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.
When Is It Happening: Early Learning Scholarships
Early Learning Scholarships will see significant changes in the months and years ahead. Early Learning Scholarships give low-income families financial support to help pay for quality early care and ...
2023 Early Care and Education Legislation
There?s now a clearer picture of what will become law in 2023. When it comes to early care and education, there is a lot! We?re still digesting, but here?s ...
What’s in the Budget: Early Learning Scholarships
House File 2292, the early education omnibus bill, passed both the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Walz. This bill contains new investments and policy ...
Early Care and Education in the Omnibus Bills
State legislators are on Spring Break, and omnibus budget bills are available. An omnibus bill is made up of many other bills centered on a specific topic. State legislators ...
Early Care & Education Crisis Work Group Convening
By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Two interconnected crises continue in Minnesota: worst-in-the-nation achievement gaps and a severe child care shortage in many parts of the state Last ...
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 low ...
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 ...
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.” ...
Guest Post: Candidates for Governor Speak Out About Early Education Issues
By Ericca Maas, Close Gaps by 5My organization is focused on closing Minnesota?s worst-in-the-nation achievement gaps, which means closing the early education opportunity gaps facing the 35,000 low-income Minnesota children ...
An Encouraging Find: Another Potential Benefit of Parent Aware
?The survey results show that Parent Aware-rated programs across all parts of Minnesota were twice as likely to have stayed in business than non-rated programs.? High-quality early learning, as defined ...
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 ...
Picturing Brighter Futures
By Kristie ThorsonAt Think Small, we picture a brighter future for Minnesota?s kids.? We picture a day when ALL young children have access to high-quality early care and education so ...
Early Education Spotlight: People Serving People
Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives on ...
Think Small Annual Report: Picturing Brighter Futures
?Our mission is to advance quality care and education of children in their crucial early years.? The theme of our 2017 Report to the Community is ‘Picturing Brighter Futures’ for ...
Children Experiencing Homelessness Benefit from Early Learning Scholarship Changes
Early Learning Scholarships allow children ages 3-5 from low-income families to attend high-quality early learning programs. During the 2017 legislative session, lawmakers made a change to allow children 0-5 from ...
Families First: Connecting Southern MN Children with Early Learning Scholarships
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 ...
Policy Hour: Early Education Policy and Funding Changes
By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorRepresentatives from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) presented at the first Policy Hour of the season. June Reineke and Amanda Varley shared ...
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 ...
White Earth's Story: Building an Early Learning Landscape for Kids and Families
Fifteen years ago, families in White Earth, Minnesota didn’t have access to early learning programs. Families were lucky to get a spot in a Head Start program, one of the ...
Macy's Story: Early Education at Age 2 Makes the Difference
Macy started her child care program at age two, with no previous early learning experience. Since then, she’s blossomed. She is now the star student of her program and completely ...
County by County, Here’s What Child Care Looks Like Across Minnesota
We must close gaps first by supporting early learning programs already in place to reach our most at risk children. Child Care is an essential and large piece of this ...
The Wisest Choices Minnesota Can Make for Early Learning
By: Barbara Yates, President and CEO of Think SmallWe?ve heard it before.If everything is your priority, then nothing is your priority.Show me your budget, and I?ll tell you what you ...
CCAP, Early Learning Scholarships Key to Equity Conversation at #CYIB16
The 2016 Children and Youth Issues Briefing this week featured an important and inspiring conversation about the future of early learning in Minnesota.
Early Learning Scholarship Helps Prepare Child for Kindergarten
Meet Lisa Wilson. She is a single mother to a rambunctious 4 year-old. They try hard to make ends meet every month, but sometimes it just didn?t work out. Child ...
New Evaluation Highlights Positive Impact of Early Learning Scholarships
The Minnesota Department of Education delivered an evaluation of Early Learning Scholarships to the Minnesota Legislature this week, which found that children who receive Early Learning Scholarships are making significant ...
Pheng's Story: Spreading the Impact of Parent Empowerment
This is the third in a series of?videos showing the impact high-quality early learning has on children, families and child care providers across Minnesota. Check back here for a new ...
Early Learning Scholarship Changes Bobbi's Family Forever
This is the second in a series of?videos showing the impact high-quality early learning has on children, families and child care providers across Minnesota. Check back here for a new ...