Early Childhood Director's Group

Join Us for the Early Childhood Directors Group

Thursday, February 12^th  -  10:00 am – noon

Think Small - 2021 Hennepin Ave. E., Mpls  55413

Discussion Topics:

* We’ve dreamed about this!  Now – it’s happening!!! Early childhood education is a BIG CHUNK of the Governor’s budget and a HOT TOPIC at the legislature. Come hear from Cisa Keller what’s happening and how you and your staff can be “players” advocating for children and families.

* What’s new with scholarships for credentials and staff training? Holly Meurs from Child Care Aware will fill us in.

* We’re launching the first Early Childhood Directors Book Club discussion with Maurice Sykes’s Doing the Right Thing for Children: Eight Qualities of Leadership. You can check out the book from the Debra Fish Library at Think Small or purchase a copy from Redleaf Press: www.redleafpress.org

Early Childhood Directors Group meetings are free and open to all. 

RSVP to Nancy Johnson – njohnson@thinksmall.org

Visit our blog at: www.ecdirectorsgroup.blogspot.com

Check Out Small Group Activity Kits

from think Small’s Debra Fish Library

Small Group Activity Kits are a new addition to the Debra S. Fish Early Childhood Library! These kits teach a variety of developmental skills. They are designed to facilitate comprehensive Small Group instruction where teaching targeted skills based on child assessment results is necessary.

All of the kits include a book, an activity sheet, and a learning game. There are two levels of difficulty. All of the kits can be checked out for three weeks at Think Small’s St. Paul and Minneapolis sites.

Some of the titles are:

Small group activity kit-Match

Small group activity kit-Numbers

Small group activity kit-Opposites

Small group activity kit-Sequence

Small group activity kit-Sorting

Small group activity kit-Vocabulary

Because the Debra S. Fish Early Childhood Library is now a branch of the St. Paul Public Library, users throughout Minnesota have access to the materials. For additional information on obtaining a library card or requesting materials, please call Cathy Clair at 651-641-3544, or email her at cclair@thinksmall.org. The library is open 8:30-5:00 Monday through Friday, and on evenings and Saturdays during classes. 

State Legislative Update

It’s week five of the legislative session. March 20^th is the first deadline for bills to be heard in committee to keep moving through the process. This means the next six weeks are a critical time for your advocacy efforts!
Committees are continuing to meet to understand the Governor’s budget recommendations. Bills based on these budget recommendations will be introduced soon with specific details. Stay tuned!  

MinneMinds Update 

The MinneMinds Coalition held a press conference last week and a number of legislators, both Democrat and Republican and Senate and House members, attended to show their support for early learning scholarships. Chairman Sen. Cohen is carrying the Early Learning Scholarships bill in the Senate, SF606 and Rep. Ron Kresha is carrying the bill in the House, HF603.
Current scholarship funding only serves a small fraction of the young children who need access to high quality early learning experiences. We look forward to continuing to talk with legislators about the importance of targeting limited state dollars to flexible, parent driven scholarships.
Below are sample Facebook messages and Tweets to spread the message of the importance of scholarships.

• #ChildCare is an essential part of the #earlylearning solution in Minnesota. #mnleg #MinneMinds
• #EarlylLarning happens every day in #childcare. #KeepitFair #mnleg  
• Value of early learning is emphasized in @GovMarkDayton's budget! #MinneMinds will continue to push for focus on most at-risk kids. #mnleg
• Early learning scholarships have bipartisan backing as solution to #achievementgap. RT to show your support! #mnleg #MinneMinds

To receive email updates with a weekly Bill Tracker and Legislative Update on bills currently moving through the Minnesota Legislature related to early care and education including the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and licensing and program regulations, contact please contact Ann McCully at: AnnM@childcareawaremn.org. 

Roses are red Violets are blue Investing in child care Helps children & families, too! Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and this year, we're asking Congress to have a heart for children and families by investing in child care.  Last fall, Congress reauthorized the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) for the first time in nearly 20 years. Although this vote marks an important step toward building a strong early learning system, we're not done yet: Congress still needs to provide the funding necessary for the program to truly help children and families succeed. With the right funding, here's what CCDBG reauthorization would do: ·      Improve the health and safety of children in child care settings ·      Make it easier for women and families to get and keep the child care assistance they need ·      Enable children to have more stable child care ·      Strengthen the quality of child care High-quality child care is linked to the success of children and their parents. Child care provides early learning opportunities to children and enables women to work so they can support their families. With significantly increased funding, this bill can make a critical difference. Ask your Members of Congress to support young hearts and minds by investing in child care. Thank you for all you do for children and their families. Sincerely, Helen Blank Director of Child Care and Early Learning National Women's Law Center