Our puppetry collective Hermafrodita is based in the south of Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, and thanks to DEY’s mini-grant, we were able to provide a full arts program for kids in three underprivileged child care centers across the city. Our program’s primary objective was to validate and nurture children’s freedom of self-expression, creativity, and identity by widening the scope of gender roles through the arts.
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We launched the website in late December 2024/ Early January of 2025. Our goal is to provide information to parents and to survey parents about these mandates and how they are impacting the classroom in ways that are not developmentally appropriate as well. In addition to providing context and information, we will be using the site to mobilize parents to attend local and city-wide education council meetings across NYC and advocate for culturally responsive and developmentally sound curricula through testimonials, letter-writing campaigns, and telephone campaigns to local officials as the situations unfold.
Research shows that relationships between older and younger generations can foster empathy, reduce age-based stereotypes, and improve mental well-being. Programs that bring together youth and seniors create valuable experiences, helping both groups feel a stronger sense of purpose and community.
The project aim was to improve on how children learn in primary schools by promoting, increasing and sustaining the use of learning through play techniques by teachers, parents, education managers who surround and interact with refugee children at school, home and in refugee camps.
Through the Banned Book Preschool Storytime, our goal was to highlight the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in children’s literature, while supporting and welcoming all families in our community.
Installing and hosting a Little Free *Banned Books* Library aligns well within DEY’s principal goals. Hosting a space where children and families will have greater and free access to a wide range of books supports literacy development and in this current social and political climate, offering free banned books is a form of political and educational advocacy.
The Puerta Abierta believes that all children and their families deserve a dignified and progressive education, one that evokes curiosity about the world we live in. The goal of the joint project between Puerta Abierta and Mya was to provide an opportunity for the early childhood education program at the school to enhance their outdoor play garden.
Our goal is to always bring awareness to the community about the importance of early childhood education. We submitted proclamations with both our city and county along with inviting them to attend.
If we want teachers to incorporate play in their classrooms, they need to be knowledgeable on the practices that are based on research. Teachers are our first line of defense in keeping play in classrooms. But to do it, they must know about and believe in the benefits. More than just knowing, teachers need to be able to articulate why play is critical for our children. The book study allowed undergraduate students, our future teachers, to access the related research in a way that is developmentally appropriate for preservice teachers.
While the children read books, the families had the opportunity to work with a CCR&R staff to write letters to legislators regarding the issues they face with child care.