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Gardens in springtime
The 2023 Farm to Child Collaborative Garden Grant received applications from 46 early care and education professionals representing 18 counties in Colorado.
Congratulations to this year's garden grant recipients:
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- Parents for Parity - Denver
- Sunshine Childcare - Logan
- Rocky Mountain Children’s Discovery - Fremont
- Lifespan Local - Denver
- Landmark Preschool - Mesa
- Kid’s Castle - Arapahoe
- STARS Kid Care - Adams
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- Special Kids Special Families - El Paso
- Dolores Community Garden - Montezuma
- Youth Empowerment Agency - Arapahoe
- Country Kids Childcare - Adams
- Palamax Gardens - Jefferson
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The Farm to Child website offers many wonderful resources for community-engaged planning, webinars on planting a sustainable garden, as well as the Eating, Growing, Learning Farm to Child Guide which contains links to resources including the CSU Extension Colorado planting guide. If you are considering starting a garden this year, dig into these amazing resources and start planning today. This month’s newsletter contains numerous webinars and recorded online training to assist you in gaining new skills in gardening and more.
Every seed planted is an opportunity to engage children in their food system and their world. Take the time to plant seeds of learning this year with children in care.
The spring equinox, warmer weather, and a Farm to ECE grant were an irresistible invitation for 4- to 7-year-olds to begin their 2023 gardening adventure in the Montbello neighborhood of Denver. The children wrote their names and seed sowing date on their plant markers, used toothpicks to ensure the seed sowing mix was “moist,” and learned two parts of a seed: “seed coat” and “embryo” through books and observation. The children expertly “sowed” their seeds with the passion of a horticulturist. Now they will practice patience and nurturing as they wait for their teeny seed to “germinate.”
Thanks to the Farm to Child Collaborative and our community of volunteers who foster our growing children. ~Parents for Parity
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Mark your calendars:
- April 5, 2023, 10-11:30 a.m.
- August 8, 2023, 10-11:30 a.m.
- December 6, 2023, 10-11:30 a.m.
Add me to future meetings.
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Capacity Building
Purchasing Power
Racial and Linguistic Justice
- April 26, 2023, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Workgroups were formed in 2022 to address the five key strategic initiatives outlined in the Farm to Child Roadmap. These three active workgroups are implementing action plans that advance the work of Farm to Child in Colorado through stakeholder and partner engagement and alignment. Workgroups are open to all new and existing members and supporters. You may join any time to help provide information and insight from your lived experiences or organizational abilities. Participation in a workgroup is one way to confirm your membership in the Collaborative while assisting in advancing farm to child activities. Upcoming 2023 meetings will include visioning, action plan updates, and reflections on 2022. Add me to future meetings.
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Training opportunities and webinars | |
Early Childhood Health Outdoors ECHO presents ECHO Roving Summit in Grand Junction
April 22, 2023, 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Visit multiple outdoor play spaces, learn about nature-based play, and engage in hands-on activities. Cost to attend is $5.00. Register here. View the flyer here.
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Jefferson County Child Care Association (JCCCA) / Create a Play Garden in Colorado
April 26, 2023, 6:30 p.m. (in-person meeting in Lakewood, Colorado) RSVP required. Join Faith Collins, MA, author of Joyful Toddlers and Preschoolers: Create A Life that You and Your Child Both Love. This highly visual presentation will excite and inspire participants to go home and start rearranging their outdoor spaces! Regardless of size or budget, this talk offers myriad ways to incorporate nature, beauty, and comfort into your play yard. Sit back and drink your tea, or work happily in your garden while the children dive into deep, imaginative play. Presenter Faith Collins has been offering outdoor parent-child classes in her beautiful Play Garden since 2017 in Arvada, and will offer Colorado-specific plant and flower recommendations as well as lessons learned.
Current JCCCA members will receive a training certificate for 1½ hours in Teaching Practices. Non-members may pay $10 at the door for a training certificate. The meeting is being held in person at the Clements Center Community Center, 1580 Yarrow St, Lakewood 80214, from 6:30-9:15 p.m. for adults only. For questions, please email JCCCA jeffcochildcare@gmail.com or check the website www.jeffcochildcare.org.
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Association of State Public Health Nutritionist webinar series:
Strength-based Approach and Centering Community Agency in Grant Writing
Join Dr. Anne Phibbs on April 11, 2023, from 12-2 p.m.
Join here via Zoom.
Even with the best intentions to impact positive change, we can fail to recognize the ways in which our biases prevent us from acting as allies to the communities we serve. Join this workshop to explore ally-ship through strength-based communications and centering community in grant writing. Agenda and speaker details.
