Sabemos que la comunicación está en el corazón de cada relación. Ya sea verbal o no verbal, la forma en que nos expresamos da forma a la manera en que nos conectamos con nuestros hijos y cómo ellos navegan por el mundo que los rodea. Una de las formas de comunicación más simples pero poderosas que tenemos a nuestra disposición es una sonrisa.
Una sonrisa es universal, trascendiendo el idioma, la cultura e incluso la edad. Para los niños, una sonrisa puede ser una herramienta poderosa para el desarrollo emocional y social. Es más que solo un gesto de felicidad: puede tener significados como “gracias”, “te veo”, “te aprecio” o simplemente, “estoy aquí contigo”. Al enseñarles a los niños a reconocer y utilizar el poder de una sonrisa, les estamos ayudando a desarrollar su alfabetización emocional y a profundizar sus conexiones con los demás.
Una Sonrisa como un “Gracias” -En el mundo acelerado en el que vivimos, a veces los simples gestos de gratitud pueden pasarse por alto.
Una Sonrisa como “Te Veo” -Cada niño quiere sentirse visto, escuchado y comprendido. A veces, no basta con solo decirles que los vemos; necesitamos mostrarles a través de nuestras acciones.
Una Sonrisa como “Te Aprecio”- Un niño que recoge sus juguetes, ayuda a poner la mesa o simplemente comparte una sonrisa con un hermano – todas estas acciones merecen ser reconocidas.
Una Sonrisa como una Forma de Comunicación-La primera forma de comunicación de los niños no son las palabras, son las expresiones.
Sonreír para Conectar y Brindar Consuelo-Una sonrisa también es una forma de consuelo.
Enseñar Sonrisas como una Habilidad para Toda la Vida -Cuando enseñamos a los niños a sonreír a cambio, les estamos enseñando una valiosa habilidad para la vida: reconocer el mundo que los rodea con positividad y calidez.
Valentine’s Day is recognized in many countries. In Mexico, Valentine’s Day is known as the Day of Love and Friendship. As in Mexico, many people enjoy this special day with their loved ones. In recent years, due to the pandemic, it has been difficult to celebrate with our loved ones. For many of us this year is no different. In hard times like these, it is necessary to model resilience to children and show that despite the changes we can support our loved ones. The good thing is that technology has served us well by helping us keep in touch with our favorite people. Apps with video have been essential for us to communicate with one another during the pandemic.
Libraries have adapted to these changes by offering free virtual programs to our community as a great gesture of love.
From our library to you, I’d like to share 3 current virtual events to celebrate Valentine’s Day all month long:
1. Bilingual Storytime with Miss Gaby
Enjoy songs and stories with your little ones. Mondays from 6:30 to 7:00 pm.
2. Mother Goose on the Loose
Tuesdays at 10:15 am to listen to stories, sing songs, and recite classical rhymes for babies and their loved ones. This program is specially designed for the emotional and social development of your baby.
3. Lunch Storytime With Friends
On Wednesdays, join us virtually with your favorite lunch food, participate in activities and listen to stories in English.
Enjoy these 3 bilingual books with themes on friendship and love:
2. One of a kind like me = Unique Like Me by Laurin Mayeno
This is a sweet story about unconditional love and the beauty of individuality. It is a unique book that lifts up children who do not conform to gender stereotypes and reflects the power of a loving and supportive community.
3. Imagine = Imagine / John Lennon
Join this little dove on her journey around the world to spread a message of peace and friendship among birds all over the planet, of all sizes and colors. Set to the words of John Lennon’s immortal song and created in collaboration with Amnesty International, this moving book dares to imagine a world at peace.
El Día de San Valentín por lo general es un día festivo mundialmente. En México se conoce como el Día del Amor y la Amistad. Como en México, en muchos países por lo general la gente disfruta de este dia especial con sus seres queridos. En los últimos años, a causa de la pandemia ha resultado difícil celebrar este día especial con nuestros seres queridos. Para muchos de nosotros este año no es diferente. En tiempos duros como estos es necesario modelar la resiliencia a los niños y mostrar que a pesar de los cambios nos podemos unir en comunidad con nuestros seres amados. Lo bueno es que la tecnología ha servido mucho a nuestro favor para aun poder reunirnos con nuestros seres favoritos. Aplicaciones con la capacidad de video han resultado especialmente esencial para comunicarnos con unos a otros durante la pandemia.
