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.
January 7, 2020 Storytime: Baby and Me | Homewood Join the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Homewood to sing, clap, and bounce along with your baby to action rhymes, stories, and songs. Songs help children develop listening skills and pay attention to the rhymes and rhythms of spoken language. This event is intended for children birth to 18 months and their caregivers. View the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh calendar to see alternate locations, dates, and times. More Information For questions, call the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Homewood Branch at 412.731.3080.
Storytime: Baby and Me | Homewood Join the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Homewood on January 11 to sing, clap, and bounce along with your baby to action rhymes, stories, and songs. Songs help children develop listening skills and pay attention to the rhymes and rhythms of spoken language. Take this weekend opportunity to take part in this playful opportunity. More Information For questions, call the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Homewood Branch at 412.731.3080.
July 3, 2019 Paid Opportunity: Baby Brain Emotion Study Are you the mother/caregiver of an infant age 0-3 months? If so, you and your baby may be able to participate in a Pitt+Me research study to help learn more about the ways in which infants’ emotions are connected to areas of the brain and how parenting behaviors might affect these connections. About The purpose of this study is to help researchers learn more about the ways in which infants’ emotions are connected to areas of the brain and how parenting behaviors might affect these connections. Researchers hope their findings will lead to a better understanding of emotional challenges in children in the future. Compensation provided. Study Eligibility Infant aged 0-3 months old Infant was born full-term (at least 37 weeks) Infant’s birth weight was more than 5.5 pounds Infant has not been in the hospital for any physical health issues, including neurological Infant does not have any metal in their body Mother/Caregiver did not use illicit substances during pregnancy and is not using them now Mother/Caregiver spends at least 2 hours per day caring for the infant Learn More For more information and to participate, visit the study webpage. *Information provided by Pitt+Me
March 29, 2019 Pittsburgh Spotlight Receives 82 Innovation Submissions After receiving a total of 82 submissions from southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia schools, museums, libraries, nonprofits, government agencies, and more, HundrED released a full list of the innovative submissions they received. Submissions included: Innovative approaches from 27 schools and school districts in the Pittsburgh region 9 technology tools to facilitate learning developed by local companies and research projects 8 projects of local colleges and universities, including innovations from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Penn State University 31 programs and approaches from local museums, nonprofits, and community centers Our Highlight Listed as a submission, Message from Me (MfM) is an early childhood communications tool developed through the collaborative efforts of the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) CREATE Lab and Trying Together. MfM was designed with the intention to involve families in the education experience and bridge the home-school connection while enhancing a child’s communication skills, independence, and opportunities for interaction. Using the MfM app, a child can record and share daily thoughts and experiences, impacting his or her feelings of individuality, self-confidence, and well-being. To learn more about MfM’s purpose, design, and impact, visit the HundrEd page. See the full list of submissions. What’s Next? HundrEd’s global research team will be running a rigorous review of all eligible applications, in addition to a review by a local committee consisting of educators, parents, students, researchers, and community stakeholders who will score each innovation to help decide which ones will be featured in the Spotlight collection. Following this review period, the 10 selected innovations will be announced in May as a part of Remake Learning Days, a regional celebration of the future of learning. About the Pittsburgh Spotlight HundrED is a not-for-profit organization that researches, highlights, and propels K-12 education innovations in an effort to improve education and inspire a grassroots movement by encouraging pedagogically sound, ambitious inventions to spread across the world. The Pittsburgh Spotlight is one of 6 individual spotlight categories, all centered around specific regions or topics. Through this spotlight, HundrED seeks to highlight educators and innovators in our area that are doing extraordinary things to help students. *Information provided by HundrED