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Nature-Based Social Prescribing & Programming: An Intersectional Route to Wellness
April 12, 2023 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
This day of activities begins with an hour-long panel by innovators in the field of nature-based social prescribing, which brings health care providers together with community groups and agencies that provide access to nature, given growing evidence that time in nature can support both mental and physical health. In addition to big-picture thinking about the growth and expansion of this practice, the panel will feature programs that support the mental health of teens and families with children. It will be followed by an hour for questions about its practical implementation. People who want to integrate nature-based social prescribing into their work—or share what they are already doing—are invited to an afternoon of small group planning and coordination. Register here.
Feeding and Nutrition for Children with Special Health Care Needs
Register here | Learn more here
May 9, 2023, 1:30-3 p.m.
After participating in this session, learners will be able to name medical and developmental diagnoses that often include special feeding and nutritional considerations; recognize common symptoms / red flags for feeding difficulties; identify barriers for adequate nutrition among children and youth with special health care needs; and describe the value of interdisciplinary collaboration during feeding and nutrition assessment and intervention.
Leadership and facilitation training: Living Facilitation
April 13-16, 2023
Learn more and register here.
Join Regenerative Change for Living Facilitation, an in-depth training and retreat that will give you the confidence, tools, and community of practice you need to take your facilitation practice to new heights. Through a series of short online exercises and a four-day retreat in rural Colorado, experienced facilitators Adam Brock, Abrah Dresdale, and Asia Dorsey will give you the practical skills and intangible insights to plan and lead transformative groups of all sizes and purposes.
Virtual panel discussion: Effective Models in SNAP Enrollment
Hear from Denver SNAP PEAS Partners
April 11, 2023, 10-11 a.m.
Join via Zoom here.
Join the Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids (HFDK) grant program for a conversation about the barriers to enrolling individuals in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Several HFDK grantees (The GrowHaus, Frontline Farming, and Focus Points Family Resource Center) who are currently partners in Hunger Free Colorado’s SNAP PEAS program (Partners Engaging in Application Services) will talk about their specific enrollment models and how they have addressed barriers. We will provide space for an open discussion and Q&A. We will record this session and Spanish interpretation will be provided.
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Trainings on the Professional Development Information System (PDIS)
The following trainings can be accessed on the PDIS website in the Learning section.
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*Newly Released*
Gardening with Children of All Abilities
English-Spanish
This training covers best practices for integrating gardening skills with children of all abilities using a social and therapeutic framework. Learn about the physical, mental, and social benefits of therapeutic gardening for all children, especially those with special health needs. Participants will leave with ideas to implement therapeutic gardening in their early childhood program.
ECHO/NWF - My First Garden: Growing Plants with Young Children
Not everyone needs to have a green thumb to learn how to grow plants with young children. In this 1.5-hour training, participants will gain the confidence and skills they need to support container gardening in an early childhood setting. Participants will learn best practices in plant care and how to shop for plants at a local garden supply store. Participants will also be able to learn firsthand how to successfully plant a seedling and support its growth. Finally, participants will discuss appropriate ways to engage young children in gardening. Break out your tools, and let's get messy! Participants will receive gardening resources and materials, and they will leave with their own container garden.
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Everything You Need to Know About Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting
This course was designed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to provide education on the cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting requirements in child care facilities in the state of Colorado. After completing this course, learners will be able to successfully clean, sanitize, and disinfect surfaces and materials to be in compliance with the Rules and Regulations Governing the Health and Sanitation of Child Care Facilities in the State of Colorado.
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Clear Air for Child Care Programs
Child care programs and schools are encouraged to apply for the timely delivery of the air cleaners.
The Clean Air for Schools program provides free HEPA filter portable air cleaners and associated supplies to improve schools’ indoor air quality. The program is currently open for all K-12 schools (public, private, charter, parochial, facility, and Tribal schools) and licensed early childhood education providers (licensed daycares, child care facilities, preschools, and HeadStart programs).
Learn more about the program:
Licensing Incentive Bonus
Consider applying for the Licensing Incentive Bonus! This grant provides a one-time bonus incentive to unlicensed providers who become newly licensed as a Family Child Care Home, a Non-Home Child Care Facility, or to become CCCAP-qualified exempt. The goal of this incentive is to increase the number of licensed child care providers in the state and to increase families' access to safe, quality child care. Providers who become newly licensed will receive a $5,000 bonus. Providers who become CCCAP qualified exempt will receive a $500 bonus. Providers cannot receive both bonuses. Metrix has sent applications to eligible providers. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2023, and the deadline to spend is September 30, 2023.
