A child's early learning experiences in these first few years of life help shape how their brain develops. As a trusted advisor, your engagement matters. We are counting on you to help share the importance of early learning with families and caregivers of Michigan’s kids.
Steps is a major initiative in Michigan to provide families with resources and information. We created this initiative because the early learning that takes place from prenatal to age three are so important. The steps taken during these early years shape a child’s future health, happiness, learning, and success in life. They are simple steps, like talking to them, interacting with them, reading, singing, and playing with them daily.
Whether you are a teacher, doctor, faith leader, community leader, influencer, or collaborator, your personal involvement in Steps is crucial. You are in a unique position to talk to families and promote early learning and development.
This tool kit gives you materials and easy ways to share critical information important during this time in a child’s life. Use these materials to connect families with useful resources and services. In this kit, you will find:
Have you met with a Trainer to learn about the Steps initiative? If you haven’t, we have trainers who will walk you through what Steps is all about and how to connect with families and share early learning materials. Let us know if you still need to meet with a trainer.
Sharing information with your family community through social media is one way to get information shared. This guide will tell you how to deliver content through your social networks. There is a strategy for frequency of posting, which social channels to use and key tips for each channel and strategy.
Blogs can be a great way to share information with your community. We have made some blog posts all ready for sharing. They include:
Email is also a great way to stay in contact with your community. Use these milestone email templates for each age of development. These templates connect your families with a milestones checklist of what developments to look for when their child reaches that age. The included ages are:
The Steps Monthly report helps manage your activities and helps us asses if the program is working. These reports help us understand your progress and what we need to do to help. They are also a way for you to keep a record of your Steps process.
You can also access the Steps Tool Kit for Families, which has a lot of useful infographics, a brochure, an introductory video, a list of 15 daily early learning activities, a school readiness guide and more.