What's in Your Smoothie?

In Today’s Issue: Slimy Snacks, Survey Reminder, Boosting Low Reading Scores = about 1 cup of coffee read time.

Move Over Kale, It’s Time for Seaweed!: Slimy and delicious? Not so sure about that, but apparently seaweed is making way in the health food space. Apparently, it’s high in vitamin C, B12, and omega-3 fatty acids, which are all things good for you. Farms are popping up along the coasts of the US. In just six months, a tiny kelp sprout grows into a 12-foot-long blade, requiring no fertilizer, no freshwater, and no land. That’s a whole lot of slippery snacks. But like with all new trends, we wouldn’t be surprised if kids start showing up with algae snacks, pouches, or salads. 🥗We just wonder if it’s going to have to be a new allergen to add to the list and yet another thing to manage. Hmmm….

Survey Reminder!

Thanks for all the support and early responses on the Ecential Software Survey. Here is a preliminary snapshot of some survey results in terms of our readers and their center enrollment. Roughly 71% of our audience currently have enrollments of greater than 75%, with 21% at capacity. Looks like all your hard work is driving great numbers! 💪🏻

Here is the link to survey, which will remain open through the end of the week. Two minutes helps us gather important information, and, don’t forget, you can enter to win one of 3 $50 gift cards!

Reading Scores Hit All Time Low:

The numbers are in. The impacts of COVID on reading scores show that we have hit a 30-year low in the US. 📉Just 67% of students in eighth grade scoring at or above a basic level in 2024. Among fourth-graders, the number of students hitting that level was only 60%! Even though AI bots can now read for us, we all know that strong reading skills are the foundation for all academic success. In fact, one in six children not reading proficiently by third grade fails to graduate high school on time.

It’s a real problem. That’s why we wanted to focus today’s issue on diving a bit deeper into the stats. Your focus on children’s reading is clear. But based on the figures below, several families may not be aware of the impact. We hope this can help you with working with and educating the families you serve as well as reinforce your team’s commitment to driving those numbers up! ⬆️

Key Early Literacy Activities

• Reading Aloud: Yikes! Only about half of children aged birth to five are read to daily by family members. This simple activity improves their ability to count, recognize letters, and pretend-read. Making sure you are reading aloud to kids is a simple and effective way to build a foundation and encourage families to do so as well.

• Library Visits: About 37% of young children visit libraries monthly, providing access to books they might not otherwise have at home or at your center. Taking the monthly field trips to the local library can help exposing children to brave new worlds. 🌏

• Language Exposure: Children from professional families hear an average of 215,000 words per week compared to just 62,000 words for children from families in lower socio-economic demographics. This "word gap" is a real issue that ECE centers can help fill.

• Build a Library: Children with books at home or in their early learning environments perform better in literacy assessments. Children from low-income families often start first grade up to two years behind their peers due to limited exposure to books and one-on-one reading time (25 hours vs. 1,000–1,700 hours for middle-class families).

  • ProTip: How to Build a Library for Free: Building a library doesn’t have to cost an arm 🤳🏽and a leg 🦵. Here are some tips on how to build that book farm or refresh your stock:

    • Apply for Book Donation Programs:

      • Programs like First Book, Lisa Libraries, Better World Books, and Kids Need to Read offer free books for classrooms and libraries in underfunded areas.

      • The Library of Congress Surplus Books Program provides free books upon request.

    • Organize Book Drives: Host community book donation events where families and local businesses contribute gently used or new books.

    • Partner with Local Organizations: Collaborate with libraries, nonprofits, or bookstores that may donate surplus inventory.

And remember, educating families on these trends can help build partnership and collaboration to help prepare children. We can’t do it all on our own.

ECE Spotlight:

A great friend of the Ecential Newsletter has launched a new podcast that we are excited to share and listen to! 🎧Marnie and her team operate 4 successful learning academies in Florida and have also continued to push for quality education within and beyond the walls of their centers!

You can check it out here! Podcast Link

The Internet is a Playground:

🗓️ On this Day in History: The World Health Organization declared that the COVID-19 outbreak was a pandemic. Let’s hope we never go back to that! 💉 

🕹️ Fun Games:** Who doesn’t like the Family Feud? This game lets you play along but having to be on stage (or TV!)

🍿 That’s cool: Just movie trailers so you don’t have to watch the whole movie.

❤️ Nom Nom: Chubby pandas chowing down.

YOUR VOICE COUNTS

Is there a topic you want more info on or want to share a funny story? Then let us know! Shoot us a quick email at [email protected]. This newsletter is for you, and well, you should have a say, don't’ you think?