Go play outside!

This article appeared in the StarTribune last week about the decline in children and youth participating in outdoor recreation activities. The premise is that if fewer young people are taking part in outdoor activities, then their interest in nature conservancy may decline.

I am a true nature-lover. I grew up in Washington state where, like in Minnesota, there is a strong culture of outdoor recreation and activities. My brother and I played outside together often. I remember playing with stick "dolls" in the small copse of trees on the hill above our house. My imagination was wild with stories and fairy tales of traveling to exotic places and other worlds. It was like my own Terabithia. As I grew older I continued to participate, and still participate, in outdoor activities including hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and kayaking. In college, I lead outdoor adventure education for elementary and middle-school aged kids from disadvantaged neighborhood in Tacoma, WA.

Looking back, it is clear to me that my love of the outdoors and my interest in conservation is linked to the hours spent making up games with my brother or sitting alone under the alder trees singing to my "dolls".

But, as the article points out, what will happen to the conservation movement if children are spending less time outside? How will they know to appreciate the natural world all around us?

Last summer, Vicki Thrasher Cronin, a parent educator for Duluth Public Schools, wrote an article for Ready 4 K asking Do too many kids of nature-deficit disorder? Vicki asks some of the same questions and the article is worth a second reading.

Technology is certainly intertwined with this "nature-deficit disorder". I certainly don't advocate taking away technology (I love my ipod as much as the next gal) but there has to be a balance. Parents can make a commitment to creating opportunities for their children to get outside. Vicki has some great suggestions in her article. Communities, too, can come together to make their communities "outdoor friendly."

What do you think? Are kids spending enough time outside? What do you do to encourage the children in your life to appreciate nature?

photo of Lake Maria State Park by jbenson2

Early Childhood @ the Capitol

Eric Haugee here, Ready 4 K's "government affairs specialist" or more commonly known as "lobbyist." I spend most of my time during the legislative session in the State Capitol complex, talking to legislators about our agenda, helping set up hearings on the legislation we're working on, coordinating with other early childhood lobbyists, and generally trying to keep my ear to the marble floors of the Capitol.

This week I did all of that. The 2008 legislative session began with a flurry of activity unlike I can remember in the decade that I've worked in public policy. The bulk of my work this week was arranging the first hearings on our bonding proposal to fund early childhood facilities grants.

Share your precinct caucus stories!

We want to hear from you! Did you attend your precinct caucus last week? What was it like? Did you submit a resolution on early childhood? How was it received? Share your story in the comments section below. We look forward to hearing from you!

My precinct caucus in St Paul was busier than I've ever seen it. Our precinct met at a near-by elementary school along with two other precincts. The parking was difficult, but I could feel the momentum as my neighbors were streaming in from all corners. Inside the school there was a lot of confusion about where to go. There were long lines at the two tables where people could confirm which precinct they lived in. Fortunately, I had my reminder written on my hand: W5-P3. Still, with the long lines and crowded hallways it took me about 10 minutes to wind my way back to the multi-purpose room where my precinct was meeting.

At 8:00pm the ballots began to be counted and the 40 or so of us still in the room prepared to introduce resolutions. I prepared a simple resolution encouraging my party to support increased investments in early care and education. There were resolutions on a variety of issues: health care, transportation, free and open internet communications, and family leave just to name a few. After I read my resolution there was a loud round of applause (was it just me, or was the applause for early childhood more enthusiastic than for other resolutions?). Once all the resolutions were read we voted to pass them on "in summation" to be considered at the Senate District convention.

Finally, the ballots were announced for our precinct and over 230 people voted that evening. I went home feeling encouraged and hopeful. Every election is important, but it's hard not to think that this year is an especially important time - both for our country as a whole and for our youngest citizens.

What about you? What's your precinct caucus story? Share in the comments below.

2008 Minnesota Legislative Session kicks off!

The Minnesota Legislature has begun it's 2008 session. This is a shorter session focused on bonding for infrastructure and capital development.

