Research continues to conclude that children’s academic successes later in life can be attributed to the amount of talk and reading they experience from birth to age 3. They also statistically prove to be better readers later in life. We are thrilled to have Sara Reichstadt, a renowned Social and Emotional learning expert, and the Education Coordinator for Kinderberry Hill Child Development Centers back for an episode on early childhood literacy.

These days, in everchanging, fast-paced, information dense environments, it's more important than ever that our children can "read between the lines", and Sara will provide guardians, who are shorter for time than ever, with tools to make that task less daunting.

This episode contains topics like:

• The proven benefits of teaching reading at a young age
• The diversity of reading options that children can participate in
• Discussing how understanding the Reggio Emilia approach to social & emotional learning can boost childhood literacy
• Reading as a form of play
• Community resources available for families that want to make childhood reading more accessible
• Handling educating your child while dealing with adult burnout

Resources:
https://reachoutandread.org/what-we-do/resources-2/

Listen to our previous episode interviewing Sara about ‘The Importance of Play’ here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/season-2-episode-3-importance-of-play/id1610354963?i=1000615739373

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• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok
• Email us at parentingpickup@nhacademy.net
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

Nowadays, it is impossible to get away from a screen since everyone has a phone, restaurants have TVs mounted everywhere, and children are on tablets at school, so it's more important than ever that we make sure that what they are watching is appropriate content.

To give us some guidance, Momo Hayakawa joins us to discuss what that looks like. She is the Director and Development Researcher at Twin Cities PBS and TPT, and has had shows play on PBS Kids! Today she'll explain to us what "quality screen time" looks like, and how we can make sure our little ones are getting it.

This episode, we'll go over:

• What research at TPT and Twin Cities PBS looks like for Momo
• What the creative process behind quality content looks like
• The connections between screen time and behavior in children
• Assessing the appropriateness of content depending on your child's age
• Resources for quality screen time

Below are helpful resources for assessing the media our children are interacting with:

https://pbskids.org/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/

https://medium.com/@brycebecker_30628/foregrounding-equity-and-representation-in-childrens-media-34eb98397b3f

Contact New Horizon Academy

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok
• Email us at parentingpickup@nhacademy.net
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to a new season of Parenting Pickup!

Today's episode features Dianne Haulcy, the host of Minnesota Public Radio's Early Riser's podcast, and CEO of The Family Partnership, a non-profit organization that provides holistic structures and resources for families and children within cycles of poverty. Dianne explores ways in which early childhood is an essential period of life to educate our young ones about racism, bias, culture, diversity and inclusion. We go over:

• Overview of the Early Risers podcast
• Environmental conditioning
• Educating ourselves, and identifying our own implicit bias through things like body language
• What families can do at home to ensure their children grow up to be more welcoming and inclusive
• Understanding why "color blindness" is not a good method of cultural appreciation
• How to have and promote conversations with young children about race
• Resources for families wanting to promote an anti-racist education

Additional resources from Little Moments Count:

Video: Teaching Anti-Racism: Making Sense of Race and Racism for Young Children

From Little Moments Count: Racial Justice Resources

From NAEYC: Teaching and Learning about Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families

PDF: Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn About Race

Think Small Institute: Additional Resources

Online discussions: MPR News Raising Kids in Minnesota group on Facebook.

Contact New Horizon Academy

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok
• Email us at parentingpickup@nhacademy.net
• Check out our website to learn more!

Thanks for listening!