At UCCC, we talk a lot about building children from the inside-out. This takes on many forms, but one really important piece is helping children build resilience. Resilience means the ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change: it is the ability to bounce back.
Have you ever seen the Pixar Short "Boundin?" You can watch it on YouTube here. It is a pretty good depiction of resilience.
Resilience is built in children through protective factors that can be found in the environment (such as attending a high quality early education program), in the family, and inside the child.
We use a tool here called the DECA (Devereux Early Childhood Assessment) to understand protective factors that each child has within them. Specifically, the DECA measures attachment/relationships, self-control, and initiative (Check out our blog over the next few months for some posts specifically about each of these areas). This tool helps us to plan curriculum and develop individual child plans that focus on building these protective factors for every child.
It is time to complete the final DECA of the school year. If you have questions about the DECA, talk to your child's teachers, Ms. Peaches, Ms. Faosat, or Ms. Jessica.