Blog, News & Events

For over 25 years, Think Small has offered an annual Family Child Care Business Seminar in the fall focused on increasing providers’ knowledge and skills on topics to support their business.   In 2020 the Think Small Institute (a ...

By: Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at Think Small It’s election season! While there aren’t any Presidential or Congressional candidates on the tickets this year, there is still plenty to ...

Guest Blog by Angèle Sancho Passe In the book Mama’s Gloves, by Mike Huber, (Redleaf Press, 2014), four-year-old Esteban learns that mama “always comes back with two kisses and hug.” This routine ...

By: Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Lately I’ve had been feeling extra-inspired by my state and national colleagues about where we’re at when it comes to early care and education policy. It feels ...

As a parent, you are likely eligible to receive the Child Tax Credit.?If you are not yet receiving this credit, you may be missing an opportunity?to receive?up to $300 per child if you?qualify...

Image of building blocks symbolizing building equity in families through mixed delivery.

Pride occurs year-round; here are three ways early educators can support community members beyond the calendar month.

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday in the United States. The Juneteenth holiday celebrates when the last enslaved African Americans were notified of their freedom on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas...

By Jacqueline Zhang, Todd Otis Public Policy Intern For many years, Barb Fabre has recognized the need for advocating for and empowering parents in the family and child care sectors. Throughout her ...

By Christa Anders, Coordinator, Transforming Minnesota’s Early Childhood Workforce I am so looking forward to 2021!! Despite a rough start to the year, I am hoping that science will help bring ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and ...

By Dianne Haulcy, Senior Vice President of Family Engagement, Think Small WAKE UP! This morning I woke up with that Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes song that became popular ...

“The virus has thrown everything off so bad, and I’m worried that all the progress we’ve made with the kids will be gone, and that it’s going to be hard ...

“I wanted to remain available to all of my families so that even if they are working from home, they could have their children maintain routines, and the parents could ...

“I love my job. I provide an important service to the community, but to be able to stay open much longer will be a challenge.  We need financial help desperately.” ...

“Invest in early childhood education and care, for it is now, and will continue to be, an essential service for communities and our economy.” Founded in 1981, Hopkins Early Learning ...

“Do you close and risk losing families, or do you stay open and risk yourself and your own family’s health? Child care providers deserve a big pat on the back ...

“The mental toll caused by the risk that an infection poses is a daily preoccupation.” With so many uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria ‘Elisa’ Vega is worried about ...

“I don’t think child care providers were taken very seriously before,” White said. “I think people are seeing how important we are, and the Governor sees that too.  We are ...

“Family child care is a small business that depends on parents bringing their children to survive. If we all close down, then there will be nowhere for children to get ...

By Cisa Keller, Senior Vice President of Early Childhood Quality Development The April Policy Hour focused on Coronavirus Early Childhood Updates.  Children’s Cabinet Update Stephanie Hogenson, Policy Director for the ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator and Kieu My Phi, Public Policy Intern Talking to your legislators is great way to advocate for young children. Whether your goal ...

You are no doubt aware of reports concerning a new respiratory virus that health officials have termed novel coronavirus (COVID-19). You can find the most up-to-date information about what is ...

March’s PolicyHour provided an update on the state budget forecast, and the importance of participatingin the upcoming census. State Budget Forecast Betsy Hammer, fromthe MN Budget Project, gave an update ...

By Barbara Yates, Think Small President & CEO In the coming months you’ll see more from Think Small about the 2020 Census. We will share Census facts and resources on ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator On Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00 pm, Minnesota will holdprecinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process thatMinnesota’s major ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator February’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy hour provided an opportunity to hear from state agencies about their current early childhood projects. Governor’s Children’s Cabinet ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Every year, we gaze into the crystal ball to predict what might be ahead for the legislative session. Nobody ever gets it ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Whether you’re a family child care provider who wants to share a program success or a parent who is struggling to find high-quality care, your ...

This month’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour was focused on recent and upcoming work at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) with presenters from the Child Care Assistance Program and Child Development ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Two interconnected crises continue in Minnesota:   worst-in-the-nation achievement gaps and  a severe child care shortage in many parts of the state Last ...

By Voices and Choices for Children Coalition “This is the time for us to not just dream about what could be, but also start to build alternatives that we want ...

By Barbara Yates, President and CEO of Think Small As another school year begins, we have another opportunity to reflect on children’s readiness for the learning ahead. Think Small’s strategic ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator The Minnesota State Fair is a great time to put your advocacy skills to work! With so many organizations and resources, you don’t have ...

