Creekside families and families around the country and the world are processing the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd and the resulting aftermath of anti-racist protests and calls for change. We have resources here for families who are struggling with how to talk about race, racism, bias and difference with their children. Through these important and challenging conversations, children can learn the skills of being anti-racists who can contribute to a peaceful, equitable world.
We as a school are working toward being a community that practices peace. The racial, ethnic, and socio-economic diversity at Creekside brings us great hope for the children who spend their formative childhood years here. We are fostering a deep love for every brother and sister. As each child moves forward into adulthood, he or she will bring with them this loving, peaceful foundation that will extend around the globe, to all people. This is our great hope for Montessori education and especially Montessori education that is accessible to all.
As part of becoming peaceful leaders and global citizens, children need to understand that in our world right now, people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds get treated in unequal (and unfair) ways. This can be hard to talk about with children, but if we don't talk about it, they still notice differences but draw their own (sometimes mid-guided) conclusions. We as adults need to help children notice and celebrate our racial and ethnic differences, while also learning (in age-appropriate ways) how racism and bias impact people in our world.
Articles for talking with children about tragedy, violence, race and discrimination
Helping Children Regain Emotional Safety After a Tragedy (kidpower.org)
Helping Children Cope: Tips for Talking About Tragedy (mayoclinic.org)
How to Talk to Kids About Violence, Crime and War (commonsensemedia.org)
Talking to Children About Racial Bias (healthychildren.org)
Talking to Young Children about to Kids About Race and Racism (PBS.com)
Talking to Kids About Discrimination (apa.org)
Resources for Talking With Kids About Race, Racism, and Racialized Violence - Center for Racial Justice in Education
How to Talk to Kids About Race and Disrupt Racism - The Conscious Kid
Discussing Traumatic Events With Youth - Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health
Talking Race With Young Children – resource list curated by NPR
Books to read with children
31 Children's Books To Support Conversations About Race, Racism, and Resistance - Embrace Race
Children's books featuring kids of color being themselves. The Brown Bookshelf
Additional resources for adults
Resources for Your Anti-Racist Practice - YWCA Minneapolis
Anti-racism resources for white people compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein and shared by the Montessori Public Policy Initiative.
Our Liberation is Bound Together by Dr. Nicole Evans, Faybra Hemphill, Daisy Han, and Katie Kitchens (Embracing Equity)
Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey (or check out the 7-minute interview with Jennifer Harvey on NPR).
Resources for an anti-bias Thanksgiving
By age 3 or 4, children who are asked to draw pictures of Native Americans show native peoples in stereotyped or violent ways (think headdresses and tomahawks). Our work as anti-bias caregivers and educators is to give children stories and conversations that help them see the breadth and depth of Native American life, contemporary and historical. Common Thanksgiving images and stories are often not helpful in that regard, and often portray stereotypes while showing biased history and perspectives. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, you may be looking for ways to talk about the Thanksgiving tradition in an anti-bias, anti-racist way. Here are some resources to help caregivers understand the history and talk with their children.
Thanksgiving book lists:
- Native American Children’s Literature Recommended Reading List
- Beyond the So-Called First Thanksgiving: 5 Children’s Books
- Thanksgiving Books for Kids Written from the Native Perspective
Additional resources for Thanksgiving:
- Windows and Mirrors Resources: Native American/Indigenous Identity for 3- to 12-year-olds from AMAZEworks
- A Racial Justice Guide to Thanksgiving for Educators and Families
- Decolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools
- Teaching Thanksgiving from a Native American Perspective
- How a Spanish Spy Set in Motion a Fake Treaty to Acquire Lands that Would Become Minneapolis and St. Paul