A second group member who participated in a migrant camp visit on May 11, 2011 shares her experience and discoveries made as a result of that visit.

Change and early childhood

The Lenawee County Fair 4H clubs focus on quality. The Lenawee County Fair just ended and I was reminded how important training is even for the youngest children at the fair. The 4H clubs require the children who show pigs at the fair to take a class on Pork Quality Assurance. Children who complete the Pork Quality Assurance class learn how to tell when the pig is sick and how to give a shot if the pig is sick. The children learn how to identify one pig from the other and how to care for their pigs. Simple things like not to keep them outside too long because they

I was packing my lunch this morning and couldn’t decide between a banana and a nectarine. The nectarine is sweet, juicy and only great in the summer months. Sure you can get it all the time it just isn’t the same in January as it is in July. I am very particular about my bananas too, not too green not too yellow, no spots, just ripened from green to yellow, perfect. Another summer dilemma perfect bananas don’t come too often in the summer because of the heat, they ripen too quickly. Can you guess what I did? If you guessed I packed both; you a

Sometimes the work around ECIC can feel a bit like being a farmer - the goal is to keep sowing the seed in hopes that something good will grow.

Lately, the seed has been child care training, and I was gratified to see one sprout with Lansing's WILX (Channel 10)  featuring a story about the new training requirement for relative and aide child care providers in Michigan. (In case you didn't know, providers have to take a 6-hour health and safety course through one of ECIC's Great Start Regional Child Care Resource Centers or lose their state subsidy.)

What do I tell someone new I just met about my work at ECIC? I recently had a conversation and shared how my responsibilities revolve around creating a system to improve child care quality by coordinating and connecting existing supports and services for child care providers and families who use child care. Those supports and services include professional development and training for child care providers and Great Start CONNECT’s 24/7 licensed child care referral search.