By Barbara Yates, President and CEO of Think Small Today marks the re-launch of the Minnesota Children’sCabinet, and I am excited about the possibilities it presents for our youngestchildren in ...

Pathways to Quality (P2Q), launched in 2016 by Think Small and Generation Next, aims to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) programs and outcomes for children younger ...

By Christa Anders, Coordinator, B8 Early Childhood Workforce Team Minnesota’s early childhood educators are “the workforce behind the workforce.”  These women, and a few men, who care for young children so ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist The first of its kind in Minnesota, a new study examines how families transition their children from an early childhood education provider to kindergarten. The ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist St. Paul mother Stephanie Henderson knows her son Oliver has benefited from high-quality early care and education.  “It was just so great for him,” said ...

By Marie Huey, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Katy Smith, Licensed Parent Educator and 2011 MN Teacher of the Year, and Dr. Monica Potter, Supervisor of Early Childhood and Family Education ...

This study is intended to help Think Small and Generation Next understand how families gather information, weigh factors, and make an Early Care and Education (ECE) and Kindergarten enrollment decisions ...

The availability of and access to quality child care has reached crisis levels throughout Minnesota, including the Twin Cities. Between 2005 and 2015, the state lost about 30% (over 3,000) ...

In recent years, we’ve seen a disturbing number of children suspended or expelled from child care programs as a result of disruptive behaviors and social-emotional challenges, and children of color ...

Think Small, in partnership with ParentPowered, implemented a text-based program in Minnesota in 2017. This program is based on the research of Benjamin York and Susanna Loeb (One Step at ...

LENA Start is a program for parents and their young children that supports positive interactions and promotes development of early language. Based on more than 20 years of research, starting ...

One of the promising results from the Year 2 report of Think Small’s Pathways to Quality (P2Q) project stemmed from a small pilot measuring children’s executive functions using the Minnesota ...

Think Small’s experience working with early learning providers demonstrates that many benefit from additional, targeted support both prior to and during the Parent Aware rating process. Through Learning Communities, Think ...

Parent Aware, Minnesota’s early learning quality framework, allows all types of early care and education programs to voluntarily receive a quality rating based on the extent to which they adhere ...

Family and Community Engagement Tools (FaCET) provide a vehicle for parents and staff from diverse cultures to better understand each other and to create an environment where all children thrive. ...

Part of the Pathway to Quality intervention strategy was to target providers that serve low-income and ethnically-diverse families. As Think Small began to implement these interventions, we recognized when adaptations ...

Supporting family child care providers to stay in business and sustain quality business practices. Pilot of website training, where providers create a business website. Click to View Full Report

The purpose of this report is to highlight key findings from a survey of former licensed family child care (LFCC) providers in Minnesota. The survey was part of Think Small ...

Think Small and Generation Next implemented the Parent Aware Retention Incentive program in early 2017. The purpose of the incentive is to retain and reward Parent Aware–rated licensed family child ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and ...

By Marie Huey, Think Small Policy and Advocacy Coordinator While the state legislative session is heating up in Minnesota, there’s also plenty to discuss about what is going on with ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator The March edition of Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour covered the state budget forecast and the Governor’s budget proposal. February Budget Forecast Betsy ...

By Marie Huey, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Staff from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) joined us for February’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour to provide updates on child care.  ...

Submitted by Jane Kretzmann, on behalf of Elders for Infants (Glenace Edwall, Dave Ellis, Sandy Heidemann, Jim Nicholie, Glen Palm, and Katie Williams). Elders for Infants is comprised of professionals ...

Submitted by Jane Kretzmann, on behalf of Elders for Infants (Glenace Edwall, Dave Ellis, Sandy Heidemann, Jim Nicholie, Glen Palm, and Katie Williams). Elders for Infants is comprised of professionals ...

 Early Learning Council members are responsible for providing recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on how to create a high-quality, early childhood system in Minnesota that will help improve outcomes ...

What are your numbers?6, 43A, 2, 7?5, 12B, 4, 1? By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Several elected officials represent you at different levels, and their districts often ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Are you motivated to advocate for children this year? If you’re looking to support high-quality child care in Minnesota, below are some ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Mixed delivery is a hot topic in early care and education. Even with an extra half hour, December’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour ...

By Ambar Cristina Hanson, M.P.A., Chief External Relations Officer at Hiawatha Academies and a Steering Committee member of the Voices and Choices for Children Coalition. Over the past several years, ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorThe November Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour focused on play, parents and policy.One of the presenters was Katy Smith, a Parent Educator who spent 31 ...

Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) helps make child care affordable for income-eligible families.  This can often be life-changing for children and parents, as it was for the Santamaria Mendez family.Four-year-old Aaron Santamaria Mendez ...

Small Talks features leaders who share key insights on early childhood education and discuss innovative solutions to early learning issues in Minnesota.Inadequate investment, scholarship caps, complicated funding streams, and low ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorKids were on vacation this summer, but many adults didn’t have time for a break. October’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour got us up ...

U.S. Senator Tina Smith introduced a new bill aimed at reducing the child care shortage in Minnesota and across the nation. The Child Care Supply Improvement Act proposes supports for ...

Think Small’s mission as a nonprofit is to advance quality care and education of children in their crucial early years. We do this by preparing providers, strengthening families and catalyzing ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorThe Minnesota State Fair is a great time to put your advocacy skills to work!With so many organizations and resources, you don’t have ...

By Ericca Maas, Close Gaps by 5My organization is focused on closing Minnesota’s worst-in-the-nation achievement gaps, which means closing the early education opportunity gaps facing the 35,000 low-income Minnesota children ...

“The survey results show that Parent Aware-rated programs across all parts of Minnesota were twice as likely to have stayed in business than non-rated programs.” High-quality early learning, as defined ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorEvery eligible Minnesota voter will have the opportunity to make their choice for statewide and federal offices this November. What authority do these ...

By May Esperanza Losloso, Senior Organizer, Children’s Defense Fund-MinnesotaFrom April 11-13, 2018, eight members of the Voices and Choices for Children Steering Committee attended the PolicyLink 2018 Equity Summit in ...

We ask the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to stop family separations at the border. Dear Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen, On behalf of Think Small, I ask you ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorThe 2018 legislative session ended on May 22. To explain the implications for the early care and education field, two experts joined us: ...

Happy Child Care Provider Appreciation Day! Today, we recognize the millions of child care providers across the nation who give their time, experience, concern, and skills to our littlest learners ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorSaint Paul is planning for a citywide 3K program, and Council Member Rebecca Noecker joined May’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour to explain the ...

“Please continue funding programs such as early childhood scholarships.  It definitely makes a difference.  It allows kids to get that extra boost in the beginning so they stay on track ...

By Kristie ThorsonAt Think Small, we picture a brighter future for Minnesota’s kids.  We picture a day when ALL young children have access to high-quality early care and education so ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator The Minnesota State Legislature was off for Easter/Passover Break this week, so Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour turned its focus to national issues. ...

Small Talks features leaders who share key insights on early childhood education and discuss innovative solutions to early learning issues in Minnesota. By Kristie Thorson“If this is going to be ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorMarch Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour focused on coordination and collaboration projects in the early learning field.Early Learning CouncilDianne Haulcy, Senior Vice President of ...

Many organizations and individuals are seeking equitable policies and solutions to address persistent inequality. We can no longer support systems that created inequity and maintain inequity. By Voices and Choices ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorFacts and speculation both made appearances at February’s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour at Think Small in Minneapolis, and Sara(h)s abounded.Sarah Orange, Policy Advocate ...

Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives on ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorOn Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m., Minnesota will hold precinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process that Minnesota’s ...

Small Talks features leaders who share key insights on early childhood education and discuss innovative solutions to early learning issues in Minnesota. By Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistThe third Small Talks ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorJanuary Policy Hour started with a special announcement: the event is now named the Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour. Ann served as the Executive ...

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives on ...

By Megan McLaughlin, Way to Grow Several organizations that serve children and families recently worked together to provide trainings for Minneapolis parents. As part of a grant from Minnesota Comeback, ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorDecember Policy Hour presenters shared information about state and national initiatives that are working to enhance and improve the early childhood workforce.Power to ...

Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives on ...

“Our mission is to advance quality care and education of children in their crucial early years.” The theme of our 2017 Report to the Community is ‘Picturing Brighter Futures’ for ...

By Susan SchaffhausenIn 2017, Think Small undertook new efforts to increase the number of child care providers who devote their care to ensuring children’s health, safety, and best practices for ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistThere is much more ‘being planted’ in this backyard then simple seeds and seedlings.  These Minnesota children, along with their family child care provider, are also ...

Small Talks features leaders who share key insights on early childhood education and discuss innovative solutions to early learning issues in Minnesota. By Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistText Me: Turning Everyday ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorRepresentatives from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) presented at the first Policy Hour of the season. June Reineke and Amanda Varley shared ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool ...

