by Sami Bradley, MaED. LIMHP, IMH-E®Vice President, Early Childhood Mental HealthNebraska Children and Families Foundation | Rooted in Relationships We spend a lot of time wondering what builds our children’s self-esteem. Is it the praise we give them? Is it…
Blog Archives
The Treasure of Literacy
Erika Fink is a part of a recent Nebraska Growing Readers (NGR) Writers Workshop held for Sixpence home visitors and staff, Rooted in Relationships coaches, and other early childhood partners. NGR, which is a Nebraska Children and Families Foundation initiative, holds these workshops to encourage the production of local content that will be meaningful to the state’s children, families, and communities.
Rooted in Relationships Holds First All-Coaches Meeting
Because it was clear that the cross-community connections were so important, the Rooted team decided to hold their first-ever statewide meeting of coaches and coordinators. As Christen Million describes it, “we wanted to have time when we could share housekeeping information, but we really wanted to make a concerted effort to have everyone collaborate, talk to each other, get to know each other.”
Tagged with: early childhood development, early childhood mental health, Rooted in Relationships
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Lessening Stress through Circle of Security
Challenging behavior was identified among the top three stressors in early childhood care in a 2023 study by University of Virginia Professor Lieny Jeon. This is consistent with what has been reported from Nebraska’s early childhood professionals and family members. When caregivers are stressed, it can have significant and long-lasting repercussions, including difficulty with children knowing how to experience and regulate their emotions, strained relationships between the parent/caregiver and child, and negative influence on a child’s physical and mental health.
That’s why a recent joint evaluation by Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and the Munroe Meyer Institute has been so encouraging for Circle of Security, an evidence-based program supported by Rooted in Relationships.
Rooted Collaborates on State Infant Mental Health Financing Policy Project
Rooted in Relationships will be a part of the statewide collaborative that has been invited to join the current cohort of Zero to Three’s Financing Policy Project for 2025.
Tagged with: BECI, early childhood, early childhood development, early childhood mental health, First Five Nebraska, naimh, Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska Head Start, Nebraska Resource Project for Vulnerable Young Children, Rooted in Relationships, sixpence, University of Nebraska Lincoln—Youth and Family Studies
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Rooted in Relationships Receives National Recognition for Pioneering Efforts in Advancing Childhood Mental Health
Rooted in Relationships (RiR) is an initiative by Nebraska Children aimed at transforming early childhood mental health through community collaboration. By providing childcare providers with training, RiR addresses behavioral challenges in young children, enhancing their social-emotional skills. Recently, the team was recognized nationally for their work.
Alliance Innovates with Circle of Security Classroom
Shawna Rischling first became aware of COSP through her teaching in a preschool classroom for the Alliance Public School system. Her program is funded by Sixpence, which requires programs to serve at-risk children in the community, and the initiative told her of a new training in COSP. Circle of Security trains parents and other caregivers in developing strong bonds that give their children the security and confidence to explore, learn, grow, and build positive relationships.
Tagged with: Alliance early childhood education, Buffett Early Childhood Institute, circle of security, Circle of Security - Parenting, Circle of security classroom, early childhood, early childhood development, early childhood education, early childhood mental health, Rooted in Relationships, sixpence
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Rooted’s Neighborhood Approach Makes a Difference in South Omaha
Rooted in Relationshsips offered Pyramid Model training to South Omaha early childhood professionals entirely in Spanish, translated materials and resources, and emphasized a neighborhood approach that encouraged community ownership of the work being done. Stacy Scholten says they held planning meetings and provider collaboration meetings in Spanish, as well as conducting training and coaching in Spanish. And because the Rooted’s name didn’t translate well into Spanish, they instead collaborated with the local group to call the project, Cultivando Generaciones Futuras.
Putting Down Permanent Roots: Rooted in Relationships as Lynne Brehm Retires
Rooted in Relationships now faces an existential moment: what will the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation initiative that celebrated its first 10 years in 2023 look like without the woman who started it all?
Happy for a Reason
This year, Million and 3 other state-level representatives from Rooted in Relationships were able to attend as well as 3 staff from the Munroe-Meyer Institute, the evaluation group for Rooted’s work. In addition, each Rooted in Relationships community sent at least 2 representatives, including coaches, coordinators, and providers.
Growing the Good Life 