Early Learning ServicesLearning Support :

Help is Now Available for Parents in the Workplace

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Working Family Resource Center (WFRC) and Good Enough Moms (GEMS) radio talk show hosts Dr. Marti Erickson and Erin Erickson. The partnership provides developmentally sound, evidence-based information to parents and nurtures the development of supportive communities among parents in the workplace using innovative Web technologies.

Podcasts on child development and parenting topics are posted every Monday at www.goodenoughmoms.com. Parents are encouraged to engage in an online discussion in the Parent-to-Parent forum at www.MNParentsKnow.info after each podcast. Parents may also have informal GEMs lunch or coffee chats about the topic of the week with other parents at work.

Please contact Debbykay Peterson at MDE debbykay.peterson@state.mn.us for more information about this project.

Finding Minnesota's Early Childhood Programs Made Easier

The early childhood years from birth to the start of kindergarten are an important time of rapid growth. The Early Learning Services Division at MDE has a variety of helpful programs for parents and their children that support children's learning and development for future success in school.

Finding early childhood programs by county is easier with a new statewide interactive map. Users can search for early childhood programs by county by selecting the county on the map, and then the early childhood program in a drop down window. Results are displayed below the map. Search the Early Learning Services map.

Find local program information about Early Childhood Screening, Head Start, Even Start, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), and School Readiness programs. Individuals may search by county, school district or city to find early childhood programs.

Expanded Website for Parents of Young Children

The MNParentsKnow.info Website is a convenient source of trusted information about children’s learning, development, health and safety. The Newborn Web pages feature a free monthly email newsletter, The Baby Express, for parents and caregivers. The Website also features videos, podcasts, research-based topic search (across the net) and articles with a parent focus.

MNParentsKnow.info, hosted by the Minnesota Department of Education, is part of the Educate Parents Partnership, an early childhood initiative of Governor Tim Pawlenty. Visit MNParentsKnow.

Getting Your Child Ready for Kindergarten

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is pleased to provide a video production, Getting Your Child Ready for Kindergarten, for families who are English Language Learners. This production is available in English, Hmong, Somali and Spanish and can be downloaded in multiple languages with English subtitles or in English. Viewers of this video will learn how to enroll children into kindergarten in Minnesota, the many different ways parents can help their child get ready for kindergarten, and how to help children stay healthy so they can learn better in school. For more information about getting children ready for kindergarten, go to www.MNParentsKnow.info.  

Getting Your Child Ready for Kindergarten is one of three television video productions especially designed for families who are English Language Learners. The two earlier productions, Early Childhood Screening and Special Help for Young Children are available in seven languages and can be downloaded from www.MNParentsKnow.info (in the video library under "Tips" or under the "Parenting A-Z" topics).

Governor’s Summit on School Readiness

The Governor’s Summit on School Readiness resulted in a list of themes and opportunities for improvements to Minnesota’s Early Childhood Programs. Ten summit themes and opportunities were identified and have been summarized for this report. Read the report or  read the combined report with program-by-program analysis by research element. View and down load the 2006 Summit background materials.(Scroll to bottom of page.)

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