Allusio Academy

Big news from our founder, Siriana:

Officially ending the school year as a 2023 Big Apple Award winner & Fellow!!

Even more excitingly, this prestigious award comes with the honor of a year-long fellowship on the Chancellor’s Teacher Advisory Council ✨

I’m beyond humbled to have been chosen as THE early childhood representative by the NYC chancellor’s committee. Out of the thousands that applied across the city, I’ll be joining an amazing team of 49 educators, including the early ed winners chosen by NYC superintendent. Our district superintendent & the NYC Deputy Chancellor of early education surprised me yesterday with this incredible honor. And to have been chosen after just two years as an NYC public school teacher makes this honor that much sweeter.

My application, like my teaching, was an honest telling of who I am.

To teach in the heart of New York City is something I never could’ve imagined, immigrating here after 9/11. My classroom experience was isolating. I wasn’t represented in curriculum, among my peers, or among the stories my teachers told. In fact, I was (and still am) vilified and told I was a threat.

To stand here today as an Arab teacher has healed the child in me. From K-5, children I’ve never taught see themselves represented in me. They see their voice. They see their families’ origins & histories & the curves of their noses. They see a living reminder of their turath, their heritage, in our classroom. And they see that we deserve love & humanity.

This is for my Arab American babies. This is for all my preschool babies.

I’m proud to elevate what everyone thinks young children are capable of. PreK is often the first year that children step away from their families & join their broader society. It’s first time they witness others’ stories in person, face to face. And studies show, time and time again, that children who have high confidence come from homes where they are told their family story. Where they know their worth & their origin.

That’s a family I came from. Proud of our stories. And it wasn’t until I stepped into teaching that I found a classroom, my classroom, that honored & celebrated my family story.

So much love today🧿🌻

Siriana سيريانا

Journaling is such a cathartic experience—both for children and adults.

And we don’t want to introduce writing as a high-pressure experience that intimidates children who see their friends who can write as holding this special, exclusive skill.

Introduce a journal in your preschool classroom as a warm and safe practice.

Swipe right for a how-to, then send me a message if you’re interested in a personalized consultation to get this practice started!

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

A thought practice for you to hold this morning. Can we apply the idea of love languages to our students?

Every child needs a different type of relationship with you. Every child needs a different type of affirmation or affection. Our relationships with children are just as complex and unique and fluid as our relationships with adults. One friend might love getting a spontaneous call from you. Another might cherish you showing up with groceries or flowers.

How can we show up differently based on what each child in our classroom needs?

I’d love to hear your thoughts below 🌻

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

This one’s for all early educators and families with young children. Save this post for later, whenever you’re ready to get back into the classroom flow.

Trust me when I say that I’m so guilty of having spent $$$ on my classroom in my first few years of teaching.

Moving forward, I’m committing to more conscious practices that respect my financial security and the communities in which I teach.

With that said, see the comments for some tips and reasons for why you should (or shouldn’t!) buy the materials I’ve shared above.

Comment below each tip to share your thoughts or strategies. I’d love to learn from you!

Share this post if you learned something new, and save it for later reference!

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

This is one of the simplest and most impactful practices that you can adopt. Swipe for an explanation why. (Excerpt taken from my session in this year’s Classroom Environment & Design Conference).

Save this post for the fall!

Or better yet, register for the entire conference (link in bio). You’ll have lifetime access to my entire session, learn more of my classroom tips, and enjoy 23 other workshops by amazing, inclusive educators.

Registration is only open till July 21!

Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

Starting this Sunday off with a potential hot take.

(And let me preface this by giving total respect to educators or families who do teach kindness through these ideas. Everyone’s practice can look different.*)

I never liked the idea of rewarding children with warm fuzzies for acts of kindness. “Filling someone’s bucket” is an interesting concept for me as an adult—but I didn’t think I needed my preschoolers to picture empty or dripping buckets floating over our heads. And I’ve seen teachers encourage kindness by creating a game where a child is chosen at the end of the day for being exceptionally kind when they thought nobody was watching.

