educators

Early childhood education is built on relationships. We know this. We talk about it when we think about children, families, and classrooms. But the longer I do this work, the more I realize that relationships are not just part of our work—they are the work.

Think about the people who have shaped you as an educator or leader. The colleague you call when you need to talk something through. The person who shared an idea that completely changed your thinking. The mentor who saw something in you before you saw it in yourself. Or the connection made at a conference, meeting, or professional gathering that became something much more meaningful over time.

Those relationships matter.

In a profession that asks so much of us, connection sustains us. We learn from one another. We challenge one another. We share resources, celebrate successes, wrestle with hard questions, and sometimes simply remind each other, “You’re not doing this alone.”

And perhaps that is where belonging begins.

Connection happens in so many layers of our work. It is in the relationships we build with children and families the everyday moments that communicate, “I see you. I know you. You matter here.” It is in the relationships we build with colleagues, when we listen, collaborate, share ideas, and support one another.

And it extends beyond the walls of our own classrooms and schools. Connection might mean helping a family who just moved to town find a pediatrician, introducing a colleague to someone who can help with a challenge, sharing a resource, or simply saying, “I know someone you should talk to.” Our relationships create bridges—not only for ourselves, but for others.

Some of the most meaningful connections begin with a simple conversation, a shared question, or an introduction. The more connected we are, the more we are able to connect others. We don’t have to have all the answers ourselves; sometimes, we just need to know who to ask.

Belonging is not something that simply happens because we are part of a classroom, school, organization, or professional community. It is something we intentionally create through relationships.

In my work, I think about belonging through six pathways: Kavod (honoring each person), Authentic Communication, Kehillah (community), Partnership, Shared Learning, and Simcha (joy). Each offers a different way to think about how we create spaces where people feel seen, valued, connected, and part of something larger than themselves. But at the heart of every pathway is the same thing: relationship.

Belonging is built in the small, everyday moments; something as simple as, “I know someone you should meet.”

As we welcome 5787, I invite you to carry these Six Pathways to Belonging with you: Kavod, Authentic Communication, Kehillah, Partnership, Shared Learning, and Simcha. Not as a checklist, but as an invitation to notice the relationships around you and the connections when we notice someone, make an introduction, share what we know, ask for help, offer support, or invite someone in.

So, think about your own circle of connection. Who do you turn to? Who turns to you? Who might benefit from a connection you can make?

Sometimes building community begins with what you have the opportunity to create.

Who might need an introduction? Who could benefit from something you know or someone you know? Who might simply need to be invited in?

As we begin a new year, may we continue to build the relationships that strengthen our classrooms, our schools, our families, and one another. Because belonging doesn’t just happen. We create it—one relationship, one connection, one moment at a time.

Shanah Tovah.

Lori Kowit, M.Ed.
Early Childhood Consultant | Kowit Consulting

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