A recent article in the New York Times discussed a gender expansive 5-year-old boy that illustrated some of the challenges that both families and educators can encounter when it comes to issues of gender and sexuality with young children. During the preschool years, children are beginning to develop their understandings of gender, sexuality, and family. The Institute is committed to providing educators and professionals with high-quality professional development on how to explore these concepts with young children in curriculum and pedagogy. We are also committed to supporting parents and family members to confidently address these topics with their children in empowering, accurate, and developmentally appropriate ways.
This fall, the Institute is offering another series of workshops on “Gender, Sexuality, and the Family” for early childhood educators. The workshops are designed to spark discussion, facilitate the creation of shared language, and provide educators with the resources needed to make their classrooms supportive spaces for the development and exploration of identity.
The set of workshops for early childhood educators and professionals will begin on the following dates:
- Tuesday, October 17th from 5:30pm-8:30pm
Session 1: Gender Development, Expression and Play
- Tuesday, November 28th from 5:30pm-8:30pm
Session 2: Bodies, Curiosity and Touching
- Tuesday, December 12th from 5:30pm-8:30pm
Session 3: Including All Families and Supporting All Children
Sessions can be attended as a series or individually. You can find more information about the workshops on our website and register for the sessions by clicking on the links above.