February Meeting Minutes

Thanks to everyone who attended our February Minneapolis ECFE Parent Council Meeting!

Meeting Minutes

2018-2019 Remaining Meeting Dates

Meetings take place from 7:00-8:30 pm, held at MPS Wilder School at 34th & Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55407 (on the south side of the Wilder Complex. Enter through Door #2.)

March 13, 2019

April 10, 2019

May 8, 2019

Speaker Event Cancelled

Due to weather conditions, Minneapolis Public Schools have cancelled after school activities, which will close Bryn Mawr Elementary. We are looking for a reschedule date and will post that as soon as we have it.

Thank you.

-Minneapolis ECFE Parent Council & Speakers 

February 7th - Nature Play 101 Speaker Event

Join us on Thursday, February 7th, at 6:30pm in the Bryn Mawr Elementary School cafeteria to learn about the importance of nature based play - even in the winter!

No RSVP needed, hope to see you there!

Join us for a free speaker event and optional guided night hike.
Nature based play for young children (and adults!) is important, but it can be a little intimidating, especially during a long Minnesota winter. Where to go, what to do, and what to wear are common questions when planning outdoor play. Please join two local experts to learn more about why nature based learning is important, how to access/facilitate nature based learning with your own children, and how to build community around wild, urban spaces. Discussion to be followed by an optional 15 minute night hike in the surrounding wooded trails. Please dress appropriately!

Our speakers will be Alyson Quinn director of the Minneapolis Nature Preschool & Alayna Sobieniak parent, teacher, and volunteer facilitator for Free Forest School

Minneapolis Parks: Winter 2019 Parent and Tot Playtimes

If you're feeling cooped up with the cold weather, here is a list of the current MPRB Parent and Tot Playtimes. (This information doesn't appear to exist anywhere else online, so please spread the word via your social media accounts!)

Addendum:

Kenwood, Windom, Lyndale Farmstead, Armatage, and MLK are free. Lynnhurst charges a fee to participate.

January 2019 Meeting Minutes

Thanks to everyone who attended our January council meeting on the 9th!

The meeting minutes have been uploaded to Dropbox and can be found here: January 2019 Meeting Minutes

See you next month!

2018 / 2019 Meeting Schedule

• Wednesday, Feb 13th, 2019
• Wednesday, Mar 13th, 2019
• Wednesday, Apr 10th, 2019
• Wednesday, May 8th, 2019

@ Wilder School from 7-8:30pm

3345 Chicago Ave S

Minneapolis, MN 55407

Enter at Door #2

December 2018 Meeting Minutes

Our December 12th ECFE Parent Council meeting was a huge success! Our guest Katy Smith shared with us tips on how to get involved with advocacy, no matter how involved you are right now.



Our meeting notes are now available: Dropbox Download

Katy Smith Advocacy Notes:

If You’re Going to Play, Bring Your “A Game” for Advocacy

Agitate: ECFE? Parent Education? Children? Funding? What or WHO inspires you to lend your voice to a cause? What are you feeling frothy about? What are you having passionate feelings about?

Articulate: Share your story. Time to craft your message. What is it you want to say about ECFE? Practice it. Again. And again. Condense it. Practice it some more, with feeling. There! You found it.

Amplify: Who else is singing your song? What organizations can you connect with to amplify your voice? What does the research say? Who else endorses this work? Power up your story with research.

Advocate: Who is out of the loop? Where are the gaps? Who needs to hear your message? How will you deliver it? Who/What are the roadblocks? Name them. Roll up your sleeves. Make a plan. Grab a seat at the table. Bring your own chair if you need to.

Act: Organize. Go Public. SPEAK UP. Take Care of Yourself. Move. March. Testify. Write. SPEAK UP. Lobby. SPEAK UP. Repeat. Take Care of Each Other. What are your short term goals? What are your long term goals? What are your longer term goals?

Assess: What gains are we making? What do we need to do to be
more effective? How will we share what we learned? How do we
build leadership in advocacy work?

Katy Smith (2018) www.katysmithmn.com

Facebook: KatySmithWinona 
Twitter: KatyMN12 

PDF of the above available for download: Dropbox Download

Minneapolis Preschool Information Fair

Thank you to everyone who made this years Minneapolis Preschool Information Fair a huge success!

Here is the information packet that was shared at the event: Minneapolis Preschool Information Fair Packet