These practices all felt disparaging to me. Why do we have to make kindness seem cute? Do we not think children are capable of understanding the basic human need for empathy and acceptance? Of love and generosity?

I’ve shared some of the language and ideas I use when centering kindness in our classroom. It’s not a one-time lesson.

It’s a daily discussion and effort to learn how to care for one another and ourselves. And honestly, that’s the simplest way I can describe what I do in preschool. We’re here to learn how to care for ourselves, our people, and our homes.

Ask children what they know and think about kindness. What rules do they think exist in our society? How do they know what kindness looks like? Why do we practice kindness? What can we do if someone’s unkind? What can we do if we’re unkind to someone?

It’s all about that restorative love and world we’re co-creating. ❤️

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

Why is this understanding of language and power important?

Our teaching will never be liberating if we ignore the histories and implications of the past and how they intercept and influence our present.

Within our classroom walls, our children carry the struggles of the giants and revolutionaries who came before them. In reading of these theories, we honor their stories and voices.

Black vernacular is power.
Black vernacular is resistance.
Black vernacular is revolution.

Source: Hooks, Bell. 1994. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge, pp.167-175.

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

I am SO thrilled to announce that I’m presenting at this year’s Classroom Design & Environment Conference, hosted by .

The session I created for you all is about shifting power from teachers to children and families. You know we love to talk about it. I’m sharing never-before-seen photographs from my favorite NYC classroom.

And while we‘re all about having beautiful classrooms…this conference focuses on creating inclusive and inviting atmospheres for every student. It’s such an important practice that all of us are continuously learning and growing. The best part? One lucky teacher who registers will get to win a classroom makeover by the amazing presenters at the conference. (Hi, can I put my name in? ❤️)

Register at my link in bio!

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

Big announcement, #️⃣1️⃣!

Our proposal was accepted!! So the amazing and I are presenting a live workshop at this year’s conference!!

Our topic is all about making nature-based learning both equitable and conscious of the lands we occupy. We’d love to see you there!

Register for the conference, and you’ll have a year-long access to all of the amazing live workshops and pre-recorded sessions.

Link in my bio ❤️

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

I’m officially moved back to the island of Mannahatta and ready for the next chapter of my life to begin!

When I first started college at , I made myself a list of experiences that I wanted to have every month in Pittsburgh.

Salsa nights every Monday.
A lecture on a topic that I love.
A lecture on a topic that’s completely new to me.
A midnight drive to the skyline overlook at Mount Washington.
And so on.

This practice challenged me. It inspired me to prioritize moments that brought me fulfillment—and it reminded me to be present for new experiences.

So this July, I’m honoring my younger self by calling back on this practice. ❤️

🌻 Sunset at Riverside Park
🌻 Night out dancing with friends
🌻 Visit to a library
🌻 A new culture-based event or experience
🌻 An experience honoring and showing up for the Lenape people while I occupy their land (in addition to daily practices)
🌻 And so on

What else can I add to this list?

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻

Today’s Ted Talk.

Spend five minutes with any child, you’ll quickly see how they’re already talking about these three themes.

We don’t need to teach them to care about issues of fairness and social justice. We don’t need to teach them that all people deserve human rights, respect and dignity.

Children already know that.

What they do need from us is the language to express these convictions they already have. What they need from us is respect their agency and influence on fighting for what’s right.

With love,

🌻 Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻


@ Mannahatta

I finally have my own beautiful copy of “Show Way”, by !!

In the story, Jacqueline integrates her powerful family history with a celebration of Black resistance and existence. What’s jarring but necessary to see are the images on each page of white violence against Black people.

I couldn’t NOT think of tatreez when I saw the show way patterns illustrated on each page. I couldn’t NOT remember how women embroidered tatreez as a sign of freedom and dignity.

These two moments of humanity—amidst the barbarism of white supremacy and colonization—need to be told.

I invite you to follow the simple lesson provocation at the end of this post.

And I can’t wait for our tatreez artists to write their stories as children’s books for me to share.

-Siriana سيريانا
(she/هي)

🌻🌻🌻


@ Mannahatta