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It's Just For Fun Friday! On JFFF, we review items and activities that you can do with your kids in order to increase their cultural competence and diversity awareness. Happy 4th of July everyone! I love pretty much everything about this holiday. Especially living in DC, there is so many festivals, parades, pomp & circumstance, as well as arguably the best fireworks display around! Even though I enjoy this day as a fun time with friends and family, it got me thinking a little about what our freedom really meant. Truth be told, this holiday only meant freedom for a select few - namely White males. Women and Black people (and all other people of color) were not free at all! Women did not have the same rights as men in 1776 - not even close! So were they really free? And Black people - I mean this one is pretty obvious. Freedom wasn't granted until 1865 with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. And even then? Questionable... So check out the video for ideas on how to talk to your kids about this. And then print out the page below for a quick list of potential questions and comments. When do you feel women and minorities were truly free? Are they now? What do you think your kids will say about this? What other tools can you use to show them the freedom differential between groups of people? Leave a comment below. Most of all, enjoy. And don't forget to HAVE FUN! 
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It's Just For Fun Friday! On JFFF, we review items and activities that you can do with your kids in order to increase their cultural competence and diversity awareness. Admittedly, this week is less fun than usual, but it's also incredibly important. It's all about talking to kids about what happened in Orlando. You don't want to scare little ones, so the shooting itself is not necessarily what you want to discuss, but that violent act is not the only thing that happened in Orlando. Homophobia, transphobia, heterosexism - that also happened in Orlando (and happens much too frequently throughout the U.S. and the world) and ignoring the underlying issues isn't helping anyone. This week is about giving kids tools and empowering them to better understand these concepts so that they can combat them. Think that this isn't an issue for your little one? Think again. I first remember hearing the word 'gay' used as a negative connotation when I was 6 (I remember who said it too). Yes, that was in first grade. My first year at elementary school in the suburbs of New York City. My previous school included kindergarten and was one of the most loving environments ever (still is - shout out to The Seed!). While I was there, I didn't understand that anything a person was could be seen as negative. Then I went to first grade and 'gay' was synonymous with bad. It was confusing at first, but it didn't take long before I 'got' it. I still didn't agree, but I also didn't speak up until I was much older - we're talking late high school and college here. It's not that I didn't hear gay slurs throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I just didn't know what to say. You can't ensure that your kids will always say something - and they don't have to all of the time - but you can provide them with the tools & language so that if they want to speak up, they can. Because I wanted to, I just didn't. What is your first memory of hearing slurs against people who are LGBTQ+? When did you learn to speak up (never is a legitimate answer!)? How will you help give your kids the tools and language? Leave a comment below. As stated above, this week's video is less fun, but I hope you find it inspiring & empowering.
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It's Just For Fun Friday! On JFFF, we review items and activities that you can do with your kids in order to increase their cultural competence and diversity awareness. This week is a little different from the norm, but it's not unprecedented. Just like we did a special JFFF on Mother's Day, this week we are focusing on Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads out there! We are using Father's Day as an opportunity to think about and discuss our own ideas about maleness and masculinity. This seems fitting as traditionally, being an involved father was not thought of as a very masculine thing to do. And men were certainly not supposed to actually show true affection towards their children. I'm thankful that some things have changed. That men who shower their children with hugs, kisses, and other signs of affection are much less likely to be seen in a negative way. Affection is not effeminate; it's human. But we still have a long way to go. I've received some feedback that you would like to see me talk about current events more, so I'm incorporating some of my thoughts about the Brock Turner case into this week. The connection between masculinity and sexual conquest is undeniable and I believe it contributes to a culture that excuses, or even condones, sexual assault. Disclaimer - this week's video is not for little ones. So this week is an opportunity for you to think about your own views on masculinity and how you are presenting that to your kids. Men have an important responsibility to change their behavior, but women contribute to our culture as well and also share the responsibility to change it. Check out the video and the one-page guide on ideas for how to get started. While, admittedly, this week's video is less 'fun', it is all about making these conversations less intimidating and more accessible. I think we accomplish that here. Have you ever examined your own views about masculinity? If not, what is/was holding you back? How will you introduce the topic to your kids? If you have already, what was the most surprising thing that they told you? Leave a comment below. Most of all, enjoy. And don't forget to HAVE FUN!
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It's Just For Fun Friday! On JFFF, we review items and activities that you can do with your kids in order to increase their cultural competence and diversity awareness. I love this week's item! I think it's one of the coolest, most unique things I've seen of late. It's for those kids that love comic books. In some ways, this series of comic books is just like most of the ones you've seen. It's got superheroes, villians, cool storylines, and compelling characters. The thing that makes these comics different is that the superhero kids are Muslim! And the "99" references the 99 attributes of Allah in the Koran. What an awesome way to introduce the religion of Islam to kids! In this day and age when Islamophobia is rampant, it's really important to do so. After you watch the video, print out the page below for a quick reference guide on the comic books and suggestions for ways to use them. There's also a link below to buy the books in the series. What do you think about having a comic book series centered around a religion? Will you introduce your child to these? Which characters do you find most compelling? Do you think that these comics accurately represent Islam? Why or why not? Leave a comment below. Most of all, enjoy. And don't forget to HAVE FUN!
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It's Just For Fun Friday! On JFFF, we review items and activities that you can do with your kids in order to increase their cultural competence and diversity awareness. This week's item is LEGOS!!!! I mean, it doesn't get any better. Anyone else out there have a child who is completely Lego obsessed? My son is - it's pretty much his favorite activity and I know a ton of other kiddos who feel the same way. So this is a great way to infuse some diversity into your child's play without it feeling forced. I mean, they're going to be playing with Legos anyway, why not give them people to play with who are more representative of the population? This is the Lego Education Duplo World People Set. Basically, it's a diverse group of Lego people so that when your child builds castles or houses or parks or anything else with their Lego Duplos, they can put all different types of people in those scenes. So cool. After you watch the video, print out the page below for a quick reference guide on the Legos and suggestions for ways to use it. There's also a link below to buy this set. How did your child play with the Legos? Did they gravitate towards a certain person? What did you notice about how your child played with these people? Leave a comment below. Most of all, enjoy. And don't forget to HAVE FUN!
Check back next week for another Just For Fun Friday!
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About Just For Fun!
This is the place to go to develop your child's cultural competence while still having fun! If you know that your child needs this essential 21st century skill, but find it so overwhelming, you are in the right place. Using everyday items and activities, you can increase the diversity awareness in your home. It's Just For Fun! Never Miss a Post! Sign Up For Our Newsletter Today!
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