Las bibliotecas no son la excepción y nos hemos adaptado al cambio ofreciendo programas virtuales gratis a nuestra comunidad como un gran gesto de amor. De nuestra biblioteca a Ustedes, aquí les comparto 3 eventos virtuales para celebrar el dia del Amor y la Amistad todo el mes:
1. Hora de Cuentos Bilingüe con Miss Gaby
Disfruta de canciones y cuentos con tus seres pequeños. Lose lunes de Las 6:30 a las 7:00 de la noche.
2. Mother Goose on the Loose (Madre Gansa Anda Suelta)
Lose martes acompáñanos a las 10:15 am para escuchar cuentos, cantar canciones, recitar rimas clásicas para bebés y sus seres queridos. Este programa está especialmente diseñado para el desarrollo emocional y social de tu bebe.
3. Almuerzo y Cuentos con Amigos
Lose miércoles, únete a nosotros virtualmente con tu almuerzo favorito, participa en actividades y escucha cuentos en Inglés.
Por ultimo, aqui les comparto 3 libros bilingües con temas que hablan sobre el amor y la amistad:
1. I’ll build you a bookcase = Te Haré Tu Propio Librero por Jean Ciborowski Fahey
En este dulce cuento en rima, el amor por la lectura comienza con un humilde librero casero. ‘Te haré tu propio librero’ celebra lo maravilloso que es leer con nuestros seres queridos y nos recuerda que la magia de la lectura nunca envejecerá.
2. One of a kind like me = Único Como Yo por Laurin Mayeno
Esta es una dulce historia sobre el amor incondicional y la belleza de la individualidad. Es un libro único que levanta a los niños que no se ajustan a los estereotipos de género, y refleja el poder de una comunidad amorosa y de apoyo.
3. Imagine = Imagina / John Lennon
Únete a esta palomita en su viaje por el mundo para difundir un mensaje de paz y amistad entre las aves de todo el planeta, de todos los tamaños y colores. Con la letra de la inmortal canción de John Lennon y creado en colaboración con Amnistía Internacional, este libro conmovedor se atreve a imaginar un mundo en paz.
Whether your little one is stepping inside the classroom for the first time ever or for the first time since last year’s virtual learning, these first couple of weeks in school are sure to be a mix of nerves and excitement. This last year no doubt tested the patience of kids of all ages and caregivers alike. So much change in so little time is difficult to process! Reading together invites the opportunity to talk about school expectations. Sharing stories can help identify and tackle any fears so that your little one can start off school on the right foot.
A story that reminds us it’s okay to be different and have the courage to stand out and tell your story, even if not everyone understands because in our differences we find similarities.
Asiya is wearing a Hijab for the first time in school. Though kids at school bully Asiya, her mother’s words and her little sister’s admiration give her strength to be her true self.
Little Bat is excited about night school but soon finds it difficult to make friends. He retreats into a cubby where Ophelia the possum is also hiding. Together they meet other nocturnal buddies and learn how to make friends.
Sophie’s world is changing; it seems scary and she’s worried about going outside. With her Grandfather, they make masks for her entire neighborhood. This book teaches kids the importance of wearing masks to keep everyone safe.
It is no secret that anti-immigrant rhetoric has increasingly been normalized over the recent years and utilized as a scapegoat to attack BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) communities. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once said: “…show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.” Well, the narrative about the job takers, the criminals, the worst of the worst has stuck and it’s here to stay.
Within our own immigrant communities, however, we’ve always heard of the gut-wrenching stories about undocumented children in detention centers. At quinceañeras and family gatherings, we’ve always heard the Tias whispering to one another about how “so and so’s father” had their naturalization certificate torn into little tiny pieces and got taken by the Migra, the border patrol feet away from American soil. We’ve heard of all the atrocities that occur long before any foot is ever set on this imaginary line that separates us from a good and ordinary life.