Pathways to Quality (P2Q), launched in 2016 by Think Small and Generation Next, aims to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) programs and outcomes for children younger ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent ...

By Todd Otis The benefits of giving children access to high-quality early learning have been proven beyond a doubt. Nobody has been able to dispute that targeted investment in quality ...

By Todd OtisThe early childhood movement has come a long way in the past twenty years, and has a long way to go.The public now understands the importance of early ...

The final Policy Hour of the season was a double dose of early education information! We heard about changes to Parent Aware and received an end of legislative session update.Parent ...

Minnesota legislators wrapped up the special session last week, and the Governor signed budget bills into law. Read about the new policies and programs that affect early learning throughout the ...

It is great that early learning is a policy priority for the state, and it’s encouraging to hear it continue to be discussed. In a year of $1.6 billion surplus, ...

Field Representative to Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota), Dan Solomon, joined Policy Hour in May to provide updates on federal funding and policies that affect the early learning field.Sen. Franken is ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings ...

Early education is in the spotlight now. That was the message from Kathleen O’Donnnell, Executive Director, and Sara Benzkofer, Director of Policy and Communications, of MnAEYC-MnSACA. The April Policy Hour ...

Jim Koppel, Assistant Commissioner for Children and Family Services for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, spoke to Policy Hour attendees on March 7th.  He talked about the child care ...

Members of two national organizations say high-quality early education is a proactive solution to public safety concerns, and they’ve detailed their support of the issue in recent letters to Minnesota ...

This month marks one year since the start of the Think Small blog. To celebrate, we’re using January to highlight information and initiatives from Think Small and our partners about ...

By: Gerri FisherThis month marks one year since the start of the Think Small blog. To celebrate, we’re using January to highlight information and initiatives from Think Small and our ...

The 2017 Minnesota Legislative Session is underway! January Policy Hour brought us up to speed on the policy priorities of the organizations in the Minnesota’s Future coalition and the Voices and Choices ...

This month marks one year since the start of the Think Small blog. To celebrate, we’re using January to highlight information and initiatives from Think Small and our partners about ...

We’ve moved up a few diaper sizes, mastered crawling, and are transitioning to solid foods and walking. This month marks one year since the start of the Think Small blog. ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

December’s Policy Hour featured three early childhood lobbyists: Valerie Dosland and Patrick Lobejko of Ewald Consulting, and Sonnie Elliott of FaegreBD Consulting. We also heard from Ben Horowitz of the Minnesota Budget Project. Many ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

New federal policy changes will affect the Minnesota early learning field. November Policy Hour featured staff from the state departments of Education and Human Services sharing updates about the changes.

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

Think Small is hosting an event to help child care directors welcome their newest staff members.During this two-hour, interactive session, participants will explore new employee orientation processes and systems that ...

A new group of early education experts released recommendations for how Minnesota can best improve the early care and education landscape across our state, a key area of focus to ...

Governor Mark Dayton has proclaimed today Think Small Day in Minnesota in honor of our 45th Anniversary. Now that’s something to celebrate!  It all started with a bus. As more women ...

Join families, child care providers, and child care centers to discuss what you think about parent engagement. Tell us what changes you’d make, or what you want to remain the ...

The first Minnesota’s Future Policy Hour of the season focused on legislation passed this spring. The presenters provided updates on implementation of projects.

Think Small, Adults’ & Children’s Alliance, and the Cargill Foundation have partnered to provide free training for Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participants.

Think Small is celebrating its 45th Anniversary on Thursday, Oct. 13 with a community open house. The event will be hosted in our new office space in the lower level ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

The Legislative Task Force on Access to Affordable Child Care discussed licensingrequirements and enforcement at their meeting on September 21st. State and county officials provided insight into their roles and observations, ...

Think Small’s 23rd Annual Family Child Care Business Seminar is coming up! It will be held November 5th at the Ramada Plaza Minneapolis. Use this opportunity to review 2016 tax ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work going on in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamThe opportunity gap is one of the biggest obstacles our education system faces today.As highlighted in a Minnpost op-ed written by Think Small President, Barbara Yates: “Our achievement ...

By age three, it’s estimated children from low-income families hear 30 million fewer words than their more well-off peers. This word gap contributes to children from low-income families being less ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases the great work happening in quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota.Kris Larson’s Family Child Care program in ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamMinnesota is heralding in an innovative program to help close the word gap. The word gap–a 30 million word deficit between children from low income families and their ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamIn this current political climate, tensions are running high between parties, and it appears as if there’s nothing we can agree on. Nothing that is, except early care ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases the great work happening in high-quality early learning settings across Minnesota. The first installment features Aldrich Memorial Nursery School and its ...