Ready 4 K's legislative agenda is promoting a few bills calling for key strategic investments in early learning during this session.

Already there are hearings scheduled in the House Early Learning Committee (Room 300s State Office Building) on some of the issues on the 2008 agenda: bonding for early childhood facilities (Thursday Feb 14, 4:00-5:30pm) and early childhood scholarships/allowances (Tuesday Feb 19, 4:00-5:30pm). Attending the hearings is one way you can show your support for early care and education.

This is also an excellent time to contact your legislators and the governor urging them to support our youngest Minnesotans. You can find out who represents you here. A sample message to send to your elected officials can be found here.

photo by Tony Webster

Partnering for Early Education in Edina

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Stephanie co-chair of Edina Partners for Early Education (EPFEE). State Senator Geoff Michel from Edina recently wrote a column for the StarTribune that highlighted the work that EPFEE is doing. I called Stephanie so that I could learn more.

EPFEE started as a result of a breakfast event in October of 2006. A group of community members including school district and business personnel coordinated the breakfast where over 150 people attended. Rob Grunewald from the Federal Reserve of Minneapolis and Mark Scally from Minnesota Business for Early Learning spoke at that October breakfast on the economic impact of investing in early education.

Now, almost a year and a half later, a group of committed community members are continuing to meet and promote early childhood in their community.

EPFEE has coordinated a Kindergarten Summit, bringing together all the kindergarten teachers in their district together to discern what they look for in kids readiness for success when they come to their classrooms. The information from the kindergarten teachers is being shared with preschool and early childhood teachers in the community so that they can work to help their kids be ready.

EPFEE is planning a second, follow up breakfast on February 28 to hear from the Edina community and take the next steps in promoting early care and education.

Talking with Stephanie got me thinking about all the other great work that's happening in communities around Minnesota and across the country. There are so many examples of community members coming together to raise awareness about the importance of the first five years.

What about you? What is happening in your community to bring more voices to the table and involve more people? What are you doing to ensure that the children in your community enter kindergarten fully prepared to learn?

Caucus time!

Tonight's the night to get out to your precinct caucuses! To me, this is the most exciting part of living in a democracy. This is when we as citizens can come together to collectively support the candidates and issues that are most important to us. If you are unsure of where to find your caucus, click here.

As part of the caucus process, citizens are encouraged to bring forward issue resolutions. Ready 4 K has prepared a sample resolution calling for increased investments in early care and education. Click here and you can see the sample resolution along with a description of the caucuses. You can print the resolution and bring it with you. Or you can use the blank resolution form to submit one of your own.

See you out there tonight!

image by Will Merydith

How do we know if our kids will be ready?

Sometimes it's hard to know what we should be doing to help our kids be ready to learn once they enter school. (The easiest answer is simply to read to your child. It's never too early to start!) Parents and caregivers often wonder if their child is developing appropriately and if everything is "going right".

The Early childhood Indicators of Progress is a place to find answers for your questions. The Indicators give a basic snapshot of where children should be at various stages of their development. The Minnesota Department of Education released the first set of indicators for children ages 3-5 in 2003. In 2005 an updated version was released. The goal of these indicators is to give:

"A framework for understanding and communicating a common set of developmentally appropriate expectations for children in the preschool period of ages three to five, presented within a context of shared responsibility and accountability for helping children meet these expectations."

All that to say it's a tool to help family members, teachers and caregivers, community members and policy makers have a general idea of what kids should be able to do or be learning how to do when they are in preschool. View the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress here.

In 2007 the Minnesota Departments of Human Services and Health released Early Learning Guidelines for children birth to 3. These guidelines are similar to the Indicators of Progress for 3 -5 year olds, but are described in a more developmentally appropriate way for infants and toddlers. You can see the Birth to 3 Guidelines here.

By using these tools, we can know how we can help children grow and develop so that they will be ready for kindergarten and for life!

What do you think? After you have a chance to look at the Indicators and Guidelines, do you find them helpful?