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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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Guest Post: What is the READ Act?

In Minnesota and around the country, many children are not on track to read proficiently. The latest Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) results show just 48% of 3rd graders met or ...

early literacy, Kindergarten Readiness, MDE (Minnesota Department of Education)

Think Small Statement Regarding Family Separations

By Barbara Yates, President and CEO of Think Small As another school year begins, we have another opportunity to reflect on children’s readiness for the learning ahead. Think Small’s strategic ...

Child Care in Minnesota, family separations, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Strategic Plan, think small

Parents Detail Kindergarten Transition Experiences

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist The first of its kind in Minnesota, a new study examines how families transition their children from an early childhood education provider to kindergarten. The ...

early childhood education, kindergarten, Kindergarten Readiness

Guest Post: Elders Reflect on Evaluation of Early Childhood Programs

Submitted by Jane Kretzmann, on behalf of Elders for Infants (Glenace Edwall, Dave Ellis, Sandy Heidemann, Jim Nicholie, Glen Palm, and Katie Williams). Elders for Infants is comprised of professionals ...

early childhood education, Early education, early learning in Minnesota, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature

Policy Hour: Mixed Delivery

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Mixed delivery is a hot topic in early care and education. Even with an extra half hour, December’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour ...

anoka-hennepin school district, Child Care, Child Care Assistance Program, child care providers, Head Start, kindergarten, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Department of Education, Mixed Delivery, School Readiness Plus, Voluntary Pre-K

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

Child Care Assistance Makes a Difference: Aaron's Story

Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) helps make child care affordable for income-eligible families. This can often be life-changing for children and parents, as it was for the Santamaria Mendez family. Four-year-old Aaron Santamaria ...

Child Care, Child Care Assistance Program, early childhood education, Early education, early learning in Minnesota, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Parent Aware, Quality Child Care

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 ...

achievement gap, early childhood education, Early education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning Scholarships, Economic Development, Family Child Care, Kindergarten Readiness, minnesota achievement gap, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota Opportunity Gap, 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.” ...

early childhood education, Early Education Policies, Early Learning, early learning in Minnesota, Early Learning Scholarships, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Nonprofit

Policy Hour: Legislative Wrap-Up

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator The 2018 legislative session ended on May 22. To explain the implications for the early care and education field, two experts joined ...

Child Care, early childhood education, Early education, Early Learning, early learning in Minnesota, Family Child Care, Governor Mark Dayton, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota Legislative Session, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota's future

Six Lessons from the Todd Otis Public Policy Internship

By: Emma Klingler Greetings! You may remember me from the blog post introducing me back in March. My tenure as the Todd Otis Public Policy Intern for Think Small is nearly ...

early childhood education, early childhood education minnesota, Early education, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislative Session, Minnesota Legislature, Nonprofit, Quality Child Care

Say Thanks to a Child Care Provider!

Happy Child Care Provider Appreciation Day! Today, we recognize the millions of child care providers across the nation who give their time, experience, concern, and skills to our littlest learners ...

brain development, early childhood education, Early education, Early Education Spotlight, high quality child care, infants and toddlers, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, 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

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

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

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 ...

early childhood education, Early Learning Scholarships, high quality child care, infants and toddlers, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Quality Child Care

Small Talks - Text Me: Turning Everyday Moments into Early Learning Experiences

brain development, early childhood education, Early Learning, infants and toddlers, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota Opportunity Gap, school readiness, Think Small ParentPowered Texts, Think Small Texts

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 ...

early childhood education, Early Learning, Early Learning Scholarships, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislative Session, Minnesota Legislature, Parent Aware

Early Education Spotlight - Here We Grow

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator Video by Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care ...

Child Care, early learning in Minnesota, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Parent Aware

Small Talks - Talk to Me: How Early Conversations Impact a Child's Life

Small Talks features leaders who will share key insights on early childhood education and discuss innovative solutions to early learning issues in Minnesota. By Kristie Thorson Talk to Me: How ...

brain development, Kindergarten Readiness, language development, LENA, Small Talks, word gap

Early Education Spotlight: Stepping Stones Childcare Learning Center, Inc

By: Marie Huey 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 ...

Child Care, early childhood education, Early Learning, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Parent Aware, Quality Child Care

Early Learning Scholarships Are Critical for Children in Child Protection

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 ...

#policiesinplay, brain development, Child Care Assistance Program, Early Learning Scholarships, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, minnesota achievement gap, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota Opportunity Gap, Safe Passage for Children

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

Free Early Childhood Text Messaging Program Offered to Minnesota Parents

Child Care Providers Can Meet Parent Aware Requirement by Encouraging Families to Sign Up When Woodbury parent Amy Raleigh heads to the store with her 4-year old daughter Fiona, she ...

Kindergarten Readiness, Parent Aware, Parent Powered Texts, Parent Resources

Seven Reasons to be Optimistic About Early Learning in Minnesota

By Todd Otis The benefits of giving children access to high-quality early learning have been proven beyond a doubt. Nobody has been able to dispute that targeted investment in quality ...

early learning in Minnesota, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislature

Early Learning Investment - Turn Up the Volume!

By Todd Otis The early childhood movement has come a long way in the past twenty years, and has a long way to go. The public now understands the importance ...

early learning in Minnesota, Early Learning Scholarships, high quality child care, infants and toddlers, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota Early Learning, Minnesota Legislative Session, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota Opportunity Gap

Early Education Spotlight: Little Wonders Daycare

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

Early Education Spotlight: Daryeel Group Home Daycare

By: Marie Huey Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent ...

Child Care, early childhood education, Early Education Spotlight, Kindergarten Readiness, Minneapolis, Minnesota child care, Minnesota Early Learning, Parent Aware

Early Education Spotlight: Bloom Early Learning and Child Care

Bloom Early Learning, Child Care in Minnesota, Early education, high quality child care, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota, Minnesota Early Learning, Parent Aware, Plymouth

Minnesota PreK-3 Design Team Releases Statewide Recommendations

A new group of early education experts released recommendations for how Minnesota can best improve the early care and education landscape across our state, a key area of focus to ...

early education minnesota, Early Learning, early learning minnesota, higher education, Kindergarten Readiness, minnesota prek3 design team, policy, The McKinght foundation, West Central Initiative

Closing Opportunity Gaps to Shrink Achievement Gaps

By: Maya Fanjul-Debnam The opportunity gap is one of the biggest obstacles our education system faces today. As highlighted in a Minnpost op-ed written by Think Small President, Barbara Yates: ...

achievement gap, early childhood education, Early education, Kindergarten Readiness, MCAs, minnesota achievement gap, minnesota early education, Minnesota Opportunity Gap, National Opportunity to Learn Campaign, opportunity gap

Poverty's Immense Impact on Brain Development During Childhood Explored

By: Maya Fanjul-Debnam More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, $23,550 a ...

brain development, economic equity, Kindergarten Readiness, maya fanjul-debnam

Learning Starts at Birth: Implications for a Lifetime

By: Maya Fanjul-Debnam From the moment they are born, children are learning from their surroundings. Everything from brain growth to approaches to life are shaped by what does—or does not–happen ...

brain development, infants and toddlers, Kindergarten Readiness, maya fanjul-debnam

ESSA Signed into Law, Focuses on Early Learning

A new education law came out of Washington D.C. recently with strong bipartisan support. The new law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, eliminates No Child Left Behind and brings back ...

Early Learning, Kindergarten Readiness, Minnesota Education