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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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Wake Up Everybody.

By Dianne Haulcy, Senior Vice President of Family Engagement, Think Small WAKE UP! This morning I woke up with that Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes song that became popular ...

covid-19, early childhood education minnesota, early learning in Minnesota, Equity in Minnesota, George Floyd, implicit bias, justice, mnleg, Pandemic, systemic racism

Guest Post: A Lens into Our Democratic Process

By Ambar Cristina Hanson, M.P.A., Chief External Relations Officer at Hiawatha Academies and a Steering Committee member of the Voices and Choices for Children Coalition. Over the past several years, ...

Equity, Equity in Minnesota, Legislative session, Minnesota Legislative Session, voices and choices

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

Guest Post: Candidates for Governor Speak Out About Early Education Issues

By Ericca Maas, Close Gaps by 5 My 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 ...

achievement gap, Child Care, early care and education, Early education, Early Learning Scholarships, Equity in Minnesota, Minnesota Governor, Minnesota Opportunity Gap, Parent Aware, Quality Child Care

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 ...

cultural relevance, Early education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning, Equity in Minnesota, equity summit, family, Nonprofit

Guest Post: Creating Equitable Early Learning Policies

Many organizations and individuals are seeking equitable policies and solutions to address persistent inequality. We can no longer support systems that created inequity and maintain inequity. By Voices and Choices ...

early childhood education, Early Learning, early learning in Minnesota, early learning minnesota, Equity in Minnesota, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature

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 ...

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

Policies in Play

Join us on the playground as we explore Policies in Play! Think Small believes that placing a priority on children and their families through access to high quality early childhood ...

#policiesinplay, achievement gap, Child Care, Child Care Assistance Program, Child Care Development Block Grant, Early Learning Scholarships, Equity in Minnesota, Greater Minnesota, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota Opportunity Gap, Parent Aware

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 ...

Child Care Assistance Program, Child Care in Minnesota, Early Education Policies, Early Learning Policy, Equity, Equity in Minnesota, Head Start, Home Visiting, Minnesota, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota's future, Policy Hour, Quality Child Care

Early Learning Key Component to Closing Gaps in AAPI Community

Nationally, Minnesota ranks 46th for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) high school graduation and is home to one of the largest white-AAPI proficiency gaps for fourth-grade reading. A new ...

AAPI Community, early learning in Minnesota, Equity in Minnesota, Minncann Report

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.

Children and Youth Issues Briefing, Equity in Minnesota, Legislative session, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota legislative preview