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December 2021
This month at QSLA, we focus on sharing community resources with families, particularly during the holidays!
Scroll through this newsletter for valuable Family Engagement resources as well as the NEW "You Asked, We Answered" section where we respond to your specific support requests.
Celebrating the Holidays with Families
Family Engagement Tip
This year has been challenging financially for many families; many of those financial challenges continue during the holidays. Check out our Family Engagement tip on Supporting Families with Concrete Supports During Difficult Times.

Holiday Activities for Families
Are your program and families looking for ways to keep young children learning AND entertained during the holidays? Check out these creative activities!

Holiday Activities in the Classroom
As we explore the holiday season with our families, we share the responsibility of creating an inclusive environment for a wider breadth of religious traditions and holidays. Read on for Edutopia's article on Sharing Holiday Traditions in the Classroom!
Poll Results: Your Input from Last Month
Last month you shared what Zoom features you are interested in learning more about. We are currently preparing brief trainings to help you and your program get more comfortable with Zoom's advanced features! Here is what you and your fellow providers shared:
If you're interested in learning about the basics of using Zoom, please take a look at our Zoom Basics - Part 1 course.
Staff Development and Support
Enhance Your Family Engagement Knowledge and Skills
As we wind down the year and look ahead to 2022, there are plenty of trainings available for early educators to explore! The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center is offering 2 new courses:
Foundations of Family Engagement
This course is for early career teachers, counselors, and other school-based staff to build their knowledge and skills for effective family engagement. This is a hybrid course with 3 blocks, where learners complete a self-paced online module then meet for an online live workshop session. The process then repeated for the next two blocks.
  • 6 CEU's; Cost: Free!
  • Register by January 14th

Learning Block 1:
Family Engagement—The Why & the How
  • Module 1: Jan 18-23, 2022
  • Workshop 1:
  • Jan 24, 1:30-4:00 PM PST – or –
  • Jan 25, 6:30AM-9:00 AM PST

Learning Block 2:
Power Dynamics and Family Engagement
  • Module 2: Jan 25-30, 2022
  • Workshop 2:
  • Jan 31, 1:30-4:00 PM PST – or –
  • Feb 1, 6:30AM-9:00 AM PST

Learning Block 3:
Reframing the Conversation about Family Engagement
  • Module 3: Feb 1-6, 2022
  • Workshop 3:
  • Feb 7, 1:30-4:00 PM PST – or –
  • Feb 8, 6:30AM-9:00 AM PST
Partnering with Families to Support Early Literacy
This course is a self-paced online course for educators to build their knowledge and skills for enhancing literacy instruction through family engagement. The course is divided into three modules:
  • Partnering with Families,
  • Home-based Practices to Support Early Literacy, and
  • Communicating with Families about Early Literacy.

Other details:
  • 6 CEU's; Cost: Free!
  • Register between December 1st - May 31st
  • Schedule: Self-paced from January 10th to June 24th
These trainings support ECERS-R: Item 43- Opportunities for Professional Growth, PAS: Item 3- Staff Development, FCCERS-R: Item 37- Opportunities for Professional Development, and BAS: Item 1-Qualifications and Professional Development
Welcoming Environment
Ensure Your Program Feels Inviting
As we continue to support families during another year of holidays and challenging times for some, we can time a moment to reflect on getting reacquainted with the tools that best support them. Take time to watch our QSLA Webinar on one of the Protective Factors that Strengthen Families: Concrete Support in Challenging Times.

This video will support ECERS-R: Item 9 and FCCERS-R: Item 35- Provisions for Parents, PAS: Item 16- Family Communications, and BAS: Item 7- Provider Parent Communications.
Family Partnerships
Work with Families to Build a Stronger Program
Looking for handy documents that help your staff connect families with concrete supports more easily? Check out this 2-page infographic from the Children's Trust Fund Alliance on Concrete Support in Times of Need! From defining this pivotal protective factor and sharing examples of everyday actions that can 
help how families define what concrete supports matter - this is a rich document for our programs!

This resource will support ECERS-R: Item 38 and FCCERS-R: Item 35- Provisions for Parents, PAS: Item 16- Family Communications, and BAS: Item 7- Provider Parent Communications.
Community Partnerships
Use Community Resources to Strengthen Program Quality
The National Parent Helpline offers a wide variety of resources and materials for family members - in English and Spanish! Resources for families by child's age, for fathers, for physical and mental health, legal support, personal safety, basic needs (by category), adoption, education, child care, and plenty more!

Knowing and using these community resources will support PAS: Item 17- Family Support Involvement, BAS: Item 8-Community Resources, and NAEYC Accreditation: Standard 7-Families
Each month, we respond to your needs as early educators by sharing helpful related QSLA resources as well as additional external resources. This month, we focus on concrete supports that help families have a positive holiday experience. Check out the following local resources to share with families during this holiday season: 


Are you looking for support in another area?
If you would like to share some inspiring words, click here! To see more provider perspectives, field related news, and early learning resources follow our social media accounts.
*These quotes have been edited for grammar and clarity.
We are currently working on improving our monthly Family Engagement Newsletter to provide you with the most useful information to support your work. Please be patient as we test out different layouts and content.

If you have questions, feedback, or ideas we would love to hear from you! Please email us at cristina.espinoza@ccala.net.