View the flyers:
Tax season
Early Childhood Educator Tax Credits are processed by the Colorado Department of Revenue after filing your 2022 taxes. For more information on how to file for this tax credit, you can reach the Colorado Department of Revenue Taxation Division at 303-238-SERV(7378). Additionally, taxpayer service centers can be found in the DR 0104 Individual Income Tax booklet. State of Colorado tax forms can be found here.
If you had an active Early Childhood Professional Credential in 2022, your information has been forwarded to the Colorado Department of Revenue. If you missed submitting an ECPC application by the December 1, 2022 deadline for the 2022 tax year, a similar tax credit will be offered for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 calendar years. Future tax credits will be based on similar eligibility criteria.
Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP)
Application deadline: May 2, 2023
Grants for projects that assist in the development, coordination, and expansion of domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, community‐supported agriculture programs, agritourism activities, and other direct producer‐to‐consumer market opportunities. Priority will be given to projects that benefit communities located in low-income/low food access (LI/LA) census tracts. Learn more and apply here.
Local Food Promotion Program
Application deadline: May 2, 2023
Grants to intermediary organizations to support the development, coordination, and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises to help increase access to locally and regionally produced agricultural products. Priority will be given to projects that benefit communities located in low-income/low food access census tracts. Learn more and apply here.
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Collaborative Member Spotlight: | | |
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Year 3 FIG Grantee Spotlight | The Good Food Collective team in southwest Colorado visited with the amazing team at Tri County Head Start yesterday to reflect on the local food purchasing effort they took on this past Fall as part of the Farm to Early Childhood grant program. Brenda, their amazing head chef, reported that the food was ‘fantastic’ — she especially couldn’t believe the size and taste of the carrots! They are eager to continue getting healthy, yummy local food to their students moving forward. Many thanks to Beet Street Farm for being so committed to feeding our community’s children that they would take the time to make weekly deliveries! | |
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Food Shares for ECE
GoFarm is a nonprofit organization with a mission to train and support local farmers, connect people with local agriculture, and increase equitable access to nutrient-rich food grown in Colorado. They would love to help bring fresh, local food to your Early Childhood Education Center! Pick-up locations for 2023 include downtown Golden, south Golden, and west Arvada. Shares start at $58 per week! View the program flyer for more information and to learn how to place your order.
Denver Urban Gardens
DUG has events and workshops to help you with your gardening. Be sure to go to the DUG website to learn more. Volunteering with DUG: Sign up for work days or support DUG program events. Join DUG for their free monthly webinar series featuring gardening-related activities you can do with young children: https://dug.org/events
Triad Early Childhood Council
The Triad is excited to announce the availability of funding to assist families with a three-month child care subsidy. Eligible families reside in Gilpin, Clear Creek, or Jefferson counties and are newly employed or enrolled in school or job training. View the program flyers here.
The Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC) is excited to share that in order to build upon the amazing work happening in early childhood in our state, and to continue to build a shared vision for the future, it will be leading a process to refresh the Early Childhood Colorado Framework.
Farm to Child - CDPHE
In collaboration with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, a Farm to Child newsletter written for ECE providers is shared monthly. View the April newsletter.
Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA)
The Community Food Access Program is a new initiative at the CDA created by legislation that Nourish Colorado and community partners worked hard to pass last legislative session. It is designed to support small food retailers and Colorado farms to increase healthy food options in underserved communities. Opportunities to become more involved and apply for a grant will be announced through our email list. Sign up to stay in the loop!
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Triad Bright Futures
NAVIGATOR
- Do you have a passion for early childhood education, equity, and helping create a culture of inclusiveness, effectiveness, and trust?
- Do you enjoy helping people get connected with resources?
- Are you comfortable with technology?
Triad Bright Futures is seeking a Navigator to provide local resources, connections, and administrative support for the Colorado Universal Preschool Program (UPK). The Navigator will work with partners to ensure all families in Jefferson, Clear Creek, and Gilpin counties have the support they need to promote their child’s well-being for sustained success in school and life. Job description and application instructions.
COORDINATOR – MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES
- Do you have a passion for helping families with young children get connected to resources in mountain communities?
- Are you a good listener, able to facilitate groups and build trust with community members?
- Do you like doing outreach and promotion?
Triad Bright Futures is seeking a Coordinator – Mountain Communities to work with partners to ensure all families in the mountain communities of Gilpin, Clear Creek, and western Jefferson counties have the support they need to promote their child’s well-being for sustained success in school and life. Job description and application instructions.
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