Blog, News & Events

Insights, Ideas, and Resources for Early Learning

Welcome to the Think Small Blog, your go-to destination for valuable insights, innovative ideas, and inspiring stories in the field of early learning. Dive into a treasure trove of articles crafted by our team of experts, dedicated to empowering child care providers, educators, and families.

Discover practical tips, evidence-based strategies, and the latest research findings to support children aged 0-5 on their journey to kindergarten readiness. From fostering social-emotional development to promoting cognitive skills, our blog covers a wide range of topics, ensuring you stay informed and equipped to make a positive impact on young lives.

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Two Public Policy Interns Join Think Small in 2021

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist You’ve heard the phrase “the more the merrier”? This legislative session, Think Small made the decision to host two Todd Otis Public Policy interns. The internship ...

early childhood education, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, mnleg, public policy intern, think small, Todd Otis

Attend a Precinct Caucus and Submit a Resolution to Support Early Learning

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator On Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00 pm, Minnesota will hold precinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process that ...

Early education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning, mn caucus, mnleg

New Public Policy Intern Joins Think Small Team

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Ever since she was a little girl, Kieu My Phi knew she wanted to grow up and help other children. Her enthusiasm for advocacy, especially ...

early childhood education, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, mnleg, public policy intern

Know Your Numbers...

What are your numbers?6, 43A, 2, 7?5, 12B, 4, 1? By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Several elected officials represent you at different levels, and their districts often ...

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Five Helpful Resources for Advocating for High-Quality Child Care in 2019

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Are you motivated to advocate for children this year? If you’re looking to support high-quality child care in Minnesota, below are some ...

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Policy Hour: Play, Parents and Policy

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator The November Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour focused on play, parents and policy. One of the presenters was Katy Smith, a Parent Educator who ...

Child Care, early childhood education, early childhood education minnesota, Early education, Early Education Policies, Family Child Care, infants and toddlers, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota Early Learning, Play, Toddlers

Small Talks: True Costs to Families and Early Child Care Educators

Small Talks features leaders who share key insights on early childhood education and discuss innovative solutions to early learning issues in Minnesota. Inadequate investment, scholarship caps, complicated funding streams, and ...

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Policy Hour: What Did We Do Over the Summer?

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Kids were on vacation this summer, but many adults didn’t have time for a break. October’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour got us ...

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U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Bill to Improve Access to Child Care

U.S. Senator Tina Smith introduced a new bill aimed at reducing the child care shortage in Minnesota and across the nation. The Child Care Supply Improvement Act proposes supports for ...

Child Care, early childhood education, Early education, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, Family Child Care, high quality child care, infants and toddlers, Quality Child Care

Learning from the Data We Seek

Think Small’s mission as a nonprofit is to advance quality care and education of children in their crucial early years. We do this by preparing providers, strengthening families and catalyzing ...

Child Care, early childhood education, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, Early Learning Scholarships, Equity in Minnesota, Family Child Care, high quality child care, infants and toddlers, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Nonprofit, Parent Aware, Quality Child Care

Early Learning Scholarships Change Lives

“This opportunity wasn’t just good for her, and amazing for her, but it was also amazing for me. And if it’s amazing for me, it’s amazing for our little family.” ...

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How Do 2018 Candidates Interact with Early Education?

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Every eligible Minnesota voter will have the opportunity to make their choice for statewide and federal offices this November. What authority do ...

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Guest Post: The Equity Summit

By May Esperanza Losloso, Senior Organizer, Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota From April 11-13, 2018, eight members of the Voices and Choices for Children Steering Committee attended the PolicyLink 2018 Equity Summit ...

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Be an Advocate: What to Do When Candidates Come Knocking

“Knock knock. Who’s there? Candidates. Candidates who? Candidates for Governor, Senator, Attorney General, State House of Representatives….” Campaign season is in full swing, and candidates around the state are knocking on doors in ...

Child Care, early childhood education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning, early learning in Minnesota, Economic Development, high quality child care, Minnesota Education, Minnesota Legislative Session, Minnesota politics, Minnesota's future, Nonprofit, Quality Child Care

Policy Hour: St. Paul's Citywide 3K Proposal

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Saint Paul is planning for a citywide 3K program, and Council Member Rebecca Noecker joined May’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour to explain ...

Child Care, early childhood education, Early education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning, early learning in Minnesota, Early Learning Scholarships, Family Child Care, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness

Early Learning Scholarships Help Children & Families

“Please continue funding programs such as early childhood scholarships. It definitely makes a difference. It allows kids to get that extra boost in the beginning so they stay on track ...

early childhood education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning, early learning in Minnesota, early learning minnesota, Early Learning Scholarships, high quality child care, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Legislature, Parent Aware

Policy Hour: National Update

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator The Minnesota State Legislature was off for Easter/Passover Break this week, so Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour turned its focus to national issues. ...

Child Care, Child Care Development Block Grant, early childhood education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning, Family Child Care, Greater Minnesota, high quality child care, Quality Child Care

Policy Hour: Previewing the 2018 Legislative Session

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Facts and speculation both made appearances at February’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour at Think Small in Minneapolis, and Sara(h)s abounded. Sarah Orange, ...