By: Marie HueyAs a passionate advocate for the importance of early learning, I’m always interested in ways to support the cause. When I heard about an opportunity combining fitness, fun, ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamCyclists will hit the streets of downtown Minneapolis for a good cause on Saturday July 9. Nice Ride and The Minneapolis Foundation have teamed up with several local ...

The Minnesota’s Future June Policy Hour reviewed the 2016 legislative session, combing through a list of proposals that passed, did not pass, and some that still may pass if a ...

This is the fourth annual report conducted by Child Trends about the statewide rollout of Parent Aware. Funding is provided by Parent Aware for School Readiness (PASR), the Greater Twin ...

Governor Dayton signed the supplemental budget bill today, allocating $182 million in funding this year and $300 million of funding over the next two years. He is still reviewing the ...

Celebrate International Children’s Day and support Think Small by dining at any metro Granite City location on Wednesday, June 1st. Ten percent of all bills that day will be donated ...

Today is National Child Care Provider Day. Intentionally celebrated on the Friday before Mother’s Day, it is a time to show gratitude for those who take care of children.Child care ...

Fifteen years ago, families in White Earth, Minnesota didn’t have access to early learning programs. Families were lucky to get a spot in a Head Start program, one of the ...

By: Nancy Jost, Early Childhood Coordinator for West Central InitiativeRemember the last time you bought a car? I’m guessing you started by thinking about what is best for you and your ...

Macy started her child care program at age two, with no previous early learning experience. Since then, she’s blossomed. She is now the star student of her program and completely ...

A group of high ranking military generals residing in Minnesota sent a letter to legislators encouraging them to invest in Parent Aware, Minnesota’s quality rating system for all early learning ...

We must close gaps first by supporting early learning programs already in place to reach our most at risk children. Child Care is an essential and large piece of this ...

The April edition of Minnesota’s Future Policy Hour featured leaders from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) discussing Minnesota’s response to the federal reauthorization of the Child Care and ...

By: Ericca Maas, Executive Director of Parent Aware for School ReadinessWhen it comes to early learning, I’ve never met an early educator who didn’t want the best for the kids they ...

The purpose of this report is to present findings from surveys with ECE providers about Parent Aware. Surveys were administered to gather data from currently-rated Parent Aware providers about their ...

By: Barbara Yates, President and CEO of Think SmallWe’ve heard it before.If everything is your priority, then nothing is your priority.Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you ...

The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers and ...

Minnesota is grappling with a tough question: How do we best improve the early learning landscape in our state?It’s important to note that this question presumes an acceptance of the ...

Our March 1, 2016 Policy Hour featured Dan Solomon, Field Representative to Senator Al Franken. While congress has been rather unproductive as of late, Solomon shared some bright spots and ...

On Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at 7:00 pm, Minnesota will hold precinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process that Minnesota’s major political parties use for ...

Minnesota Management and Budget released Minnesota’s economic forecast this morning, and the state’s surplus has decreased slightly to $900 million for the next budget cycle.The November economic forecast expected a ...

Children attending a Parent Aware rated program are making significant gains in the skills they need to succeed in kindergarten, according to a third party evaluation of the Minnesota programs.

Nationally, Minnesota ranks 46th for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) high school graduation and is home to one of the largest white-AAPI proficiency gaps for fourth-grade reading. A new ...

Think Small is dedicated to continue improving the early learning landscape across Minnesota, impacting the lives of children and the future of our state and starting with the children who ...

Preschool age children develop eating habits they will practice for the rest of their lives, so they are at an ideal age to experience and learn about healthy eating.At the ...

Parent Aware is Minnesota’s voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for early care and education (ECE) programs. In 2015, Parent Aware became available statewide after a gradual rollout that ...

Meet Lisa Wilson. She is a single mother to a rambunctious 4 year-old. They try hard to make ends meet every month, but sometimes it just didn’t work out. Child ...

The Minnesota Department of Education delivered an evaluation of Early Learning Scholarships to the Minnesota Legislature this week, which found that children who receive Early Learning Scholarships are making significant ...

This is the third in a series of videos showing the impact high-quality early learning has on children, families and child care providers across Minnesota. Check back here for a new ...

This is the second in a series of videos showing the impact high-quality early learning has on children, families and child care providers across Minnesota. Check back here for a new ...

