The month of February at the Children’s Centers was filled with excitement and celebrations. Walk Across Texas, Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, training and research collaborations. All of these activities and celebrations support the mission of the Centers to cultivate a vibrant community of creative learners, driven by diversity and innovation by providing immersive experiences and supportive connections within nurturing surroundings to inspire fresh insights and discoveries.
Many families joined classrooms to help the children learn about the traditions of Lunar New Year. Children in the Aggies classroom practiced speaking and writing Chinese letters with Zhicheng’s mother. Children in the Whoop classroom learned about bokjumeoni, traditional Korean lucky pouches and decorated their own origami pouches. Parents joined the class to sing songs together in both English and Chinese. Leah’s mom, Min, shared stories and traditions with the Hullabaloo classroom. They were fascinated by the legendary monster, Nian, and learned he fears the color red and loud noises, which is one reason celebrations include wearing red and shooting fireworks.
BGCC Director
We are excited to welcome practicum students from EDCI 364 to Becky Gates Children’s Center this semester. EDCI 354 provides instruction in application and adaptation of principles of effective verbal and non-verbal communication to their interactions with children in early childhood settings; training in interpersonal communication skills and positive guidance techniques such as how to listen and talk to children, how to prevent problems before they occur, methods of achieving positive discipline in early childhood programs, and scaffolding children’s understandings and learning in all areas via effective interactions. Learn more about the practicum students in the newsletter spotlight.
Teachers from 5 of the classrooms serving preschool age children at Becky Gates Children’s Center began a series of training courses in February, which are intended to help preschool teachers create supportive, nurturing classroom environments for children with and without disabilities. Project Nest: Nurturing Environments for Success Together will focus on creating environments for all children, supporting neurodivergent learners, promoting positive behavior and engagement, and fostering belonging through peer interaction and play. The training team is comprised of faculty from Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M University Institute for Early Childhood Development and Education: Dr. Laci Watkins, Dr. Hannah Thompson, Dr. Julie Thompson, and research assistants, Christina Fogtman and Jie Yang. This training is supported by Texas Workforce Commission and is being offered in the Brazos Valley and the Texas Panhandle. The Project Nest website includes family versions of downloadable resources including Environmental Arrangements, First-Then Boards, Visual Activity Schedules, and Communication Strategies. Refer to the website for more information about Project Nest and for resources you and your family may find useful.
Since 2017, Philosophy for Children Texas (P4C) has worked in collaboration with Becky Gates Children’s Center to offer “thinking time” sessions in the Aggies and 12th Man classrooms. P4C is a pedagogical approach designed to introduce children to reflective and critical thinking by posing open ended Socratic questions aimed at encouraging inquiry. They use a variety of activities, exercises, and games that aim at helping children ask questions, listen to the answers of others, and provide reasons and explanations for their own proposed answers to the questions under discussion. P4C Texas consists of a dedicated interdisciplinary group of educators who wish to produce a more engaged relationship between Texas’ universities and K-12 schools by introducing philosophy into the pre-college classroom.
