To continue to open the dialogue for Pride Month reading stories that are inclusive to all families whether a child has two moms, two dads, one parent, or one of each are great ways to lay the foundation of acceptance from an early age.
Love Makes a Family by Sophie Bear celebrates the one thing that makes every family a family is love. Initially this book inspired the invitation and I thought to further extend exposing children to the varying dynamics Mommy, Mama, and Me and Daddy, Papa, and Me are books that can be used to continue to demonstrate the loving bonds of families.
Learning through play is vital to children. Research shows play can improve children's abilities to build the safe, stable and nurturing relationships that build social-emotional resilience. Being able to act out what they see in stories or experience in day to day life is essential for their emotional development. Setting a STEM invitation to play through building love makes a family deepens their connection of understanding and accepting different family dynamics. Children need to know that their families matter both in and outside of their homes, no matter what the family dynamic consists of. Through play they get to explore and honor that in an open ended way.
This invitation consists of wooden blocks houses, rainbow arches, wooden hearts, and painted wooden pegs representing the colors of the LGBTQ community. By inviting a child do play through invitations such as these it will deepen their connection to the concepts/themes within the book, comprehend the storylines, enhance their language, creating more understanding, and open up great dialogue for acceptance.
