Families Embracing Diversity Vanessa

Mia will share how she used her blog and 1-1 relationships to stand up to anti-asian rhetoric in her community and create change. This interview will empower and equip you to advocate for change in your community.

Mia Wenjen is half Japanese & half Chinese American and married to a Korean American. This unusual ethnic combination made her seek out all kinds of Asian representation in children’s books for her three kids. She started a blog, PragmaticMom.com, to share her favorite books, and Multicultural Children’s Book Day to celebrate diverse KidLit. Her debut picture book, Sumo Joe (Lee and Low, 2019) was selected as a Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year. She wrote Asian Pacific American Heroes for Scholastic (2020) and Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes as a Kickstarter pandemic project. Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World releases spring of 2023 through Barefoot Books. Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist (Red Comet Press) and Boxer Baby (Eifrig Publishing) releases in 2024. Follow her @pragmaticmom on social media.
You can learn more about Mia on her blog: https://www.pragmaticmom.com/ on Instagram @pragmaticmom or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064493391981 Be sure to also check out her organization, Multicultural Children's Book Day, a celebration of multicultural children's literature: https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/


This session is co-hosted by one of our conference supporters, Little Bean's Toy Chest: https://www.littlebeanstoychest.com/. Little Bean's Toy Chest creates diverse quiet books for little explorers and change makers.

In this podcast episode we chat with Kelly Wardlow, mom of four and creator behind https://connectionkeeping.com/. We talk about connected multicultural parenting. Learn how to foster connection in your home, with your kids and in your community.   Kelly shares tips for helping kids feel connected to their culture even if it isn't represented within their family, as is often the case with adoption. She also shares her wealth of knowledge for prioritizing connection during conflict, which she calls "doing messy well".   If you are a parent, this podcast is full of helpful tidbits that can enrich your parenting and help you be a connected multicultural family.   For more amazing resources for connected parenting, check out:  https://connectionkeeping.com/parenti... https://connectionkeeping.com/printab...

Do you know the role of grandparents in preserving and passing down culture?  In this video, we explore how important it is for grandparents to pass on their traditions, values, and beliefs to their grandchildren. 

Plus, we also discuss: 


Ways families can do this effectively. 
How culture influences parenting. 
What consent means for little kids.  
How to deal with the pre-teen years.

If you'd like to learn more about Nanny Jen, you visit her website: https://nannyknowledge.tk/

And download her guide for helping grandparents assume their role as the keepers of culture in your family: https://nannyknowledge.tk/diversity

How do we talk about race with kids? For white parents raised in the "color-blind" generation, it can feel confusing and even overwhelming to talk with your kids about race because they are conversations you likely never had yourself. Yet, talking about race is something we need to do, especially with our kids. In this interview, Rebekah Gienapp talks about how to have conversations about race with white kids. She offers some great tips on why these conversations, and our role in anti-racism work, differ between people of color and white people. She also gives great advice on how white people can be co-conspirators or allies in anti-racism work without letting ignorance get in the way. This is essential reading/listening for anyone who wants to help create a more racially inclusive world for their children. You can learn more about Rebekah and her work on her website: https://www.rebekahgienapp.com/ and download your copy of How to Talk to White Kids About Race: https://www.rebekahgienapp.com/race/

In this podcast episode, we chat with Hai Anh Vu, the founder of Little Bean's Toy Chest. We discuss easy tips to correctly say names you aren't familiar with, how Little Bean's Toy Chest came to be, and the importance of playing with diverse toys.  If you would like to find some beautiful, hand-made toys that celebrate Asian culture, be sure to check out Little Bean's Toy chest (affiliate link): https://www.littlebeanstoychest.com/?ref=xi5EPKqUb 

In this episode we talk with author and educator Frances Evans about how to teach kids to embrace different accents. Frances gives some great tips to help kids and adults approach speakers of other languages with kindness and courtesy. Here are just a few of her amazing pieces of advice:


Parents are their kids role models. It is our job to lead by example. That means we need to model building close relationships with diverse people, unpacking our own biases and using empathy when interacting with others.
Be conscious of your body language and tone when asking someone to repeat something you didn't understand.
Think about how you might feel in that same situation.

We also got into an amazing conversation about raising bilingual kids. Frances began raising her son bilingually when he was already four years old. Yet, now at 13 he is still speaking Spanish with his mom and using it with family members in Puerto Rico. Frances shared some amazing tips for helping kids learn a second language. 

You can find out more about Frances at either one of her websites: 

https://discoveringtheworldthroughmysonseyes.com/

https://discoveringespanol.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Cocolacotorra

You can also purchase her book on Amazon or Etsy 

Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3kqXFOp

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DiscoveringEspanol