Katie's Korner: A message from your PYC Coordinator | | |
There is no doubt that we are all experiencing tough decisions and uncertainty. Whether you are personally impacted or watching your community scramble to adapt to a quickly-changing landscape, you are likely experiencing some amount of anxiety and fear.
The good news is that we know how much of an impact having a community can have. When we rely on each other for connection, collaboration, and support, we all have better outcomes.
We are lucky to be able to call this county our home and even more lucky to have the creative, caring and resilient community partners and providers that we do. My ask of you all in the coming months is to lean on each other, ask for the help you need and reach out to your fellow providers.
For my part, I have decided to pivot some of my work into meeting you all where you are at and giving you opportunities to have those conversations. I look forward to connecting with all of you to initiate these conversations. Until then, take heart in the constants: the sun is out, the whales are feeding and the bulbs are starting to break ground.
Warmly,
Katie
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Partners for Young Children (PYC) is a coalition focused on improving the wellbeing of children and families in Island County.
Through PYC, Island County organizations and individuals come together to achieve the vision that all children thrive in nurturing relationships and healthy families. Together, partners are cultivating community action to strengthen Island County families.
| | February PYC Partners Shared Resources | | Have flyers, information or resources to share? Drop in our SharePoint folder! | | Join us for our Quarterly Partners Meeting | | Partner Question of the Month | | "Where are you finding community right now?" | | |
Many of us and our organizations are looking for ways to come together. Maybe you have answers and ideas that others are looking for or vice versa. We all do better when we work together.
Post your answers in our PYC Slack Channel. Haven't joined yet? Simply click the button below!
| | Sign up for our new PYC Slack Channel! You'll find it under the (also new) Whidbey Community Foundation Slack. Ask questions, share resources, and interact in real-time with other early learning partners in our community! | | Northwest Early Learning Coalition's Annual Inspire Breakfast Registration Is Open! | | Bright By Text Is Now Lantern! | | | | |
Same service, new shiny look!
If you are a provider who does Lantern outreach, please know that you may use your remaining Bright by Text materials. All numbers, qr codes, and links still apply.
Do let Katie know if you need more materials. We have new postcards! pyc@whidbeyfoundation.org
| | Lantern tailors three to five weekly text messages to caregivers, providing evidence-based content on developmental milestones, brain growth, emotional health, nutrition, and resilience. | | Does your organization have a community message to share with local parents? Submit your messages here and we will help get the word out! | | Resource Directory Progress | | |
We have made exciting progress on our Help Me Grow Island County resource directory. Stay tuned for our new landing page announcement, which is being developed to serve the unique needs of our island population. We are proud of what is shaping up to be a positive and specially curated family resource!
We would like to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been reviewing their directory listings, helping to get family feedback, and supporting our Help Me Grow project!
Help Me Grow - Island County is a dependable and interconnected system that puts families first – making sure resources are accessible to every child and every community.
| | Newborn Outreach Bags Have Launched! | | |
We know that a majority of our Island County residents are giving birth outside of Island County. In 2023, 293 residents gave birth at Island Health in Anacortes alone. That actually accounts for more than half of Island Health's births in that year!
Modeled after a successful outreach program through Skagit County Children's Council, along with the generosity of many local network of partners, all Island County residents giving birth at birthing centers in Island Health and Skagit Valley Hospitals will receive a newborn bag filled with local resource connections and infant care essentials. We have started our outreach with these two birthing centers so that our Whidbey families giving birth off-island will receive local resource connections that they would have otherwise received locally. We have also provided our Island County Public Health New Baby, New Family Outreach nurses with bags to reach their families. We hope to expand our outreach as more funding is available.
Our hope is that all Island County babies and families receive the warm welcome and community connection that makes this place our home.
Picture one: Island County Newborn bag. Picture two: Island Health Lactation Specialist Teri Shilling, MS, LCCE, CD(DONA), IBCLC (right), and PYC Coordinator Katie Watkins. Picture three: Skagit Valley Hospital Newborn Outreach Nurse, Liz Cooksey.
| | PYC Announces Vroom Brain-building Tips | | |
Partners for Young Children is excited to announce another unique and FREE parenting tool being sponsored through Washington Communities for Children (WCFC).
