Natural Resources Monthly Newsletter

Access current and archived Natural Resources newsletters. To subscribe or unsubscribe, suggest resources, or get more information, please contact Camille Catlett at camille.catlett@unc.edu

Natural Resources: Names

About
Resources for using names (of children or adult learners) to explore issues of identity, culture, family tradition, and more. Ideas for how to use the resources are included.
Publication Date
October 2023

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children and Families who are Culturally, Racially, and Ethnically Diverse
  • Children who are Dual Language Learners

Natural Resources: Universal Design for Learning

About
UDL is a set of practices, in the words of CAST, that “bust the barriers to learning that [children] experience every day.” Take a look and see which of these practices you are already using and which might extend your creativity and resourcefulness even farther.
Publication Date
January 2023

Topic: 

  • Environment
  • Accommodations and Modifications
  • Inclusion

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets
  • Print

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children with Disabilities

Natural Resources: Free Resources for Learning About Peer Support

About
This issue focuses on ways in which young children may be a terrific resource in supporting the learning and development of their peers. While several of the items in this issue focus on ways in which children may support peers with disabilities, others invite our consideration of how educators may use peer to peer learning to support any child.­­­
Publication Date
November 2022

Topic: 

  • Interaction
  • Social-emotional development
  • Peer Supports

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets
  • Print

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children with Disabilities

Natural Resources: Resources for Supporting Learning and Development through Nature

About
With the start of the new early education year, it seemed like a good time to acknowledge opportunities to learn outside and the benefits that may come from contact with nature. A talented colleague, Elandriel Lewis (elandriel.lewis@unitedwaygn.org), has assembled resources to support you in doing this.
Publication Date
September 2022

Topic: 

  • Environment
  • STEM

Resource Type: 

  • Print

Natural Resources: Free resources for learning about and supporting infant & early childhood mental health

About
This issue of Natural Resources highlights free resources for learning about and supporting infant and early childhood mental health.
Publication Date
August 2022

Topic: 

  • Social-emotional development

Resource Type: 

  • Print

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children and Families who have Experienced Maltreatment and Trauma

Natural Resources: Free resources for learning about and supporting learning intersections

About
The NAEYC position statement on developmentally appropriate practice or DAP (https://www.naeyc.org/resources/ position-statements/dap/contents) highlights core considerations that should inform the decisions of early child-hood educators. Rather than viewing development as a single measurement or domain, DAP reminds us to consider the intersections among commonality in children’s development and learning, individuality reflecting each child’s unique characteristics and experiences, and the context in which development and learning occur (page 6). This issue shares examples of intersections across these and other dimensions.
Publication Date
July 2022

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets
  • Print

Natural Resources: Free resources about and for fathers

About
This is a collection of free resources about and for fathers. Please note that the use of the term “father” in this document, consistent with Head Start protocol, refers to “fathers and other men who play a significant role in raising a child. This person may be a biological father, adoptive father, or stepfather. He may be a grandfather, another adult male family member, a foster father, a guardian, or a significant other.”
Publication Date
June 2022

Topic: 

  • Family
  • Family Engagement

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Natural Resources: Free resources for learning about and supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Children and Families

About
This issue includes resources for learning more about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, resources for children and families, and resources for early childhood educators.
Publication Date
May 2022

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children and Families who are Culturally, Racially, and Ethnically Diverse

Natural Resources: Resources for Supporting Young Children with Multiple Languages and Dialects

About
Free resources for supporting young children with multiple languages and dialects
Publication Date
March 2022

Topic: 

  • Family
  • Literacy

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children and Families who are Culturally, Racially, and Ethnically Diverse
  • Children who are Dual Language Learners

Natural Resources: Resources for Supporting Young Black Learners and Their Families

About
Whether you use children’s books to provide mirrors and windows, invest renewed energy in supporting positive identity, or consider new research possibilities to support each and every Black child, we hope you will use these resources beyond February, as part of ongoing practice.
Publication Date
February 2022

Topic: 

  • Family
  • Interaction
  • Social-emotional development

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children and Families who are Culturally, Racially, and Ethnically Diverse

Natural Resources: Free resources for learning about and using trauma-informed practices

