Polar Bear Days
Title: Polar Bear Days
Location: Ironworld, Chisholm, MN
Description: Ironworld celebrates Polar Bear Days with special family events!! All are welcome to join in the fun of this Chisholm-based celebration.
10:30-Noon First National Bank of Chisholm sponsors BURIED TREASURE! Dig through snowpiles for hidden coins! (1 pile for ages 2 to 6, another for ages 7 to 12)
11:00-1:00 Polar Bear make-n-take crafts in the Museum classroom
11:00-1:30 Meet real sled dogs and their musher & take a dogsled ride around Ironworld’s Park!
11:00-3:00 Cookie decorating near Ironworld’s restaurant
1:30-2:30 and 3:00-4:00 Folk artist Casey Aro performs in the theater
Check out our restaurant specials, too! General admission applies; Ironworld members free. Call 1-800-372-6437 for information or go to www.ironworld.com
Start Time: 10:30
Date: 2009-02-28
End Time: 16:00
Dr. Seuss Birthday Tea Party
Title: Dr. Seuss Birthday Tea Party
Location: Mesabi Family YMCA, Mt. Iron
Description: The Mesabi Family YMCA invites area preschoolers and their families to a Dr Seuss Birthday Tea Party. Children will enjoy a great “Whoville” story time, “Cat in the Hat” craft, “Green Eggs and Ham” snacks and more! This event is free and open to the public. Pre-register now by calling the YMCA at 749-8020.
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-02-26
End Time: 11:30
Give Kids a Smile Day
Title: Give Kids a Smile Day
Location: Lake Superior Community Dental Clinic, Duluth
Description: Free dental care to less fortunate children! With the help of professional and student dental hygienists, LSC’s clinic will provide dental cleaning, fluoride, x-rays, & restorative dental care as needed.
For information or an appointment, contact clinic coordinator Cindy Upton at 218-733-5939 or c.upton@lsc.edu
Start Time: 09:00
Date: 2009-02-02
End Time: 16:00
Show Time! 4pm January 28
A small group of Quad Cities Early Childhood Coalition members will gather at the Parkview Learning Center Computer Lab (Room 143) to watch the Minnesota Summit on Early Care and Education starting at 4:00 p.m. live from the House Chamber!
Come join us for popcorn and beverages, networking, and an interesting discussion!
Date: Wednesday, January 28
Time: Show starts at 4:00 PM
Place: Parkview Learning Center Computer Lab, Room 148
More Information on the Summit
Start the Year With Positive Parenting
“Children are the flowers of the future. If they are to blossom in the spring time of their lives, the soil in which they grow must be richly nourished.”
This quote illustrates the importance of being a parent! Many forces shape and influence the development of children. For nearly all children, parents are the most powerful influences and the most important teachers.
There are parental strategies to raise happy, healthy, secure children. Some of these include: love them no matter what, recognize children’s special qualities, spend quality time together, catch them being good, be a good role model, know and understand children’s age and development, listen to what children say, expect the best behavior, remember children have feelings and parent them with respect, be affectionate, keep life on a fairly regular schedule, prepare children for difficult situations, help children learn to calm down, and be someone your children can count on and trust.
Let all of these nurturing tools guide you to become the best parent you can be for you and your child. Every year we are all given another “fresh start” with our children. Start the new year with parenting that is positive and hopeful.
January 16, 2009 - This Week @ the Capitol
From Ready 4 K
The House Early Childhood Committee has had two hearings thus far, both on overviews of their budget jurisdictions—one on the programs in the Department of Education, and one on the programs in the Department of Human Services. These proved to be very useful, as 8 of the 14 members of the committee are new to the committee, and 4 of those are new members to the House. The DHS hearing also included information on the School Readiness Connections pilot program, which is set to expire on June 30, 2009. Ready 4 K is advocating continuing this and the other two pilots which were started in 2007—Pre-K Allowances and Family, Friend and Neighbor.
One other positive note is that during the budget overview in the Senate E-12 committee, Sen. Leroy Stumpf, the chair of the committee, mentioned that it was unlikely that they would be recommending any cuts to preventive programs, like early childhood.
Governor Tim Pawlenty gave his annual State of the State address this week, in which he began to lay out his budget and policy recommendations for the session, prior to him releasing his full budget on January 27. He made no mention of early childhood care and education, for better or worse.
What you can do
Stay in touch with your [school's!] legislators throughout the session and remind them of your interest in investing in high quality early childhood education and care. Legislators are hearing from many people about a variety of issues, so we need to remind them not to forget our youngest citizens.
Visit the Capitol to see the action up close. You can always stop by your legislators’ office or send them a note on the House or Senate floor.
2009 Regional Childcare Providers Appreciation & Training Seminar
Title: 2009 Regional Childcare Providers Appreciation & Training Seminar
Location: Duluth DECC, Lake Superior Ballroom
Description: Don’t miss this extra special opportunity for everyone who provides care for children ages 5 years and under. Cost to attend is $10. Continental breakfast and lunch provided. Learn storytelling techniques, strategies for supporting children in your care, and receive free books and educational materials. Relax, learn, have fun, and be pampered! Keynote Speaker is Terrie Rose, Ph.D., Founder and President of Baby Space: A Place to Grow. Contact the Northland Foundation at 1-800-433-4045 for more information.
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-02-14
End Time: 14:00
Public input requested… “Family Focus on Autism”
Now through January 21
The Minnesota Senate Autism Task Force invites all parents, guardians and caregivers of individuals and individuals with and Autism Spectrum Disorders to testify about the issues they face, including the availability and effectiveness of services, treatment and therapy. Comments can be submitted through January 21 by email to AutismTaskForce@senate.mn. - More Information -
Ready 4 K Sets 2009 Legislative Priorities
Ready 4 K has released its legislative priorities for the 2009 session. They are to:
► Maintain current investments in early childhood care and education programs and services
► Increase access to quality early learning experiences for the most at-risk children
—Provide direct funding to high quality early learning programs
—Continue funding for quality early learning pilot programs
(Pre-K Allowances and School Readiness Connections)
► Support parents through home visits and connections with parent educators/mentors
► Build quality throughout the early care and education system
—Ensure that quality standards are defined and applied to child care, Head Start and schoolbased
early education programs
—Expand ratings to more ECE providers under the Quality Rating & Improvement System
—Provide grants for quality improvements tied to the QRIS
—Continue Family, Friend and Neighbor pilots
► Build supports for an effective system by creating an Office of Early Learning
“A bad economy is exactly the wrong time to dump
the best earning stock in your portfolio.”
—Todd Otis, Ready 4 K
