Blog

Welcome to the Way to Grow blog! Here you’ll find parenting tips, early childhood resources, and stories from home visits across the Twin Cities. We believe parents are their child’s first and most important teacher, and our home visiting model is built around that: bringing tools, activities, and encouragement right into the home. Browse for book recommendations, everyday learning ideas, program updates, and family stories from across our community.

Mayor Hodges, Cradle to K Cabinet to Release Final Plan to Eliminate Disparities for Minneapolis Children 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Mayor Hodges, Cradle to K Cabinet to Release Final Plan to Eliminate Disparities for Minneapolis Children

On Monday, May 18th at 1:30 p.m., Mayor Betsy Hodges and the Cradle to K Cabinet will release their final report which finalizes a plan to eliminate disparities for children in Minneapolis from birth to three years old. Prior to Monday’s release the Mayor and her cabinet met with over 200 community members in March and…

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The Starting Line 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

The Starting Line

“From the moment of conception to the initial, tentative step into a kindergarten classroom, early childhood development takes place at a rate that exceeds any other stage of life” (National Research Council & Institute of Medicine). It’s no secret that women who receive prenatal care in their first trimester of pregnancy (up to 12 weeks) tend…

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Prioritize Preparing Children in Deep Poverty to be Ready for Kindergarten 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Prioritize Preparing Children in Deep Poverty to be Ready for Kindergarten

There has been considerable talk about early learning lately. We have heard for so long the alarming fact that Minnesota’s children in poverty are not prepared for kindergarten. It is encouraging to see the growing consensus about the end goal, even as the means are subject of spirited debate. We, as providers of early care…

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Practice Makes Perfect 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Practice Makes Perfect

Jacqueline is a bright spirited kindergartner with glowing dark skin and a vibrant smile bound to melt your heart. When Jacqueline started school this fall, she struggled knowing that she did not know how to write. When her Family Educator visited Jacqueline this past September, Jacqueline held up a piece of jumbo-ruled paper. With chicken…

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Invest in Us

Invest in Us 150 150 Ivy Marsnik
6 Ways to Show Your Community Some Love 1024 685 Ivy Marsnik

6 Ways to Show Your Community Some Love

Whether you love Valentine’s Day, or you’d rather pretend the holiday didn’t exist in the first place, now is a great time to show a little LOVE to your community.  Here are some of our favorite ways to love thy neighbor: We’ll start with perhaps the most obvious: volunteer. Share a skill or life lesson…

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Why Gov. Dayton should continue supporting early learning scholarships 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Why Gov. Dayton should continue supporting early learning scholarships

Over the last four years, Gov. Mark Dayton has pioneered the use of flexible, empowering and portable scholarships to help low-income children access quality early education, as measured by the Parent Aware Ratings. His early learning scholarships allowed low-income families to take their scholarships to any quality provider, be they based in schools, homes, or…

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Healthy Homes

Healthy Homes 150 150 Ivy Marsnik
2015 Children and Youth Issues Briefing Recap 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

2015 Children and Youth Issues Briefing Recap

This morning, nearly 1,000 influential advocates gathered at the 2015 Children & Youth Issues Briefing in Saint Paul. The event kicked off with an address from Governor Mark Dayton who announced that his upcoming budget proposal (reviewed next Tuesday) will allocate $372 million to “children and education.”  Acknowledging that many Minnesota families have critical unmet…

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Building a Strong Community 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Building a Strong Community

This month, our Preschool Pals focused on building a strong community.  Each area of the classroom was transformed to represent a place in the community.  The snack area served as a restaurant, the manipulative center was a construction site,  the science center became a hospital, the group area was the city hall, and the writing center was the local post office.  As students visited different pillars…

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2014 In Review 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

2014 In Review

In 2014, we: Had 88% of all Way to Grow preschoolers pass kindergarten readiness assessments for the second year in a row. Opened our second preschool in South Minneapolis (Preschool P.A.L.S) at Urban Ventures, with a focus on educating both preschoolers and parents. Celebrated serving our first cohort of third graders completing our Great by…

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Our Executive Director in Action 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Our Executive Director in Action

The Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (RKMC) Foundation for Children has announced the appointment of Carolyn Smallwood to its board of directors. Carolyn Smallwood is entering her 10th year as executive director of Way to Grow, Inc., an early education and elementary organization that serves over 2,000 people each year. Prior to Way to Grow, she…

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