Region 1&2 ECSE Snippets
March 2024
The Region 1&2 ECSE Snippets purpose is to provide monthly communication with practitioners regarding regional happenings, upcoming trainings and resources. It is each practitioner's responsibility to check with their district/supervisor regarding use of the resources and participation in professional development opportunities.
If you have any suggestions for resources, trainings, or regional happenings to spotlight please send them to Wendy Carter at wcarter@bric.k12.mn.us.
Region 1&2 Spotlight
Upcoming Professional Development
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI)
Resource Highlights
Inclusive Children's Literature (NEW!)
Equity
Autism Resources
Family Engagement
Housekeeping
Region 1&2 ECSE Leaders Meet with MDE ECSE Staff
On Wednesday, March 6th, ECSE Leaders from Region 1&2 met with Danielle Hayden, ECSE Supervisor and Rachael Raske, Education Program Specialist from MDE. They shared strengths, discussed challenges, and had an opportunity to engage in a discussion on a variety of topics, including IFSP service coordination, evaluation, membership hours, eligibility for children with increased sensory needs, regional evaluation and assessment tools, and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Do you know someone to spotlight?
Do you know of someone doing something fantastic in their classroom or on home visits? Or maybe it’s you! Do you have a new strategy, curriculum, or resource that others could benefit from? The Region 1&2 Spotlight is here to highlight all of the amazing things happening for young children in our area. If you or someone you know has something to share, please let me know and I would love to include it in future editions of the ECSE Snippets! Contact Wendy at wcarter@bric.k12.mn.us
Early Childhood Screening Open Office Hours
Join your peers to discuss new screening program guidance and best practices the third Tuesday of each month, 12-1 p.m., through April 16, 2024.
The next EC Screening Open Office Hour is March 19th. Charles Dixon from Parent Support Outreach Program (PSOP) will share about this voluntary early intervention program focusing on a family’s strengths and needs.
Minnesota Act Early and Follow Along Series About Autism Spectrum Disorder
The goal of this series is to support early developmental monitoring, developmental screening, early signs of ASD, connections to resources, and identification of developmental disabilities in young children (birth–age 5).
March 4 – Intro session – Developmental Monitoring and ASD Intro
April 1 – Importance of screening
May 6 – Help Me Grow-Early Intervention and Help Me Connect
June 3 – Mental health supports
July 8 – Overcoming common barriers and waitlists
August 5 – EIDBI and healthcare coverage
Toddler Play Conference: Defenders of Play
Check out this opportunity to join the Toddler Play free online conference. This fun-filled event is all about equipping you to take up the call to be a defender of play for ALL children.
Topics will include:
- Developmental scaffolding and play
- Promoting play in every practice area and for all children
- Engaging children & families in play during and outside of therapy time.
Hostess Holly Peretz is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist who is convinced that play is the most undervalued and misunderstood tool in our therapeutic toolboxes.
Dates: March 18-22, 2024
Cost: Free (24 hour access for each day of the conference)
To read more and for registration: https://toddlerplayconference.com/
More Than Trauma: Using Strengths-Based Approaches in Supporting Native Communities
This workshop will focus on the importance of using trauma-informed practices when working with native communities. There will be examples on how colonial violence and policies created historical and generational trauma, but how reclaiming traditional ways of knowledge is the key to moving forward. Participants will leave with a better understanding of what it means to center strengths-based approaches in professional settings to meet the needs of the native communities they are serving.
Presenter, Anna Goldtooth is Dine from Navajo Nation and Ojibwe from Red Lake Nation.
Sponsored by Bemidji Early Childhood Collaborative (BECC)
Date: Friday, March 22, 9:00-11:00
Cost: $40 per person (responsibility of individual districts)
Location: Beltrami Electric Cooperative Community Room
4111 Technology Dr NW, Bemidji
Is There An App For That? Developmentally Appropriate Uses of Technology in Early Childhood
The youngest among us are no strangers to digital technology. Yet families and educators are inundated with conflicting advice about screen time. In this workshop, Erin Walsh will cut through conflicting information and translate the latest research for early childhood professionals. Using stories, warmth, and humor Erin will share ways that technology can both help and hurt children’s learning and development and explore practical strategies for helping young children thrive in a world dominated by screens.
