Hello Providers,

Wishing you a February filled with joy and laughter! Your dedication to the profession is amazing. Here's to more smiles and happy moments this month.

Our Child Care Resource and Referral Outreach (CCRROS) team is working diligently with providers updating program profiles including tuition rates (which can be redacted from public view), vacancies, hours of operation, and more. Our Outreach Specialists are here to offer support. You are encouraged to call us if you need assistance updating your program profile. Current and accurate information in your program profiles helps tremendously when our Outreach Specialists complete referrals for families seeking child care.

Our Training and Technical Assistance Specialists (TTAS) are set to host their monthly training sessions at each virtual collaborative! Each month brings a fresh focus on various topics to share, new resources and skills, all while building a network of strong connections. Are you interested in joining a group of peers in your professional journey? Find more details below for which collaborative group speaks to you! We offer six Collaboratives focused on Infant and Toddler, Family Engagement and Communication, Preschool, Business Management, Family Child Care and Social Emotional Topics.

We are also in the final stretch of providing support to providers and early childhood professionals participating in the 2023-2024 Credential Challenge! Here is your final opportunity to join the challenge, and be eligible to win some incredible prizes along the way. Mark your calendars for the Annual Celebration of New Hampshire Early Childhood Professionals on April 8th as we honor and pay tribute to the astonishing and impactful work you do each and every day. Find more details below.

We want to express a huge thank you for all you do for families and children.

Enjoy this month's Monthly Minutes! 

Upcoming Professional Development sessions to support Credentialing:

Creating a Professional Development Plan using the NH Workforce Competencies

Register through NHCIS

• Tues. February 6th 6:30PM-8:30PM

NH Early Childhood Credential Process: Applying for Your Credential

Register through NHCIS

• Tues. February 13th 6:00PM-7:30PM

Additional Credentialing Support available during Virtual Office Hours:

• Wed. February 14th, 2023 1:00PM-2:00PM

Check out our Winter Trainings At-A-Glance calendars! They're packed with scheduled training opportunities for childcare providers to discover fresh ways to nurture children's growth. Explore the calendar filled with upcoming training opportunities that'll keep you learning and connecting with your peers throughout February and March.

Continue to revisit the Professional Development page on NH Connections for updates and additions to the training calendar.

While we face the winter chill at CCAoNH, anticipation for our Spring Training calendar is warming up.

Upcoming events include the Virtual Family Child Care Institute, the Virtual Infant & Toddler Institute, and the In-Person Spring Keys to Quality Conference.

Keep an eye out for additional information!

One way that you can "show the love" to the children in your program this February is by keeping your child care space clean. Not only is this great for the children in your care, but also supports your staff, and all of the families in your program, by cutting down on the spread of illness. 

Check out this website with lots of tips from the pros about cleaning your child care program. It includes lots of resources that you can download and print to use in your program! 

Even in “normal” conditions, child care providers have high stress - and highly active jobs. To ensure emotional wellness, providers need to be intentional in protecting their emotional wellness. Providers can also help children to manage their stress by incorporating mindfulness into their daily activities.

Promoting Wellness for Parents & Caregivers:

• Sesame Street in Communities – It’s All About You (English & Spanish) – This interactive app provides tips and reminders to turn everyday moments into opportunities to rest, recharge, and reset.

Promoting Wellness for Children:

• Penn State Extension - Better Kid Care - Stress-Busting Activities for Young Children (PDF) -This downloadable resource provides strategies for teaching children how to calm down and deal with stress in a healthy way.

On behalf of the DHHS, we are excited to share with you all a new opportunity for early learning programs and providers to participate in a brand-new initiative being funded by the state called Be Well Care Well. 

Be Well Care Well is an early educator wellness initiative being piloted across the state, and we are looking for interested programs to participate! 

Program participation occurs over a 12-month period, and services will be coordinated with existing coach services a program receives. To find out more, please visit the attached flyer as well as the program website below.

The Children's Literacy Foundation (CLiF) is currently seeking applications for CLiF's Community Literacy grant with programming to take place in the Spring of 2024. We work with a wide variety of partners through this grant program including: school-based EL programs, afterschool programs, early childhood education programs, Head Start programs, shelters, affordable housing organizations, refugee services programs, parent-child centers, food programs, and community centers. We also welcome opportunities for creative partnerships with other VT and NH community organizations serving under-resourced children from birth to age 12 and their families. 



The grant includes a professional storytelling presentation, brand new, high quality books for children to choose at the event and take home to keep, and an onsite library for the organization. Many sites also choose to include an optional family literacy discussion as part of their event to promote the importance of sharing books with children and strategies for inspiring a love of reading.

Eligibility: See our website for details and a list of our recent grant partners. If you have recently received a Community Literacy grant, your site is eligible to reapply after three years (although if your program operates multiple sites you may apply on behalf of a different site location). Contact jana@clifonline.org with any questions about eligibility. If you are a library there are special eligibility criteria, please contact CLiF for details.

Deadline: The deadline to apply for Spring 2024 programming is February 16, 2024.

Application: The application is available online here.

🗨️ **Let's Chat Face-to-Face!**

- Have burning questions or just want a friendly chat? Email sela@earlylearningnh.org or schedule a one-on-one Zoom with us using the QR code or at https://calendly.com/jcowell-2/30min?month=2022-11.

- Let us help you leverage even more with your grant dollars and get A LOT more money and savings for your staff, your program, and the families you serve!



*Seize the extra support and savings of a SELA Premium Membership so 2024 can be a MUCH better year!* 🚀💰

Child Care Aware of NH is a Child Care Resource and Referral Program of Southern New Hampshire Services. The preparation of this document was financed under a Contract with the State of New Hampshire, Department of Health and Human Services, with funds provided in part by the State of New Hampshire and/or such other funding sources as were available or required, e.g., the United States Department of Health and Human Services.