“I am Tucker Turtle” CIT Blog Post by Sara Angel
As an Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Inclusion Specialist with Linn Benton Lincoln Educational Service District (LBL ESD), I visit many community preschools. My job is to support 3-to 5-year-olds who qualify for ECSE and help create and nurture environments where everyone feels a sense of belonging and independence. Inclusion Specialists want not only to support the growth of their target students’ goals but also to help support the success and agency of all students. It is an inclusion victory when no one knows exactly who you are there to provide service for, and all students feel a connection of support and classroom community. This is true for the resources that Inclusion Specialists bring to the classroom. Their use should be universal. Everyone should have access to the majority of the tools we provide. Some of those resources are from the Pyramid Model Framework (NCPMI – National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations) and target social and emotional development. They support working through challenges like peer problem-solving and dysregulation. One of those specific resources is known as “Tucker Turtle.”
In almost every preschool supported by an Inclusion Specialist, you will be able to find Tucker. He’s like a “Where’s Waldo” of visuals; you can scan a room for that iconically flag social and emotional learning support. Tucker is also very Googleable. A quick search will yield more resources than you might know what to do with. You can find videos, books, kits, songs, activities, and even puppets. He’s a popular preschool guy. Recently, I was admiring a Tucker Turtle book, “Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think,” in the preschool library area I was visiting, when I got to see Tucker in full emotional regulation action. A student got really upset. You know, preschool upset. This means a combination of loud sounds, a bit of crying, and some arm flinging action. Being 4 can be rough when you are really angry and not sure what to do about it. However, this student knew EXACTLY what to do about it. They entered the library area, got the center’s copy of “Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think,” and, between screams, they did just that with Tucker. They took time to tuck and think. This dysregulated, angry 4-year-old went to the designated break area just beside the library shelf, sat themselves down on a soft pillow, counted down with Tucker, took some breaths, and then went on their merry way to wash hands, exclaiming, “I am Tucker Turtle, one, two, three. I am calm, ready wash hands.”
Now, I can promise you, this has NOT always been the case. Often (so often) putting up beloved toys to go wash hands evokes the preschool-upset level of emotion of what sometimes sounds like an alley cat looking for a friend. A howler monkey claiming territory. A sports fan lamenting the other team’s foul. What this kid’s demonstration using Tucker Turtle showed was clear. Even when I am not around doing my Inclusion Specialist stuff during my Inclusion Specialist visit, this preschool has been using the resources I have given them and talking about Tucker Turtle. This skill had to be explicitly taught, reinforced, and redirected. This skill had to have been consistently taught. The Tucker change didn’t happen right away. With consistent use of the support tools like the Tucker book and a calm-down space, the preschooler knew just what to do. The 4-year-old, having BIG feelings, learned strategies to manage those feelings and get to the other side. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to be frustrated. The preschool has a plan in place for when those feelings happen.
Hearing “I am Tucker Turtle” from a proud and regulated preschooler is just about as happy as this Inclusion Specialist can get in a day of work. Maybe Tucker can help you and your preschooler have a regulated day, too? Here is a link to the amazing “Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think: