Baaaaaacon!

According to comedian, Jim Gaffigan, bacon is SO good you can wrap it around other foods (like brussels sprouts or kale) to make THEM taste better.

At the Dekko Foundation, we think knowledge of child/youth development is a little bit like bacon.  Knowing how children and young people develop is good on its own.   But when you wrap that know-how around early childhood education, a  classroom or a youth group those experiences get better too!  Here’s how:

• At some early childhood programs, adults bundle children up into coats, hats, mittens and boots for a trip to the playground.  But early childhood education programs that think about  what very young children need to grow and thrive…well, they allow plenty of time for children to dress themselves!  Getting dressed is as much a part of the learning experience as playing outside.
• Some schools and classroom leaders think each child needs a computer at his/her fingertips.  Schools that think about what children need to grow and thrive believe that waiting for computer access once in a while builds planning skills and self-regulation.  Hmmm.  Those are good things!
• It’s tempting for adults who advise teen groups to prepare the agenda, write the minutes and plan the food–otherwise it’s left to the kids and the last minute.  But adults who think about what teens need to mature know that natural consequences (no agenda or no snacks) are some really great teachers!  And who ever died from lack-of-agenda???

If you want to know more about our beliefs on what children and young people need to thrive, visit our website and click through our pages on what children need.  We think you’ll find it to be some sizzling-good information!