Happy Summer!
We hope you were able to rest, spend time with family and friends, unwind, and recharge!
Welcome to the Summer 2024 Educator Newsletter. Read on to find out about upcoming training opportunities, curriculum updates, and summer webinars.
Beginning in the Fall, this will become a quarterly newsletter. Make sure to sign up to stay connected!
Curricum Updates
Stand Strong * Stay Safe - Early Childhood is fully updated!
We are excited to reminder presenters that the Early Childhood program is now available in it’s final form. If you downloaded the program during last school year, please review the update scripts, both in English and Spanish. The Stand Strong Stay Safe Rules poster is also available in Spanish! The updated resources are linked below.
- Final Scripts in English and Spanish can be downloaded from the Early Childhood Landing Page as a packet
- Stand Strong Safety Skills Poster can now be downloaded and printed in English and Spanish from your curriculum pages.
Upcoming Refresher Training Dates
If you have not been trained in the updated Early Childhood program, please register to attend one of the dates below or contact us to request training. The old program will be phased out this year and we expect everyone to be using the new program as soon as possible.
- August 20, 9:30-11 AM
- September 5, 9:30-11 AM
- October 15, 10-11:30 AM
Cost: $50 per person. Scholarships are available.
Training will take place live on Zoom. Participants must have previous training in Stand Strong Stay Safe – Early Childhood. New puppets and CE credits are included in the cost. Grant funding may be available to offset costs in certain areas. Contact Gretchen Lash for details and to register.
Please Submit Your 2023-2024 Data
Attention all 2023-2024 presenters! If you used ChildBuilders programs in any way during the 2023-2024 school year, please send in your data reports as soon as possible. This information is required annually by anyone using ChildBuilders programs. We use your feedback to improve programs and training, and it is critical to our ability to report our impact to funders, stakeholders, and potential new partners. Thank you for your cooperation!
Complete the Quick Data Survey (if you are short on time or used multiple programs) or choose to provide more detailed information using the Program Survey that corresponds to the program you used.
Though our data collection won’t be finalized until early August, we want to give a shout-out to the leading districts! Fort Bend ISD has reported teaching Stand Strong Stay Safe to 13,243 children in 2023-2024! And Pearland ISD reached 1,330 children so far. Get your surveys in and be counted!
Fort Bend ISD
13,243
Pearland ISD
1,330
Program Spotlight: Build to Nurture
by Priscilla Bagley, co-creator of Build to Nurture
I loved teaching Pre-k and Kindergarten-aged children. Those are the years that everything is fresh, new, and the information you are teaching is being soaked up as quickly as you can give it. What if we used these beautiful years for not only giving information and basic skills; what if we also taught the social and emotional skills that promote positive community-building and good mental health for years to come? That is what Build to Nurture aims to do. With lessons on community, emotions, kindness, empathy, assertiveness and solving problems, the curriculum offers tangible activities that help create warm, nurturing, and safe classrooms.
Here are 5 reasons Early Childhood teachers will love this curriculum:
1. Focused lesson plans that clearly teach these skills, not just a philosophy that teachers have to decipher how to use day-to-day.
2. Hands-on activities in each lesson.
3. Lots of movement and fun.
4. Follow-up activities that can be used easily in Centers and Workstations.
5. These lessons and activities create a warm classroom environment that allows for better classroom management and connection.
Build to Nurture is appropriate for PreK through 1st grade classrooms in public schools, private schools, charter schools, Head Start centers, and daycares. While the cost is reasonable, we understand that budgets for social and emotional learning programs can be tight – please inquire about grant-funded opportunities when you complete the Program Interest Form (below) or email us today!
Upcoming Summer Webinars for Parents, Caregivers, and Educators!
Webinars for Educators
Navigating Rough Waters: Understanding Children's Mental Health
Webinars for Parents/Caregivers
Using Empathy in Discipline
When Life Gets Hard: Parenting Through Trauma