Every year, Think Small collects valuable information about all licensed child care programs in the metro area on behalf of the Department of Human Services. This provides the most up ...

Healthy eating habits are important, especially for young children in the U.S. Unfortunately; childhood obesity has skyrocketed in recent years, setting many children on an unhealthy path. That’s just one ...

The first Minnesota’s Future Policy Hour of 2016 took place at Think Small’s Minneapolis office featuring leaders from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to discuss the re-authorization of ...

We are very proud to partner with Minnesota Reading Corps to bring early learning experts into family child care settings to work directly with children and child care providers on ...

A new education law came out of Washington D.C. recently with strong bipartisan support. The new law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, eliminates No Child Left Behind and brings back ...

The purpose of this report is to analyze Parent Aware activities and outcomes from the third year of statewide expansion. The findings in this report include an analysis of the ...

Early childhood is a critical time for determining life success for individuals. It is increasingly clear that a high quality early childhood care and education system is a key competitive ...

The purpose of this report is to present findings from surveys with ECE providers about Parent Aware. Surveys were administered to gather data from currently-rated Parent Aware providers about their ...

The purpose of this report is to analyze activities and outcomes from the second year of statewide expansion. A previous report produced after the first year of expansion focused primarily ...

The purpose of this report is to present findings from surveys with ECE providers about Parent Aware. Surveys were administered to gather data from currently-rated Parent Aware providers about their ...

The purpose of this report is to provide a descriptive portrait of Parent Aware in the first year of statewide expansion. It focuses primarily on features of implementation and serves ...

This is the fourth and final report about the evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program. In this report, data are presented about how the ...

This report is the fourth to be produced from the evaluation of Parent Aware being conducted by Child Trends and funded by the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF). It covers ...

The purpose of the study is to track the progress of children in MELF funded programs as they age to see if their participation in quality early care and education ...

The first portion of the Blueprint provides background on why the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF) formed, and the exciting things it has learned in its pilot projects. But in ...

Every year from 2008 to 2010 the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF) funded a survey of a select group of parents with preschool-aged children receiving primarily licensed childcare in the ...

The evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program includes both process and outcome components. This report is the fourth issue brief and it describes a ...

For the past 3 years, the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF), in partnership with state and local agencies, has funded a number of innovative approaches to early care and education. ...

This is the third annual report on the evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program. The report begins with an overview of the scholarship model ...

This fact sheet summarizes responses to a program survey about how scholarship funds impacted participating programs. Click Here to View the Fact Sheet

This report is the third to be produced from the Evaluation of Parent Aware being conducted by Child Trends and funded by the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF). It covers ...

The evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program includes both process and outcome components. This is the third issue brief; it covers the perspective of ...

This review is focused on center‐based ECE programs serving children who are developing at a typical rate and who may or may not be low‐income. Outside its scope are large ...

This report is the second to be produced from the Evaluation of Parent Aware being conducted by Child Trends and funded by the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF). It covers ...

This is the second annual report on the evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program. The purpose of this annual report is to describe how ...

In the United States non-familial early care and education have become normative experiences for children, birth to age five. Six million children under three and 66 percent of four-year olds ...

The Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF) set out in 2007 to increase the evidence base on which early care and education practices effectively promote the school readiness of children from ...

In this final evaluation report, the implementation and outcomes (numbers of children served, amount of funds dispersed and how funds were used) of the Pre-K Allowances Project are described. Data ...

The evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program includes both process and outcome components. This is the second issue brief; it covers the time period ...

This is the first annual report on the evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program. It covers the period from January to December 2008, the ...

This report is the first to be produced from the Evaluation of Parent Aware being conducted by Child Trends and funded by the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF). It covers ...

This is the first annual report on the evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program. It covers the period from January to December 2008, the ...

This study serves as the baseline of early learning conditions before MELF-funded activities in these counties and could be repeated to examine changes in these early learning measures following MELF-funded ...

For well over 20 years, economic development has been a major preoccupation for most state and local governments. Around the country, billions of public dollars are spent each year to ...

The cover of this Report poses a question in pictures: which pumpkin was colored by a child who was socially and intellectually ready to succeed in school? There is a ...

Early childhood development programs are rarely portrayed as economic development initiatives, and we think that is a mistake. Such programs, if they appear at all, are at the bottom of ...

Minnesota funds and regulates a variety of child care and education-related programs that are targeted to prekindergarten children. We examined three large early childhood education programs—Head Start, Early Childhood Family ...