Vroom provides science-based tips and tools to inspire families to turn shared, everyday moments into Brain Building Moments® through printed resources, a text service, and a free mobile app. . Click below for more information as well as ways to engage with this incredible resource!
| | Imagination Library Needs Your Voices! | | |
Advocacy alert!
As you know, Washington is facing a particularly challenging budget year. Unfortunately, this has jeopardized the state's 50% funding commitment for the Imagination Library. This will impact our Whidbey Island Imagination Library program.
We are asking that you reach out to your legislators to let them know you support this wonderful program and they could not have made it easier! Simply click below and they provide templates and email contacts for our Island County legislators.
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Imagination Library of Whidbey Island—a local program partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, strives to send a new book every month to Whidbey Island children from birth to age five.
Thanks to all of your help in promoting this great program, Whidbey Island has already enrolled over 1,400 children since December 2022! We are also so proud to be a growing piece of Dolly's dream. Look at these end of year numbers!
Numbers by Region:
| | Katie has bookmarks and other outreach materials. Contact her here! | | Calling Families & Providers of Children ages 0-5! | |
Child Care Aware's Family Access Program Manager, Tia Collins, is leading a data-collection initiative to learn more about families’ experiences finding and enrolling in childcare and early learning opportunities. "We want to better understand how families hear about opportunities, what helps them navigate the process, and what challenges they experience along the way."
Please help by spreading the word to the families you work with. Flyers in both English and Spanish provided below. Responses being collected through the end of April.
| | Providers interested in sharing their experiences in 1:1 sessions, please see the flyers below. | | Technical Assistance Services from Thrive Community Building | | |
We are excited to let you know about a time-limited opportunity for organizations and entities to access capital project technical assistance (TA) specific to child-care facilities.
At this time, the Thrive Community Building can provide technical assistance services* at no cost to the organization. This technical assistance opportunity is subject to first-come-first served until their contracted hour capacity is reached.
Don’t delay – our TA contract with Thrive Community Building ends June 30, 2025.
If you have interest in learning more about this opportunity, please contact Monica Duncan at mduncan@thrivecb.org
Please note that if you are in a currently active Commerce contract, this technical assistance is not intended or permitted to replace or support any current contract deliverables.
TA services may include:
- Grant Writing
- Architectural planning and siting
- Project pre-design
- Capital project feasibility analysis
- Life cycle cost analysis
- Project budget analysis
- Maximizing local government contributions
- Longevity planning
- Project maintenance and management
- Assistance with compliance strategy planning
| | Workshops, Trainings & Events | | Community Cares Health & Wellness Festival | | For more information and to register as a vendor, click below! | | RUBI One-Day Workshop Coming Up This week! | | This training is for all providers, caregivers and educators who are support autistic individuals. Part of the day will be spent talking about different adaptations of the program. This program is free, however there are fees associated if needing STARS credits or CDU's. | | Zero to Three April Learning Opportunity | | |
Introducing the Modern Military Family: Tips for Partnering with Service Members and Their Loved Ones
April 9, 2025, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET
Special Member Exclusive follow-on discussion, 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET
Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your expertise and make a lasting impact in the lives of military families!
Whether you’re an educator, clinician, healthcare provider, or other early childhood professional, this webinar will equip you with tools to identify, connect with, and support military-connected families and children. Learn how to reduce risk factors while empowering these families through meaningful, strength-based service delivery.
| | HMG Skagit Offers Healthcare Provider Training | | |
Supporting Behavioral Health in Young Children: Tools for Healthcare Providers
Join Help Me Grow Skagit for a comprehensive training focused on enhancing pediatric behavioral health. Develop practical skills and strategies for your practice that will hep you respond to behavior concerns and support young children’s mental health and family well-being.
