Happy 40th Birthday Minnesota Early Childhood Family Education
October 20, 2014
Moorhead ECFE celebrating with party Oct. 23
Moorhead’s Early Childhood Family Education program, a Community Education program of Moorhead Area Public Schools, is joining the statewide celebration of the program’s 40th birthday this month. On Oct. 23 from 4:30-6:30 p.m., local ECFE staff will be hosting a party at Moorhead Center Mall. People are invited to share in early childhood activities and learn more about the troubles and triumphs of parenting children under the age of five.
Ahead of its time, the 1974 Minnesota Legislature funded the piloting of six Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) programs. Today, ECFE is available statewide and serves thousands of parents and their young children ages birth to five each year. This October 20-25, 2014, ECFE celebrates 40 years of educating Minnesota’s families.
ECFE understands the importance of the early years as learning years. Right from birth, parents shape the child’s development, strengthen the parent-child relationship, and set the stage for future learning and growth as a family.
“ECFE supports families by offering a variety of classes to provide education, encouragement and support for parents and their young children,” said Lauri Winterfeldt, Moorhead Community Education director.
ECFE offers all parents and their infants, toddlers and preschoolers an opportunity to go to school to play and learn together. ECFE classes are taught by licensed teachers and have three components:
- Parent-child activity time to enhance the child’s language, pre-reading and math skills.
- Parent education time to share ideas and support and to discuss topics like babies and sleep, keeping up with a toddler, child development, temperament traits, discipline techniques, family fun ideas and more.
- Child-only playtime when children continue to play and learn while parents attend parent education time.
The original intent of creating ECFE was grounded in research that linked the quality of the child’s development from birth to kindergarten age with later school success. That research has been proven many times over.
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