About
This January issue of Natural Resources opens with a very recent article highlighting that while teacher candidates may have a positive attitude toward trauma-informed practices, they may not be well-prepared to implement them. What comes next is a set of curated resources for learning about and implementing trauma-informed practices that we hope you will use to help address the aforementioned gap.
Publication Date
January 2022

Topic: 

  • Interaction
  • Social-emotional development

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children and Families who have Experienced Maltreatment and Trauma

Natural Resources: Free resources for using children’s books to support identity, equity, and inclusion

About
In 1990, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop published an essay about the importance of providing young readers with diverse books that reflect the “multicultural nature of the world” in which we live. In the essay, Dr. Bishop coined the phrase “Windows, Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors” to explain how children see themselves in books and how they can also learn about the lives of others through literature. Dr. Bishop makes the point that it’s crucial for children to view themselves in the books they read. Here are resources for learning more about Dr. Bishop and how she has influenced the early childhood field
Publication Date
August 2021

Topic: 

  • Interaction
  • Social-emotional development
  • Literacy
  • STEM

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets
  • Print

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children with Disabilities
  • Children and Families who are Culturally, Racially, and Ethnically Diverse
  • Children who are Dual Language Learners

Natural Resources: Free resources about similarities and differences

About
Identifying similarities and differences is the process of comparing information, sorting concepts into categories, and making connections to existing knowledge. Supporting each young child’s full and equitable participation requires early childhood professionals to build the capacity for children to recognize and talk about differences in ways that are honest and accurate, but also thoughtful and kind. This takes intentionality on the part of professionals, and daily practice and modeling by children and adults. Here are some resources for supporting those capabilities.
Publication Date
July 2021

Topic: 

  • STEM
  • Inclusion

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children with Disabilities
  • Children and Families who are Culturally, Racially, and Ethnically Diverse

Natural Resources: Progress Monitoring

About
Frameworks from both NAEYC and DEC highlight the importance of gathering information about children over time and use that documentation to support wise decisions. Here are some examples of resources that support progress monitoring and/or ongoing child assessment to support educators and children.
Publication Date
June 2021

Topic: 

  • Assessment
  • Progress Monitoring

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Natural Resources: Free resources to support UDL

About
Here’s a set of free articles, videos, checklists, and graphics that provide information about what UDL is and how to use it to support diverse young learners so they can show us what they know and are able to do.
Publication Date
May 2021

Topic: 

  • Environment
  • Accommodations and Modifications
  • Inclusion

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children with Disabilities

Natural Resources: Playful Development

About
The 4th edition of NAEYC’s position statement (2020) defines “developmentally appropriate practice” as methods that promote each child’s optimal development and learning through a strengths-based, play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning (p.5). Yet recent shifts to virtual learning and single-minded emphasis on academic achievement have hampered some efforts to support play-based approaches. This collection of resources is designed to provide both evidence and examples of how effectively play may be used to facilitate learning, development, and connections across domains.
Publication Date
March, 2021

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Natural Resources: Free resources for learning how to use questions to support learning

About
Open-ended questions, the ones that require more than one-word answers such as yes or no, can stimulate a child’s thinking and help to develop their language skills. Open-ended questions encourage a child to focus and make meaning of their experiences and enable them to see various possibilities. The curated resources from this issue of Natural Resources provide examples that will connect rich, thoughtful questions to curiosity, vocabulary, and all domains of development.
Publication Date
December 2020

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Natural Resources: Free resources for learning about and using visual supports

About
Visual supports are an evidence-based practice that can support the engagement and participation of diverse young learners. Consider how to use the resources below to support children with disabilities, children who are dual language learners, children who are new to a setting, or any child who benefits from looking and learning.
Publication Date
November 2020

Topic: 

  • Embedded interventions
  • Inclusion

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets

Types of Diversity: 

  • Children with Disabilities

Natural Resources: Supporting children & families in the face of adversity, change, & uncertainty

About
As a result of COVID-19 and other stressors, many families are experiencing adverse changes and uncertainty. October 2020's Natural Resources include a set of free resources that may be useful for families and practitioners.
Publication Date
October, 2020

Resource Type: 

  • Handouts/Tipsheets