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Attend a Precinct Caucus and Submit a Resolution to Support Early Learning

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator On Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m., Minnesota will hold precinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process that ...

Early Education Policies, Early Learning, early learning in Minnesota, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota politics, Quality Child Care

Small Talks - Don't Expel Me: Social Emotional Strategies for a More Inclusive Child Care Program

Small Talks features leaders who share key insights on early childhood education and discuss innovative solutions to early learning issues in Minnesota. By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist The third Small ...

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Policy Hour - Early Childhood Data

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator January Policy Hour started with a special announcement: the event is now named the Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour. Ann served as the ...

Child Care, Early education, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, Family Child Care, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Legislature, Policy Hour, Quality Child Care

Policies in Play: Child Care Assistance Program Changes

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

Child Care, Child Care Assistance Program, Child Care Development Block Grant, early childhood education, Early education, Early Education Policies, high quality child care, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Legislative Session, Minnesota Legislature, Quality Child Care

Northeastern Minnesota Addresses Child Care Shortage

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

Child Care Shortage, DEED Grants, Early Education Policies, Economic Development, Greater Minnesota, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Parent Aware, Quality Child Care

West Central Minnesota Child Care Providers Benefit from Forgivable Loans

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

Child Care, Child Care Shortage, DEED, Early education, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, Economic Development, high quality child care, infants and toddlers, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Legislature, Parent Aware

The Triple Bottom Line of Child Care

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

Early Education Policies, Economic Development, Economy, Employment, high quality child care, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Quality Child Care

Policy Hour: Parent Aware Changes & Legislative Update

The final Policy Hour of the season was a double dose of early education information! We heard about changes to Parent Aware and received an end of legislative session update. ...

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Legislative Wrap-Up: How did Early Learning Fare?

Minnesota legislators wrapped up the special session last week, and the Governor signed budget bills into law. Read about the new policies and programs that affect early learning throughout the ...

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A Legislative Update: Early Learning a Policy Priority for State

It is great that early learning is a policy priority for the state, and it’s encouraging to hear it continue to be discussed. In a year of $1.6 billion surplus, ...

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Policy Hour: Updates, Challenges and Bright Spots

Jim Koppel, Assistant Commissioner for Children and Family Services for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, spoke to Policy Hour attendees on March 7th. He talked about the child care ...

Child Care Assistance Program, early ed, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, Early Learning Scholarships, Minnesota child care

Minnesota Early Learning Organizations Present Policy Agendas at January Policy Hour

The 2017 Minnesota Legislative Session is underway! January Policy Hour brought us up to speed on the policy priorities of the organizations in the Minnesota’s Future coalition and the Voices and Choices ...

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Voters Agree: Early Education is a Top Priority

By: Maya Fanjul-Debnam In this current political climate, tensions are running high between parties, and it appears as if there’s nothing we can agree on. Nothing that is, except early ...

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Policy Hour Breaks Down End of Legislative Session

The Minnesota’s Future June Policy Hour reviewed the 2016 legislative session, combing through a list of proposals that passed, did not pass, and some that still may pass if a ...

Early education, Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota's future

Army Generals Urge Minnesota Legislature to Support Parent Aware

A group of high ranking military generals residing in Minnesota sent a letter to legislators encouraging them to invest in Parent Aware, Minnesota’s quality rating system for all early learning ...

Early Education Policies, early learning in Minnesota, Minnesota Legislature, Parent Aware

Blog, News & Events

Insights, Ideas, and Resources for Early Learning

Two Public Policy Interns Join Think Small in 2021

Attend a Precinct Caucus and Submit a Resolution to Support Early Learning

New Public Policy Intern Joins Think Small Team

Know Your Numbers...

Five Helpful Resources for Advocating for High-Quality Child Care in 2019

Policy Hour: Play, Parents and Policy

Small Talks: True Costs to Families and Early Child Care Educators

Policy Hour: What Did We Do Over the Summer?

U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Bill to Improve Access to Child Care

Learning from the Data We Seek

Early Learning Scholarships Change Lives

How Do 2018 Candidates Interact with Early Education?

Guest Post: The Equity Summit

Be an Advocate: What to Do When Candidates Come Knocking

Policy Hour: St. Paul's Citywide 3K Proposal

Early Learning Scholarships Help Children & Families

Policy Hour: National Update

Policy Hour: Previewing the 2018 Legislative Session

Attend a Precinct Caucus and Submit a Resolution to Support Early Learning

Small Talks - Don't Expel Me: Social Emotional Strategies for a More Inclusive Child Care Program

Policy Hour - Early Childhood Data

Policies in Play: Child Care Assistance Program Changes

Northeastern Minnesota Addresses Child Care Shortage

West Central Minnesota Child Care Providers Benefit from Forgivable Loans

The Triple Bottom Line of Child Care

Policy Hour: Parent Aware Changes & Legislative Update

Legislative Wrap-Up: How did Early Learning Fare?

A Legislative Update: Early Learning a Policy Priority for State

Policy Hour: Updates, Challenges and Bright Spots

Minnesota Early Learning Organizations Present Policy Agendas at January Policy Hour

Voters Agree: Early Education is a Top Priority

Policy Hour Breaks Down End of Legislative Session

Army Generals Urge Minnesota Legislature to Support Parent Aware

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