.  She straddles the fence about being asked to participate in this program due to working a second job and if she will have time to be part of what’s needed for successful outcome.  Just not sure but may be only need the mentor is needed.  She has been employed at the site 10 years.

Teacher Three, is excited and open-minded to have people who will her become a better early childhood educator of children, their family members, relationships with colleagues and advocacy work with stakeholders.  Totally welcomed, the idea of having mentor and coach work with her even though she has been employed at the site 13 years.  Her philosophy is she is a lifelong learner and must stay abreast of what’s happening in the field to ensure she is educating her children to their fullest potentials for success into adulthood.

So, which one of these teachers would be the best candidate(s) to participate in the Early Childhood Educators Professional Development Mentoring and Coaching Program?

A.      Teacher One

B.      Teacher Two

C.      Teacher Three

D.      Teachers One and Two

E.       Teachers One, Two and Three

 Yes, the correct answer is “E”.  All three teacher personalities would benefit from have a mentor (mentoring) and coach (coaching).  Let’s take a closer look into the role who is the mentor/mentoring and coach/coaching.

Who is the mentor for mentoring?

The mentor reviews the observational notes written by the coach and engage in conversation with the early childhood educator on ways to work toward meeting the specific goals written on action plan.  The mentor is a role model through modeling needed acts for early childhood educator to know how to implement and discuss goals before coach comes back for next observation.  Mentors provide various means of ways to communicate so the early childhood educator to have questions answered for clarification (e.g., phone, text, webinar).

Roles of Mentoring

1.       Confidentiality

2.       Making suggestions

3.       Giving feedback and advice

4.       Offering guidance

5.       Instructing and demonstrating

6.       Building self-esteem and self-awareness

7.       Practicing and applying new skills

8.       Knowledgeable of early childhood education and classroom experiences

9.       Trained as a mentor

Who is the coach for coaching?

The coach must conduct an initial meet and greet with the early childhood educator to discuss roles of coach and mentor to ease the unknown of him/her coming into the learning environment to empower the educator through high-quality levels of professionalism in the field of early childhood education.  The coach through onsite observations will gain a better insight of the early childhood educator’s areas of strength and where suggestions are needed to enhance skills.  It is important for the coach to recognize and acknowledges during conversations progress done for the educator to know that their effects of enforcing professional skills are being observed through implementation.  It is important that the coach observe at different times throughout the daily schedule to gain insight of overall clear view of early childhood educators skill set.  Yes, it is crucial to build partnerships for a win-win end results that is conducted through collaboration on action plan.  Therefore, is a contractual agreement between the coach (coaching) and early childhood educators?  Yes, because the contractual agreement outlines what both parties agree to toward improving the early childhood educator’s skills as a high-quality professional.

Outline the process of the onsite observations that are as the following:

A.      Conduct observation, discuss and set goals on action plan toward accomplishment.

B.      Each observation will focus on specific set goal(s).

C.      Debrief through self-reflections sharing feedback on components where mentor can assist between next schedule and/or unscheduled onsite visit.

Roles of the Coach

1.       Provide focus

2.       Challenge and support

3.       Holds accountable

4.       Facilitate actions

5.       Build trust

6.       Active listener and respond with honesty

7.       Collaborate and endorse

8.       Be a role model

9.       Provide resources

10.   Encourage growth

11.   Ask questions

12.   Being empathetic

13.   Strong communication skills

14.   Provide feedback with specific rational of “why” to implement changes

I have served in the roles of mentor and evaluator (coach) for NC pre-k teachers and asked members in my closed Facebook group Dr. Williamson Professional Learning Community for Educators for personal testimonial on experiences with mentor and/or evaluator (coach).  Here are their comments.

