How to talk to your children about 

Social Unrest & Racial Justice 

FAN’s mission is to provide resources and a support network for parents. Recent events have rocked our worlds and we’re feeling many different emotions that are hard to harness and express. As parents, we’re always searching for ways to teach our children about the world around them. After all, we all want to teach our children to be kind, informed, empathetic, and anti-racist members of society. 

HIGHLIGHT: How to talk to your kids about social unrest and violence in the Capitol

• Parenting Perspective from the Washington Post

• Talking to Children about Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers from the National Association of School Psychologists 

• How to talk to children about the Capitol Riots: An age by age guide from Today Parenting 

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:

• Sometimes People March, by Tessa Allen Youtube reading 

• Let the Children March, by Monica Clark-Robinson Youtube storytime from the National Civil Rights Museum

• A children’s book highlighting the 1963 Children’s March in Birmingham, Alabama inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King

• Video includes a guided craft to make your own protest sign 

• Rise Up and Write It, by Nandini Ahuja

• Teaches children about civic engagement and activism tools, including pull out letters and petitions to inspire kids to use their voices to change their communities and make an impact in the world around them

Racial Justice

FAN’s mission is to provide resources and a support network for parents. Recent events have rocked our worlds and we’re feeling many different emotions that are hard to harness and express. As parents, we’re always searching for ways to teach our children about the world around them. After all, we all want to teach our children to be kind, informed, empathetic, and anti-racist members of society.

There are so many resources available it can be overwhelming. FAN is committed to giving you a few resources on an ongoing basis that can help you facilitate thoughtful, anti-racist conversation with your children.

HIGHLIGHT: MLK Week of Service Jan 11-16, 2021

• Hosted by the NFSJ (check their website for more details)

• Via the Internet in Your Own Space

• Network interns, as well as WHS Connect and Commit students and WHS Service Learning, are hard at work planning our MLK Week of Service 2021. Save the dates and get ready for the following virtual activities:

• • a speaker's panel

  • educational programs for youth

  • arts activities and

  • service projects for multiple ages

 

PARENT RESOURCES: 

• Book Rec: Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America - Jennifer Harvey *

A book for families, educators, and communities who want to equip their children to be active and able participants in a society that is becoming one of the most racially diverse in the world while remaining full of racial tensions. 

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:

• Art Supplies: Bellen’s More than Peach™ Project

• • Pre-order More than Peach Palette Packets
    

  • Bellen Woodard is the 9 year-old President of Bellen’s More than Peach™ Project which promotes inclusion and diversity with a goal to get multicultural crayons into the hands of every student #morethanpeach #morethancrayons

• Games: Puzzle Huddle

• • These puzzles come in all sizes, for whatever stage your child is at, and have wide representation and diversity. There are many beautiful puzzles to choose from!
    
    

We encourage you to buy books from your local bookshop or black-owned bookstores:

• Book Ends - Winchester, MA

• Frugal Bookstore - Boston’s only black-owned bookstore

BLACK LIVES MATTER

FAN’s mission is to provide resources and a support network for parents. Recent events have rocked our worlds and we’re feeling many different emotions that are hard to harness and express. As parents, we’re always searching for ways to teach our children about the world around them. After all, we all want to teach our children to be kind, informed, empathetic, and anti-racist members of society.

There are so many resources available it can be overwhelming. FAN is committed to giving you a few resources on an ongoing basis that can help you facilitate thoughtful, anti-racist conversation with your children.

HIGHLIGHT: “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kauffman - (video linked)

Guided Reading Questions:

What/who do you notice on the cover?

What does it mean that all are welcome?

How do you make someone feel welcome with words/actions?

What might make someone feel unwelcome?

Sometimes people don't feel welcome because of what they think/look like/etc.

(It's a good segue into bigger conversations about race, gender, identity, etc.)

PARENT RESOURCES:

• NPR Podcast: Talking Race with Young Children (20-minutes)

• The Conscious Kid -they have a GREAT Instagram account!

• I’m a Good Person, Isn’t That Enough? - with Winchester native Debby Irving - Author of “Waking up White”

• •  Live Zoom event Oct. 22nd from 7-8pm

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:

• Multicultural Dolls - black-owned and operated business

• Board Books:

• • Anti-Racist Baby (Ibram X. Kendi)

  • Woke Baby (Mahagany L. Browne)

We encourage you to buy books from your local bookshop or black-owned bookstores:

• Book Ends - Winchester, MA

• Frugal Bookstore - Boston’s only black-owned bookstore