Sponsored by Bemidji Early Childhood Collaborative (BECC)
Date: Thursday, May 2, 9:00-12:00
Cost: $40 per person (responsibility of individual districts). *Please talk with your ECSE Leader for information on the possibility of this cost being covered by regional funds.
Location: Calvary Lutheran Church
2508 Washington Ave SE, Bemidji
Sign up for the DCYF Newsletter
The Implementation Office for the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) sends a regular newsletter with updates about the new agency. Feel free to sign up for the DCYF newsletter and share the link with your partners.
Play in K
Lifelong learning begins with play. Play uses exploration, imagination, and inquiry to develop cognitive and social-emotional skills and the confidence to engage in new experiences. Play is a valuable and evidence-based teaching practice for all early learning environments, including kindergarten and beyond.
Download MDE’s new document on play-based instruction: Play in Kindergarten.
NEW Translations of the Knowledge and Competency Framework for Early Childhood Professionals Available Now!
Translated versions of Minnesota’s Knowledge and Competency Framework for Early Childhood Professionals and the corresponding Companion Guides are now available for download in Hmong, Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese. The Knowledge and Competency Framework describes what early childhood professionals working with young children should know and be able to do. Versions are available for those working with infants and toddlers, family child care providers, and preschool-age children in center and school programs. Visit the Knowledge and Competency Framework webpage and scroll to the bottom of the page for the download links.
Think about your favorite children’s book. Who are the main characters? Animals? Children? Adults? Do they look like you? Do they have a disability? Who are the authors?
As you make decisions about books to include in your classroom library, remember to consider including disability and diversity through children’s literature.
Children’s book author and illustrator, Eric Velasquez says,
“Once a child sees himself represented in a book, his existence is validated, and he feels that he is part of the world.”
This new section will feature a children’s book each month that includes diversity in the author, illustrator, or primary characters.
Super Kena
When kids at school make fun of her hearing aids, she gets a super idea. Super Kena will gather her differently-abled classmates to create a team of "super heroes". Together, they will use their super powers to make a difference in the world. They will spread understanding and acceptance, one classroom at a time.
From northern Minnesota author, Becky Cymbaluk:
“My heartfelt book written about my granddaughter was a true labor of love. Because of her, Super Kena was made to represent not only hard-of-hearing/deaf kids but also differently-abled kids who are challenged with glasses, diabetes, stuttering, asthma, peanut allergies, or are wheelchair bound. My greatest joy is hearing from many happy readers that Super Kena helped their child feel confident and understood more by their typical classmates. Everyone may look differently but we're all more alike than different and kindness helps everyone feel better!”
The Importance of Inclusive Literature (A Learning Deck Webinar from the Division for Early Childhood)
Imagine a world where all young children feel valued and accepted, where they feel part of a community as they learn and grow together. Practitioners have the agency to empower young children and their families to engage in rigorous discourse that will lead to understanding and acceptance. By having practitioners think critically about which texts are incorporated into their teaching, classrooms and homes, they are choosing the lenses through which young children see the world.
Date: Friday, April 28th, 2023, 2:00-3:00 Central Time (archived webinar)
Cost: $25.00 (responsibility of individual districts)
https://www.dec-sped.org/product-page/the-importance-of-inclusive-literature
National CMV Foundation
This national website offers a variety of information on what CMV is, how to prevent it, screening, interventions, vaccines and outcomes.
Creating an Inclusive Environment
The attitudes and beliefs of early care and education professionals have a significant impact on how children with disabilities and their families are accepted by other children and families. During the first five years of their lives, children are more receptive to differences. This is a critical time for turning the tide of stereotyping and discrimination into a climate of inclusion and the appreciation of diversity.
Here is a tip sheet from the Center for Inclusive Child Care for creating an inclusive early learning environment.
IRIS Module: Autism Spectrum Disorder
This module provides information on the early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as an overview of the difference between a medical diagnosis and an educational determination of ASD. This platform requires you to sign up for an account but it is free.
Phrases to Support the Parent/Caregiver - Child Relationship
Parents/Caregivers are the experts on their children. In our work, we want to support the important role that parents/caregivers play in the lives of young children. Here is a collection of phrases and questions from Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health (MACMH) that you can use in your work with families to learn more and affirm this important relationship.