FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE: USING STRENGTHS TO TEACh

We all bring unique strengths and experiences — our “funds of knowledge”-- into our work with children every day. If you’re curious to learn more about your own strengths, consider taking this free strengths assessment. It’s a quick and engaging way to reflect on what you naturally do well and how those strengths show up in your classroom.

WHAT ARE FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE, YOU MIGHT ASK?

Funds of Knowledge are the skills, values, and ways of knowing that children, families, and providers already use to navigate their lives successfully. This knowledge is practical, relational, and deeply connected to identity.

BUILDING ON WHAT CHILDREN BRING, GUIDED BY THE ELDGS

The Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines (ELDGs) remind us that children learn best when new experiences connect to what they already know - their families, cultures, languages, and communities. Though the term funds of knowledge isn’t explicitly used, the idea is woven throughout: children’s lived experiences are powerful learning resources.

• For infants, this means honoring home routines, songs, caregiving practices, and language to build trust and continuity.

• For toddlers, it looks like listening closely to their play and conversations - expanding on stories about family members, home life, and community experiences.

• For preschool and pre-k children, it includes inviting them to share traditions, recreate familiar routines in dramatic play, and contribute songs, stories, and knowledge from their lives outside the classroom.

Each child arrives carrying meaningful knowledge shaped by their family and community. Our role is not to replace it, but to recognize it, celebrate it, and use it to inform what experiences we offer to children in the classroom.

VALUING CHILDREN’S STORIES

Children don’t come to school as blank slates - they arrive with rich experiences, skills, and cultural knowledge learned from their families and communities. By incorporating families’ funds of knowledge into the classroom, educators can validate children’s identities, make learning more relevant and engaging, and build stronger home-school connections. This approach helps children see what they know and experience at home matters, supports deeper understanding of concepts, and fosters confidence and a sense of belonging. In short, using families’ funds of knowledge turns the classroom into a place where children’s backgrounds are recognized as a foundation for learning, rather than something separate from school.

BOOKS TO OFFER TO CHILDREN TO SUPPORT FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE IN YOUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

• Brick by Brick by Heidi Woodward Sheffield

• Abuela by Arthur Dorros

• Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

• Families Belong by Dan Saks

• We Belong by Laura Purdie Salas

• Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers

• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

• Wild Berries by Julie Flett

• Fly by Brittany J. Thurman

• Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer

• Skin Again by Bell Hooks

• I Like Myself! By Karen Beaumont

• Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith

LINK TO NAEYC CODE OF ETHICS

1.3- Support children's well-being.

b. Recognize the many strengths and qualities that each young child brings to the early learning program as a unique individual and as a member of a family, culture, and community.

c. Build bonds with families and communities to promote those strengths and qualities, Including by creating consistency and stability between the program and home(s).

d. Work to build individual relationships by adapting teaching strategies, learning environments, and curricula so that each child can benefit.