Welcome!

Hi! My name is Laleña. When you talk about me, the words that feel good to me are she and her. I'm a kindergarten teacher in New York City. I also sometimes teach grown-ups, and last summer, I wrote a book! It just came out! You can buy my book from your local independent bookstore, directly from Lee & Low, or on the internet from Bookshop and Indiebound, among other places.)

What do I like to talk about?

Big Ideas! And how we talk about those big ideas with little people

Things like:

Race!
Equity!
Gender!
Justice!
Consent!

Where do I like to talk?

My favorite place to talk is in schools. I used to go to schools to meet with teachers for professional development, or to run workshops with parents. These days, it's all online, and I'm doing a lot of work with grownups about how to talk (and listen!) to kids about "difficult" topics, like race and gender. Want to know more about how Black Lives Matter in Education?

I also like talking about other things, like how to be a good friend, how to take care of our community, and what my favorite color is. When I'm in school, there's one thing I like even more than talking.

Listening

I love listening to kids talk. They say really smart things. At school, I like that I get to listen while my students talk, and then write down what they say. Here are some things they said last October.