News

Made possible by PNC Grow Up Great, Message from Me is expanding its reach nationwide to serve parents, caregivers, and early care and education professionals in more than 50 PNC networks.

About

Although children are developing critical language and literacy skills in their early learning environments, they sometimes struggle to communicate what they learned to the adults and caregivers around them. That’s why Trying Together and Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab collaborated to develop Message from Me, a digital tool designed in alignment with the NAEYC and Fred Rogers Center Joint Position Statement on Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children Birth through Age 8.

Program Director Katie Gullone defines Message from Me as a child-led digital tool designed to strengthen relationships and provide children opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings with the adults most important to them. Implemented in early learning programs and classrooms, the digital tool provides caregivers with a series of pictures and audio messages of their child’s daily learning experiences. Delivered through email or text, these messages build connections between home and early learning environments by providing children with a platform to share their voice, feelings, and perspective on the world around them.

Why It Matters

Caring, responsive adult-child relationships play a critical role in the healthy development of young children, and these types of relationships are exactly what Message from Me helps to foster.

“When children are exposed to high-quality early learning environments, they gain access to credentialed professionals who support their development through child-led, developmentally-appropriate activities and learning experiences. Message from Me was developed to ease the transition between school and home. By receiving photos and audio messages of their child’s early learning experiences, parents and caregivers gain a frame of reference they can build from when interacting with their early learner.” – Cara Ciminillo, Executive Director, Trying Together

Thanks to PNC Grow Up Great for their continued sponsorship of Message from Me. With their generous support, countless children, families, and early care and education professionals throughout the country will now gain an opportunity to further nurture their adult-child relationships through the latest expansion of Message from Me.

Impact

To date, Message from Me has been implemented in early learning centers and school districts in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Utah, Michigan, and Atlanta Public Schools. Through its nationwide expansion, Message from Me looks forward to engaging more children and families as early childhood professionals begin implementing Message from Me in their classrooms.

More Information

Educators interested in using Message from Me receive hands-on professional development that supports teaching practices when using digital technologies with children. Trying Together exclusively provides the professional development for Message from Me.

For more information, visit the Message from Me website and sign up to receive their newsletter.