Early Care & Learning Council

What will tomorrow’s workforce look like? Thanks to the pandemic, innovation is happening fast hiring alone won’t meet your changing talent needs. What you need are people who can upskill, adapt, and deploy and fast. http://ow.ly/sQTH50E6zHP

Did you know that the most important interaction you can have with a child is through play? Harvard University's Dr. Jack Shonkoff explains the most important thing a one can do to support their child's brain development. http://ow.ly/ptts50EcuKa

In this session, Lissarette Nisnevich, Early Childhood Professional, and Founder of Pequenines talks about her definition of resilience, how children can build it, and gave us great tips and strategies of how to build it in the classrooms and at home. http://ow.ly/ydBh50EcuFt

Establishing a caring classroom climate that promotes fairness and respect toward others who may be different from oneself requires early childhood educators to be mindful of their curricular decisions. When students of color do not see characters who look like them reflected in dynamic and positive ways, they are denied the encouragement needed to imagine what is possible. http://ow.ly/SxFG50E6zEc

Some children learn to read easily no matter what instructional method is used in the school they attend. But many others as many as 65 percent need explicit, systematic phonics-based instruction that is not offered in all schools. http://ow.ly/MvVO50E6zCN

Proper nutrition is always important for the development and health of young children, but so is proper hydration. This worksheet from the USDA's "Nibbles for Health" series is designed to send home to parents to educate them on how they can promote regularly drinking water at home, including an activity sheet that can make drinking water a game. http://ow.ly/87Sc50Ecu2P

Warmer weather, blossoming flowers, fresh airspring is here, bringing with it a smorgasbord of learning opportunities for youngsters. Exploring the natural world inspires wonder and curiosity in little ones, necessary traits in lifelong learners. http://ow.ly/cQBO50E6zAW

A historic amount of funding is making its way to child care centers across the country thanks to the American Rescue Plan. It’s time to start thinking about expanding and reforming child care in the long-term. http://ow.ly/sPnt50EctXa

In January, Bellwether Education Partners, the National Head Start Association, and the HeadStarter Network released its new white paper, Broader, Deeper, Fairer: Five Strategies to Radically Expand the Talent Pool in Early Education. The paper comes at a critical moment in which the pandemic has demonstrated that the early childhood workforce is a linchpin for our immediate economic recovery, as well as for a stronger future. http://ow.ly/lqGf50EctKW

Participate in the survey! On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directed states and territories to get all teachers, school personnel, child care program educators, and other child care program staff members their first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination by the end of the month. We need your help to monitor the implementation efforts of this directive. How you can help: Send this survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/covid19...vaxchildcaresurvey to your networks and encourage child care providers and staff to complete the survey. Tell your networks that: 1. You can complete the survey between now and March 31 2. The survey is completely anonymous; individual responses will not be reported 3. If you receive the link multiple times, please complete the survey just once. See more

Try a sweeter take on chips and salsa by using fruit and pita chips. Check out the #CACFPCreditable recipe, Fruit Salsa with Abby Cadabby: http://ow.ly/ze4r50Ectyx