More information and how to register here!
| | Postpartum Support International: Provider Perinatal Mental Health Training | | |
Perinatal Mental Health: Culturally Informed Approaches to Screening, Assessment and Treatment.
These two 90-minute webinars were hosted by Postpartum Support International and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) on presented on May 18 and May 24, 2022. They present an overview of perinatal mental health screening, assessment, treatment, and referral pathways through the lens of culturally-informed care and best practices in treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Register to receive recordings of the webinars. Scroll down for CE/CME information.
This two-part training provides 3 CEs and both webinars are required to obtain a certificate
| | Educator Workshops Through Sno-Isle | | |
STARS Training: Autism Spectrum Disorder: Language and Communication Strategies
Wednesday, April 9 2025
6:00pm-8:00pm
Online through Sno-Isle
Are you ready to expand your knowledge of practical strategies for helping children with autism build their vocabulary? Do you wish you had techniques to communicate more effectively with your students?
Presented by Northwest Center KidsChildren are born with an incredible capacity to learn language – even multiple languages at a time! Join Amelia Bachleda, PhD. from the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington. We will discuss research-based strategies to support children’s early language development. We will also cover how children learn more than one language, address misconceptions, and explore the many benefits of multilingualism.
TWO Stars Credits are available for participants of this class.
FREE
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STARS Training: POWER Struggles
Thursday, April 24th, 2025
12:00pm-1:00pm
Online through Sno-Isle
Are you ready to thrive in your toddler or preschool classroom instead of constantly putting out fires? Power struggles are challenging for everyone – adults and kids alike. This training is packed with the strategies you need to decrease power struggles, increase cooperation, and build connection with children who challenge you the most.
Presented by Northwest Center Kids this training will cover the following topics:
Understand why power struggles happen and what to do about them
Feel confident responding to power struggles in the heat of the moment
Have a toolbox of easy-to-follow strategies that prevent power struggles from happening in the first place
ONE Stars Credits are available for participants of this class.
FREE
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Stars Training: One Book, Many Stories
Saturday, May 3rd, 2025
10:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Marysville Library through Sno-Isle
How many different stories can we tell with one book? There are lots of ways we can support early literacy that go beyond just reading the words on the page. We'll explore books we know, books we don't know, books that may be too wordy for our kids, books that are written in languages we don’t read or that don’t have any words at all! Exploring in this way will help us learn to adapt books we have on hand for all ages in the classroom. It will also help us with tips and strategies for supporting parents or caregivers that don’t have access to books in languages they can read.
| | Family & Caregiver Supports | | Upcoming Sno-Isle Family Events | | New! Spanish Storytimes at Oak Harbor Library! | | Postpartum International Blog & Online Support Groups | | Click the images to read the latest blog posts below! | | Click below for online support groups! | | Opportunity Council Kinship Program | | Do you have updates or resources you'd like to share with the broader network? | | |
In the Arena with NOW Presents: The Power of Convivencia - Finding Connections Through Community Care
In episode seven, we visit the community of Travis County, Texas and speak with Dr. Michelle Gallas, a pediatrician who has worked for the last decade caring for children and families facing complex medical and social challenges that impact their health and wellbeing. Dr. Gallas reflects on her own personal journey that transformed her care approach away from an “illness” model toward a “health promotion” model. Serving as the lead pediatrician for the Centering Parenting program, she evokes the power of convivencia - “coexistence” or “coliving”- outside the home, an important perspective learned from her patients. She shares more about how this innovative group-based model of care brings together children and families for group well child visits, peer learning, and meaningful connections across critical life stages in a child’s first three years. Dr. Gallas highlights the power that’s generated when you find people who share your passion, and reflects on how healthcare workers are uniquely positioned to honor the full spectrum of human connection - from pain to joy - through their work.
Featured guest:
- Dr. Michelle Gallas, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
- Host: Ronda Alexander, Director of National Partnerships, NOW at Vital Village Networks
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Questions? Contact us at PYC@whidbeyfoundation.org
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