Have you noticed lately that life seems to be moving faster? I hear many people talk about the stress this generates and how this creates a form of chaos they aren’t accustomed to negotiating. I also hear a lot of stories where people just long to return to a sense of relaxation where they can focus on what really matters in their life.
 

In recent days I have been pondering this question. I am person with strong passions and at times opinions and am discovering this requires a level of awareness and care for how I effectively communicate.  It occurs to me that this is one of the same questions local governance bodies (such as the Great Start Collaboratives) who are working hard to be successful in including parent perspectives also think about.
 
These are some ideas that have been offered to me by one of my partners that I deeply respect.  

Recently I moved into a new home. I have completely enjoyed all the projects and physical work it has taken to organize myself and my life to bring about this change. But now that the many projects are complete I recognize that I am in the middle of a significant personal transition. Many of the things that I used to do when I lived with other people are no longer relevant. This frees up a fair amount of my time and energy. And guess what? I don’t always know what to do with myself! It is not very comfortable, but certainly lets’ me kno

Over the years I have come to understand that leadership development is largely about the opportunity to support personal growth and character refinement. 
 

I have been meeting with a few of our local GSC/GSPC partners to further develop our understanding at ECIC for how to successfully build a strong parent voice in our systems change work.
 
In the same timing my oldest daughter, Kalli,  has been going to classes to learn more about language development for Sophia, her 18-month-old daughter,  who is being raised bilingual. 
 

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the California early childhood conference. I had been asked to be a part of a panel presentation on parent engagement and share what Michigan is doing in this area. They brought in many national speakers from a variety of focuses--- business, foundations, university professors and researchers and national early childhood leaders from the public and private sectors.
 

As you know from earlier blogs I dedicate time each week to bask in the presence of my granddaughter, Sophia. It is one of the important activities of my life that brings me great joy and allows me the time to develop my own unique relationship with her.
 

Have you noticed that everything around you seems to be speeding up? It’s an interesting time for all of us to negotiate the rapid change and not give into the tendency to move into stress over any situation.
 
How well I do this is a significant determine to my own attitude and approach in life. What I notice about my attitude and approach is that it is something I uniquely chose and control from within myself.
 

In recent years the Center for the Study of Social Policy based in current research developed an approach known as the “Protective Factors”. The essential themes provide a way for families to strengthen their own family and better understand the key qualities necessary to positively impact their young child’s development.
 
The three themes and key qualities it supports are as follows:
 

With my granddaughter being 13 months old it has given me a lot of time to reflect about my personal journey towards parenting leadership.