News

August 24, 2020

Early Childhood Garden Education Program Available

Interested in integrating garden and cooking activities into its classroom curriculum? Submit your application today for Grow Pittsburgh and the Sampson Foundation’s Early Childhood Garden Education Program.

About

Grow Pittsburgh and the Sampson Foundation are offering an Early Childhood Garden Education Program for early childhood centers across the Pittsburgh region. Gardens are outdoor classrooms that are adaptable to most play yards and are designed to fit the space and needs of each center.

The program will integrate garden and cooking activities into the classroom curriculum to support the development and education of the whole child. The partnership aims to support educators in teaching their students how to grow, cook, and eat fresh food while celebrating the cultures and experiences of their families and city. To learn more about the program, view the full description.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this program, early childhood centers must:

    • complete and submit the application (parts 1-6, including photos);
    • be located in Allegheny County;
    • be an early childhood facility (includes: family, group, and center) licensed in Pennsylvania;
    • have at least five organized and motivated people in your garden leadership group (can include staff and parents, but must include at least three teachers interested in supporting the program), exceptions made for smaller facilities;
    • have signatures of support from both the director and head custodian;
    • have a sustainable site for gardening on the property that gets at least six hours of sunlight a day with supporting photos for the completion of Part 3 (Grow Pittsburgh can provide support);
    • have enrollment that includes at least 50 percent of children receiving subsidized funds through CCIS, CACFP, Head Start, or Pre-K Counts.

If your program doesn’t meet these criteria, please submit as much information as possible and program hosts will work to help you in alternative ways.

Submit An Application

To apply, complete and submit the application. Applications can be submitted via email at victoria@growpittsburgh.org or postal mail at:

Grow Pittsburgh
6587 Hamilton Ave #2W
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

More Information

For general application questions and assistance, please contact Victoria Thurmond at 678.977.9389 or victoria@growpittsburgh.org.

News

February 17, 2020

Message from Me Expands Its Services Nationwide

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.

News

September 17, 2019

Ready Set Grow Learning Collaborative

Join United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania on Thursday, September 26 for their Ready Set Grow Learning Collaborative meeting to discuss ways to collectively create an inclusive and accessible system connecting regional farmers to early childhood providers and educators.

The last of their four gatherings, this event will review what is happening in the region, including best practices, success stories, and resources. Come prepared to participate, network, and ask questions. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. Act 48 hours provided.

Register

To register, visit the Eventbrite page.

Learn More

To learn more, contact United Way at 412.261.6010.

News

August 19, 2019

2020 Gro More Good Garden Grants Now Open

If you’re a Head Start program looking to integrate gardening into your curriculum, apply today for a Gro More Good Garden Grant!

About

Studies show that many children from at-risk backgrounds don’t have access to fresh produce on a daily basis. However, research also shows that children who grow fresh food eat more fresh food and are healthier as a result. That’s why the National Head Start Association and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation are joining forces to address this critical issue facing young children.

Through the Gro More Good Garden Grants initiative, both partners will work with Head Start programs across the country to teach children, families, and communities how to grow their own fresh produce. Their multi-year initiative will make garden grants, garden kits, educational curriculum, and garden training available to all Head Start programs with the goal of creating more edible gardens for young children and their families.

Grant Details

$5,000 grants, garden kits, and product donations will be awarded to the 10 highest scoring applicants. The Garden Grants are a three-year program with an opportunity to apply again in the fall of 2020 for the 2021 grant cycle.

Expectations

As a part of the grant award, Head Start programs will be expected to host a Community Build Day, bringing together Head Start students and families, community partners, and Scotts Miracle-Gro associates in a day of community service to build and celebrate the garden. Community Build Days should be held during the March through June timeframe.

Application

To apply for a Gro More Good Garden Grant, visit the application page.

Applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on October 11, 2019.

Learn More

For more information, visit the National Head Start Association website or the grant FAQ page.

For direct questions, email gardens@nhsa.org.

*Information provided by the National Head Start Association

News

July 16, 2019

Parent-Child Interaction

Are you looking to engage in an educational experience with your young child? Join other caregivers and their young children for creative STEM-based activities. Together, parent and child will interact with each other and socialize with other families to grow, learn, and play!

Learn More

To learn more, contact Neil Walker at 412.728.2892 or neil@tryingtogether.org.

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News

March 19, 2019

Young Sprouts: Compost Stew

What is compost and how do you make it? Learn about how you can take your old food scraps and turn them into nutritious soil to help the garden grow with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh! The group will also read Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals.

This program is designed for our youngest learners (0-5) but is suitable for all ages. The event is drop-in, so guests may come and go as they please! Program location is weather dependent: the group will be in the Garden if the weather allows; find them in the Nursery if weather is less than ideal.

For more information, visit the event page!