We are excited to announce the Fall 2024 Book Study featuring the insightful work, Illuminating Care: The Pedagogy and Practice of Care in Early Childhood Communities, with the esteemed author Carol Garboden Murray! This event is more than just a book study; its a unique opportunity to enhance your understanding of how caregiving is a vital component of child development and early education. Carol, a National Advisor for DEY, is generously donating her time to guide our discussions, making this a rare chance to learn directly from a care expert. 

Participants will engage in four interactive 90-minute Zoom discussions, where you will explore the themes and principles of Illuminating Care alongside fellow early childhood educators. Co-moderated with DEY Executive Director Denisha Jones, these sessions promise to be enriching and thought-provoking, allowing you to deepen your knowledge and apply new strategies in your practice.

The cost of this invaluable experience is just $25, with all proceeds supporting DEY's initiatives, including the DEY Summer Institute and various programming. We believe in making this opportunity accessible to all, which is why we offer scholarships for those in need of financial assistance. Additionally, if you gather a group of 10 or more, we provide special group rates to encourage collective learning and collaboration.

Check out this introductory video Carol made and register today!

On Wednesday October 2 at 7 pm EST join us for a discussion on Reflection, Perspective-Taking, and Social Justice: Stories of Empathy and Kindness in the Early Childhood Classroom. Authors, Jacky Howell, Makai Kellogg, Magy Youssef, and Sabina Zeffler and DEY Executive Director Denisha Jones invite you to learn more about encouraging kindness and empathy in young children!

Our latest DEY Dialogue: Breaking up with ECEC Practices featured DEY National Advisor Kisa Marx and Denisha Jones discussing the concept of breaking up with ECEC practices that no longer serve the children you care for or the educator you are today.

We invited our DEY National Advisors to make short introductory videos. Take a few minutes to get to know our amazing group of early childhood practitioners, advocates, and scholars. To learn more about our National Advisors, read their bios here.

Carol Garboden Murray

Author, Illuminating Care: The Pedagogy and Practice of Care in Early Childhood Communities

Kisa Marx

Practitioner, Child Advocate, Author Rethinking Weapon Play

Takiema Bunche Smith

CEO and Founder, Anahsa Consulting

DEY National Advisor Laleña Garcia is back with another Banned Book Club feature. This time she shares her love of the book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes!

DEY launched the Banned Book Club to resist the attempts to deny children the opportunity to learn from diverse books. Each month, we will feature a banned early childhood book that we encourage you to read to the children in your life. If you are interested in joining our Banned Book Club and promoting a banned book, email denishajones@dey.org.

We at DEY extend a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored 6th Annual Summer Institute. The Summer Institute is a labor of love, that brings together a diverse group of early childhood educators, researchers, and advocates to share their expertise. Though we do not charge for this three day event, we offer generous compensation to all our speakers. Every dollar we received through our Honor an Educator campaign or direct sponsorship, ensures we can continue to offer the Summer Institute free to all attendees. Thanks again!

Our next round of mini-grants will be awarded after the September 1st application deadline. Read more and apply here.

Check out our Advocacy Spotlight, a series dedicated to highlighting advocacy efforts around the country to advance early childhood education.

Visit our Advocacy Map to view more advocacy efforts. Do you know of early childhood advocacy happening in your community? Add it to our Advocacy Map!