Description

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Foster a sense of belonging for everyone in your classroom community

For early childhood educators, creating an inclusive early childhood environment is more than adapting interactions and the learning environment to help specific children. Every person views the world based on their needs, culture, and life experience, and identifying our personal culture can empower us to find ways to work with the needs and culture of the children we care for, instead of using strategies to help children adapt to the classroom culture. Replace binary thinking (typical vs. atypical, acceptable vs. challenging, the norm vs. the other) with constellation thinking, considering each person based on their own unique combination of strengths.

Inclusion Includes Us seeks to replace barriers between early childhood educators and their students with an understanding that every person in the classroom has a unique combination of needs, strengths, and preferences. This book will help early childhood educators reflect on how they view themselves and others in terms of both culture and abilities, offering concrete ideas for connecting with children of all cultures and abilities and creating a sense of belonging for everyone.

About the Author

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Mike Huber has dedicated his life to serving children, families, and the field of early childhood. He has been an early childhood teacher since 1992 and currently teaches at Seward Child Care Center in Minneapolis. Mike has also worked as a trainer and consultant for the Minnesota Department of Education, the Child Care Resource and Referral Network, and the Minnesota Association for the Education of Young Children (MnAEYC). Mike served on MnAEYC's board from 2007 to 2011, presents at local and national early childhood conferences, and has written for Teaching Young Children and a number of stories, songs, and puppet shows for children. He is the winner of the 2012 Kate Davidson Tanner Award from MnAEYC, the Scholastic Early Childhood Professional Award Honorable Mention in 2006, and Teacher Leadership from Hamline University's Master of Arts Education Program in 2006. Mike holds a master's degree in education from Hamline University.