Dilly Days with Beth and Joellyn: Authors of The InvestiGator Club™ for Robert-Leslie Publishing

“Inclusion, as a value, supports the right of all children, regardless of their abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities.”
—”Division for Early Childhood position statement, endorsed by NAEYC

Current scientific research outlines the positive effects of including children with special needs in classrooms with their same-age peers. Here are some ideas related to “best practice” in today’s inclusive preschool classrooms:

• All children should be included no matter the type or level of their diverse abilities.
• Families are partners in the educational process and part of the team that works together to meet the needs of their children.
• The curriculum should be challenging, developmentally based, and appropriate for each child, and have proposed outcomes that reflect an understanding of each child’s growth and development.
• Early intervention is essential.
• It is important to focus on a child’s strengths, rather than focusing just on his or her weaknesses.

While few disagree with the research and the conclusions drawn by such researchers as the DEC, the challenge is just how to include children with diverse abilities in our preschool classrooms. Joellyn and I have tried to address this issue through the development of the Adaptive Learning Kit. Please feel to share any valuable advice and techniques that you have collected through the years.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children is holding their 2007 Conference and Expo in Chicago this year. Come visit Beth and Joellyn at The InvestiGator Club/Robert-Leslie Publishing booth #226! They’ll be doing book signings on November 8 and 9 at 1:00. Come by anytime to pick up your free Learning Center Poster.

Joellyn and I are proud that our Adaptive Learning Kit includes tools, manipulatives, and teaching aids that facilitate participation in classroom activities for prekindergarten children with exceptionalities. Some of these include:

• ABC Game Cards (with Sign Language)
• Braille ABC Cards
• Vocabulary cards (in English and Spanish)
• Dilly and Friends Stick Puppets
• Finger Paintbrushes
• Easi-Grip™ Scissors
• Trade Books
• Singing Sounds CD
• Outdoor Play Cards
• Teaching Young Children with Autism professional handbook

As one of the authors for The Investigator Club Prekindergarten Learning System, I travel to classrooms across the county. I frequently hear and see first hand the frustrations that preschool educators experience as they strive to create a learning environment in which all children, including those with special needs, are successful.

In response to this, we have developed The Investigator Club Adaptive Learning Kit with the tools to help you differentiate instruction and meet the needs of every child, no matter where he or she is on the developmental spectrum. The Resource Guide has essential information in an easy-to read format. It covers topics such as:

• “People First” language
• Preparing for all learners
• Working as a team
• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The kit also provides specific modifications, adaptations, and accommodations to differentiate instruction for all children.

Openness and honesty are two of the best ways to control head lice. Parents must not be afraid to report head lice to the school or to each other.

Administrators can do a lot to set an open, trusting tone so families will feel comfortable in their reporting. The following comes as part of a parent letter from a principal in Illinois:

“I’m passing along to you some basic information about head lice with a few reminders:

1. Head lice are inconvenient and even troublesome. It is not life threatening, and there is no need for panic.
2. A case of head lice says absolutely nothing about the student’s hygiene, home life or anything else despite the connotations often associated with this condition. Lice are non-discriminating in their choice of hosts.
3. Parents and students who have reported head lice are deserving of our understanding and compassion. They should not have to deal with teasing or whispers or unkind remarks of any kind. Please refrain from this type of behavior, and please make it clear that you expect the same from your children.”

If families are not ashamed of head lice, then they can help one another to move full steam ahead to do away with it. Families must be encouraged to talk about lice as if it’s another part of life. Hiding the problem is why it spreads. If you don’t know it’s there, you don’t know to check.