Napcast

A Knee. A knee can either be used to take a life away or can be used for justice. This week, we were reminded of both. In this special recording, in the wake of the guilt verdict of Derek Chauvin, Nick and Mike provide listeners with some concrete ways that they can introduce this topic into their classroom today. In this hour long Napcast, they share their feelings, their thoughts, and their pure...

With an increased pressure on demonstrating school readiness in standardized, deficit-oriented, checklist models, and time-consuming ways, educators in the USA are often challenged in making authentic connections to marginalized children and caregivers. Educators in the USA are often forced to silence the voices of families in the process. Most assessments for educators in the USA takes the joy ou...

Nick and Mike are emotional dudes. We cry. We are tender. We are joyful. We get hangry. Despite wearing our emotions on our sleeve, it still takes some intentionality on our part. Intentionality with our actions, words and activities in order to support  young children’s ability to identify emotions, to increase their vocab, to think beyond emotional stereotypes, and ultimately to be confiden...

Childcare doesn’t just consist of educators. They include home attendants who provide support to children with dis/abilities, house cleaners who are keeping our houses and programs safe and clean, nannies and all the other essential workers. Today with Stacy Kono, we shine a light on the forgotten part of our industry and what we can do to support and uplift them. Please note, this episo...

In this episode, we are joined once again by Amir Gilmore (he/him), Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education at Washington State University, who also joined us on Napcast Special Episode #1 titled "Is America Anti-Black?" In the aftermath of the insurrection on the United States of America's capitol building, we gather to discuss the insurrection and how we can appro...

Language isn't something we often think about and because we don't think about it, we often take it for granted. And when we take it for granted, we aren't cognizant of the ways it can be used as an instrument of oppression. In this episode, we examine our language, the power of language, and how this world can be represented in an unlimited number of ways. This live session of Napcast, delivered...

Am I Black enough? How do I claim my Native heritage? Am I Latinx worthy? These are the questions many bi and multi-cultural children ask themselves. Returning for Part 2 of 2, we continue our conversation with Miriam (she/her), an Afro-Indigenous early learning professional in Seattle, WA. In this episode we take an even deeper look at connection, identities, the language of colonization and what...

In part 2 of 2, we continue our conversation focused on transitions to this new school year. In today's episode we chat with two early learning professional leaders of color, Alfonso (he/him) and Theresa (she/her), on how their own experience being marginalized gives them the strength and motivation to break the cycle of inequities that's facing today's youth.  Napcast is a podcast designed t...

From TV to Twitter to the dining room table, today's children get their news from a variety of sources. Some might ask you, what's going on? While some may act it out at home. So how do we respond? In this special pre-election episode, Nick and Mike chat about how we can encourage children to be a part of the democratic system in peaceful and respectful ways. As early childhood educators, we share...

Returning to “school” this fall is going to be .. well..  interesting. There are new challenges, anxiety, rules, children, and at Hilltop… we have a new location! In this episode, we chat about the changes, the transitions, the laughter, the tears, and how we are working with admin, educators, parents, and the community to support children and ourselves. In part 1 of 2, we chat with three wom...

What does it means to Indigenize educational spaces and materials to better reflect Indigenous people in an authentic way. How do we weave the strong foundations of traditional cultural knowledge with emerging ideas about what it means to be a Native-identified person in our present day. In part 1 of 2, we chat with Miriam (she/her), an Afro-Indigenous early learning professional in Seattle, WA on...

We’re all ready to cancel 2020 and maybe even 2021 while we’re at it. Unfortunately, there’s too many families and lives we must support. So, how do we rebound when disasters strikes? How do we not only restore our walls, our trust in the system, our hope? In this episode, we chat about how do we adapt as a community during troubling times. Napcast is a podcast designed to help you learn on the go...

We all grow. It’s part of human evolution. As educators we must continuously reflect not just on our children but also on ourselves. In this episode, Nick takes a look back at his 14 year career of being an educator. We discuss not only what he learned over the years, the shots he wished he took, but we also talk about what’s next for him in his career. Napcast is a podcast designed to help y...

Sorry? #sorrynotsorry, that’s not in our vernacular. Is it because we’re heartless? Maybe. Or perhaps we believe there’s an alternative way in building empathy in children in authentic and sincere ways. In this episode, we’re all up in our feels as we discuss ways we can support children in naming, framing, and expressing their feelings. Napcast is a podcast designed to help you learn on the go, h...

"Speak English." "Sound white." "Ssh, don't mention you're Mexican." These are the things parents are teaching their kids today. How do we break this stigma to support children' to speak their native tongue? Embrace their heritage? Today, we're joined by Veronica, a Latinx educator working at Epiphany Early Learning Preschool in Seattle, WA to discuss her experience as being a Latinx in ECE today....

It's super tough being a mother. You have children to take care of, bills to pay, and you have to satisfy your own needs. Now imagine doing that while experiencing hardships like homelessness, and while starting your own childcare business? How do you survive? Well, let's ask my mom. In this episode Mike sits down with his mama to discuss her experiences as a Family Childcare Home provider, the st...

It's easy to say you want family to be partners in the process? So, how are you cultivating and foster a rapport with families? How are you best supporting BIPOC families? Where in your practice have you stopped hoping and wishing and instead eliminated seen and unseen barriers for families to work with you? We don't have all the answers, but we have thoughts! Hear some of those and more on ways w...

Survey 100 people and you'll probably get a 100 different answers to the question "What is the role of an educator?" For Nick and Mike, we're co-constructors, researchers, advocates, and documenters. How does these roles allow us to be an active participant in support children? Listen in to find out more!  Napcast is a podcast designed to help you learn on the go, hear another perspective, sp...

In this episode, we reflect on our own childhood and how the image of the child encourages us adults to value children’s thinking, and to authentically make it visible to them and others. Along with the hundred languages concept which tells us that children have a hundred (and more) ways of expressing and communicating their learning, knowledge, and feelings, this episode is a tool to use to gain...

We're more than just an educator. We're researchers, therapists, party planners and activists. We might say we are educators to our friends and family. But we’re not. We play so many different roles for young children which is why being in ECE is so fun. It’s why we are so proud. It’s why we never want to leave. In this episode, we chat about our personal growth in ECE. How we came to find our voi...

In this episode, we are joined by Amir Gilmore (he/him), Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education at Washington State University. In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, we gather to talk, to mourn, and to heal. With Amir working with the leaders of today and with Nick and Mike working with the generation of tomorrow, this episode gives you insight from 3 mal...

In this episode, we dive into ways we can build the resiliency, the leadership, the foundations of critical thinking in young learners. We also discuss ways to light the fire under children's bellies to be able to empower them to the lead a revolution and fundamentally change the way we govern, lead, live in community with one another. Sounds radical? Yeah! Education and learning should be! ...

In this episode, we discuss who we are and how we give ourselves permission to be our authentic self at work. Oh.. and as the title suggest... deathmetal & toddlers.  Napcast is a podcast designed to help you learn on the go, hear another perspective, spark debate, agree incessantly, and honestly, remind you that you’re not alone. We live in a complex world, so allow us to challenge your...

Napcast is a podcast designed to help you learn on the go, hear another perspective, spark debate, agree incessantly, and honestly, remind you that you’re not alone. We live in a complex world, so allow us to challenge your orientation with words, thoughts, advice, and the perspective of two male early childhood educators of color.  In this episode, we discuss self-care, ways to stay connecte...