“Why I Do What I Do”

by Babs Hadjusiewicz May 14, 2015

“Why I Do What I Do”, by Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz (Babsy B)

I want to share the work and conversations for peace that I have been practicing for 50 years now and expect to continue for another half century or longer, I hope: I act every day toward building peace through my work with children via writing for publication and sharing peaceful words (Examples: Peaceful Me; I Can!; Who's the Boss?; I Like Me!; I Can! Can You?; Fighting Makes No Sense!; and hundreds more books, poems, and songs I write, I now publish, and I continue to write...see www.babsyb.com). I work every day and take every opportunity to share peaceful words and actions during my everyday encounters with any baby, young child, and any child--one-at-a-time. I am also at that same time modeling for any accompanying adults the peaceful, self-awareness, fun, and loving words and actions--those observing adults get to witness and take away with them how the peaceful fun loving words and actions resonate with their children.

It is my long-held belief based on 50 years now of training and practice that we must build peace from the beginning--with children who LIKE and believe in themselves...with children who meet success as readers and writers and lifelong learners.

These abilities when offered to every child--via the systematic development of oral language during children's first 5 years of life--work to equip every child with the power to become that reader and writer and critical thinker who can think past bias and hate, even if such non-peaceful words and actions are being modeled for them at home or in their community.

Research and practice have shown us that the modeled words and actions and messages children hear and see in those first years of life are the very messages children take with them and live out in living their own lives.

My work focuses on building peace from the start with the infant and toddler and preschooler. For example, back in the late 60's and early 70's, I began working to write and teach toddlers and preschoolers to buckle up in vehicles. I knew that little ones who knew the why's and how's of buckling up would insist on being buckled up. And I knew, they would then insist that their parents would also buckle up to be safe in vehicles. How did I work to make that happen in those days before laws and car seats and such? Through meaningful and informative and fun poems and songs for little ones. And it worked!

The same strategies work to build peace, one little person at-a-time.

Babs Hadjusiewicz

Author

Hey, thanks for stopping by. Check out our digital downloads right here in my store at www.babsyb.com. You'll also find many of my publications in my Bee with Babsy B store on Teachers Pay Teachers' site. Come back often!