Quote for Mentor (mentoring) posted September 13, 2018

“My mentor was helpful also, she was willing to meet me and make sure I was ready for the evaluator [coach] visits.  I truly enjoyed my first evaluator and mentor”.  – Nell Mewborn

Quotes for Coach (coaching) posted September 13, 2018

“My first evaluation [coach] was very helpful if I needed resources or was struggling with something she needed to see, she would take time and make sure I understood what she was asking me to have in my binder.  She made her visits smooth because she cared about my success.  I love my evaluator”.  – Nell Mewborn

“I love how my former and current evaluators [coaches] gives awesome, positive criticism.  My former evaluator [coach], B.K.W., always made time to listen and answer my questions.  With the feedback I received from both evaluators [coaches] I have become a better early childhood educator”. – Gina Allen

“I like having an evaluator [coach] because s/he pushes me to gain more knowledge and help me grown in the profession.  I also love having resources and suggestions that were laid out for me.  Knowing that I have a support system help ease my anxiety and fears.  Most important I love the encouragement that was given”.  – Anjanette Harris

“You are right Mrs. Prince, B.K.W. was not my evaluator [coach] but if there was something I needed extra help with [something] she would always be there to give me that extra help.  For that, I will always be grateful”.  – Nell Mewborn

“I loved having both of my evaluators [coach] Dr. Brenda Kay Williamson and Joan Carrozza.  These two helped me so much and pushed me to ensure that my students get the most out of their learning experience.  Not only are learning but I’m [learning] things as well.  They provided me with so many resources and were and continue to be so patient with me.   They saw and see things in me that I was and still am, a little, I didn’t think I have or had in me.  By no means will I say I have arrived, but with their help, I’m closer than I was before, I salute the both of you and thank you both for everything.” – Rena’ Hoggard

Some of the benefits for Early Childhood Educators Professional Development Mentoring and Coaching Program is to reduce a sense of isolation of skills needed to provide high-quality education, abilities to implement new teaching strategies effectively with assistance as needed and re-energize the early childhood educators to the field.  If seeking out a group to contract with contact RBKeducators at RBKeducators@gmail.com or #rbkeducators to make changes through mentoring and coaching.  Yay! RBKeducators are changing the field for early childhood educators through mentoring and coaching program.

Empowering Preschoolers through Reading "The Little Engine That Could"

You have planned activities related to weekly lesson plan theme for the students to engage in as they go to different learning stations in the classroom.  During circle time, you have shown specific related activities and how to demonstrate/manipulate the materials.  However, when you are walking around to different learning stations and engaging the children in conversation of what they are doing then finding creative ways to interweave circle time content in along with weekly lesson plan theme you hear a student saying, “It’s too hard, can’t do it!”  What’s the initial response of the teacher?  Yes, walk over to the child, bend down, make eye contact and state, “Johnny, you can do it.  I will help you if you want me too”.  Then what happens next, yes, the teacher basically will do the manipulation of materials then proceed to give verbal or non-verbal reward to him/her for accomplishing the task.

The teacher will hear this statement quite often throughout the school year when new challenges are presented to students moving toward expanding their unknown knowledge.  Now is the time to read and engage students in the story “The Little Engine That Could” reinforcing the moral of the story value of optimism, hard work and perseverance to achieve the goal.  For the chugging repetitious reframe have the students repeat “I think I can.  I think I can. I think I can”.  While reading the story posing a range of statements/questions (e.g., open-ended, who, what, where, when, distancing) engaging students to better insight that reaching a goal may not be easy in the beginning but once they have broken it down into smaller steps and not given up at the first attempt but to persevere toward accomplishment.  Yes, they must keep trying and will succeed.  Also, write the words optimism, hard work and perseverance on sentence strip to discuss then place on word wall.  As you end, the story let the students repeat, “I knew I could. I knew I could.  I knew I could”.  In addition, place throughout the learning environment pictures of the little train with the captions “I think I can” and “I knew I could” to remind students they have the knowledge to complete the activity.  So, when teachers hear the statement, “I can’t do it.  It’s too hard” walk the student to the picture of the little train and discuss the storyline reinforcing key terms hard work and perseverance to complete the job.

Another key aspect of the story to reinforce with students is prosocial skills that when students need help, work with them so they will not give up in mastering the skill.  For, prosocial skills are intended to help others, being concerned of feelings, empathy and behaving in ways to help others through sharing and cooperating.  Teachers it’s your role to assist students to see themselves as “The Little Engine That Could” to achieve set goals and exceed expectations as well.  Therefore, I hope you will dusk off or add to the reading list “The Little Engine That Could” all reinforce the morals of the story for the classroom of community learners.  We must instill in the students they can and will achieve set goals. 

#drbkwec