Community Engagement Archives - Early Learning Nation

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Museums Are for Kids: Busting Myths at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Emily Sullivan·May 3, 2019·5 min read

The days of shushing kids in museums are long gone. Now, museums large and small, which once earned reputations for strict enforcement of “no talking,” “no touching” and “no fun” rules for kids, actively court families and kids with free days, family memberships, activities, tours and programs, all designed to celebrate and discover art and the creative spirit.

Early Childhood Connector: Ounce of Prevention Creates Systems-Based Solutions for Building Early Learning Communities

Mark Swartz·Jul 23, 2020·5 min read

There are more than 19,000 cities and towns and more than 13,000 school districts in the United States, and it’s...

Beth Duda reads to an adorable toddler in a laundromat

Mobilizing Communities So All Children Make the Grade

Pop Up Neighbor events, community, collaboration, mobilization

K.C. Compton·Aug 8, 2019·9 min read

Even without advance promotion, when word got out that the SuperMatt Laundromat in Sarasota, Florida, was offering free laundry all day, neighborhood residents formed a steady stream of customers. Not only was laundry-and-all-the-fixings free—a boon to low-income families who can ill afford the $35 to $50 a week they spend trying to keep their kids in clean clothes—the food bank was there with abundant food to restock their pantries. Best of all, there were books—lots of books—and plenty of volunteers to read to children while the adults did as many loads of laundry as needed. When the children left, books went home with them.

Act Naturally: The Benefits of Wet Hands and Muddy Feet

An Interview with Richard Louv

Mark Swartz·May 22, 2019·7 min read

How do we get today’s kids active and in tune with nature? And if the current generation of young parents missed out on personal experiences with nature, who will teach their children?