It wasn’t until July of 2019 when the outcry of activists and whistleblowers finally put a spotlight on these issues for the rest of the country. Reports about the unsanitary and unsafe conditions children as young as five months old endure in these so-called detention centers led to an ongoing conversation that keeps unraveling the harsh reality. The traumatization of undocumented children furthers when they have to face the reality that they might have to appear in court often without legal representation resulting in a high probability of being sent back to the country they fled from or a country that is completely foreign to them.
Whether they are part of the 29,792 unaccompanied minors who were apprehended in the fiscal year 2021 alone or part of the 16.7 million people who have at least one undocumented family member in their household, their story matters and it must be told. However, according to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), which has been documenting statistics on diversity in children’s books, of the 3,682 children’s books they reviewed in 2018, 252 depicted Latinx characters and only 207 books were written or illustrated by Latinx creators. The statistics dwindle for other ethnicities compiled in this report. Unfortunately, there just isn’t any data available that compiles any children’s books dealing with the diverse stories about immigrants, refugees, and undocumented folk.
As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has said: “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.” These stories should be written accurately and they should be written by those who’ve lived through them. These stories must be told not only so that those who may not understand learn to empathize, but so that those whose legal definition blurs can see themselves reflected and begin to heal some of their trauma.
Here are 5 excellent books I recommend to start off with:
This story is from the perspective of a child who uses counting as a coping mechanism to distract herself from the difficult experiences in her journey to a new country. Though never mentioned in the book, both she and her dad are most likely Guatemalan refugees as Guatemalan worry dolls are shown at the beginning of the book, and illustrations of soldiers are sprinkled throughout the book. She also travels via train, most likely alluding to the infamously dangerous train dubbed as The Beast that runs from Guatemala all the way to the United States.
In this story, we follow Estrella whose father has been recently deported to their country of origin. She wishes people around her knew how her life has been affected by his absence. Her teacher notices she is withdrawn and distraught so she creates a safe space to talk about the things Estrella and her other students wish they knew. This gives Estrella the courage to share not only how much she misses her dad but also about the things they did together that brought her joy.
This story parallels Estrella’s story as Jose’s mom is also unexpectedly deported back to Mexico. Jose’s family lives close to The Tijuana US-Mexico border so Jose and his dad travel through the border to see his mom. Mama doesn’t know when she will come back to the United States. Jose and his dad must return to their home in the US without Mama. This is a book that tells the stories of countless children in between two borders.
Saya’s mom is sent to a detention center for being undocumented. It’s been a long time since her mom’s been home and the only thing she finds comfort in is her mother’s greeting on the answering machine. After Saya accidentally deletes the answering machine greeting, Mama sends bedtime stories inspired by Haitian folklore on a cassette tape. Saya decides she will write a story of her own, one that could potentially help get her mother back home.
Henri’s uncle invites him and his parents to leave Haiti and come to New York City to live with him. Hoping for a better life, Henri and his parents leave on an old rickety boat. The boat overturns in the middle of a storm and Henri’s parents float further away as he calls to them. When he finally makes it to his uncle’s home in New York, he becomes withdrawn, unable to speak. One day he takes a bucket and uses it as a drum. It calls to him so he starts using it to cope and express his emotions.
This book is written by Areli Morales, a DACA ( Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient who shares her own story as an undocumented immigrant child. In this moving picture book, Areli has to leave her home and Abuelita, to join her parents and her older brother Alex in New York. After her classmates bully her for not knowing English she learns about the term “Illegal”. Areli struggles with this imposed identity and the heavy consequences that could arise should anyone find out about her legal status. In the end, we see Areli give herself permission to dream and to exist just as she is.
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Play, learn, and grow together at this lap-sit program for babies and their parents/caregivers that promotes language and social development …read more
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We acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory and homelands of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. For more information, please go to: www.yochadehe.gov
