Kalamazoo County Talking is Teaching

Kalamazoo RESA Early Childhood

❤️

Dear friends,

By now you have probably heard that the Great Start Collaborative will be dissolved at Kalamazoo RESA as of December 19th, due to State budgetary cuts. We want to take this moment to thank our community partners, families and stakeholders in working alongside the Great Start Collaborative these past 20 years, strengthening parent voice and early childhood systems throughout Kalamazoo County. We are grateful for the innumerable learnings from our time with you, and our friendships that will surely endure.

The Kalamazoo County Talking is Teaching campaign will continue through separate grant funding. Please continue to reach out to Jen Stroven for early literacy support and participation in the Talking is Teaching campaign. She can be reached at [email protected].

Best wishes, with grateful hearts ---

Sarah Drumm, Ashley Drenth, Deirdre Bartells, Jen Stroven

Hello, friends and partners in early literacy! During the summer months we will be migrating this "Kalamazoo County Talking is Teaching" page over to the Kalamazoo County Great Start Collaborative page!

Please be sure to "like" and "follow" us there to remain informed about Talking is Teaching work in our county, as well as all of the great early childhood happenings from YOUR Great Start Collaborative office!

Let’s Talk, Read and Sing with everyone! 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

On our street, everyone is welcome. Together, let’s build a world where every person and family feels loved and respected for who they are. Happy !

A great big THANK YOU to all the families and community partners who turned out for our Talking is Teaching Milham Park Party! 🎉

The sun came out, the children danced, and important information, books and literacy supports were provided to all! We can't wait to do it again next year!

📣📣📣A special shout to the Kalamazoo Public Library who provided hundreds of books and support for our incredible entertainment! We ❤️ our community partnerships!

🎉 🎉 🎉 TOMORROW! Join us at Milham Park from 3:30 - 5:30 pm for our early literacy park party!! Visit with community organizations focused on early childhood, enjoy the playground, FREE snacks and books and more!

With music provided by DJ J.R. of Blackmagic Media!

Come talk, read, sing and DANCE with us! 🎉 🎉 🎉

🎉🎉🎉 We're just three days away from our Milham Park Party where local artist, Kenjji Jumanne-Marshall will provide FREE caricature drawings of the young child in your life! (first-come, first-served, as time allows!) 🎉🎉🎉

Kenjji is a seasoned caricature artist with over 25 years of experience capturing smiles and personalities through his unique, expressive art. Based in Kalamazoo, he brings energy and fun to festivals, events, and Kalamazoo Growlers games, while also traveling throughout West Michigan to share his talent. Known for his friendly and flattering style, Kenjji has become a local favorite for live entertainment and personalized keepsakes.

🎉🎉🎉 We are just 6 days away from our Milham Park Literacy Party - and we're excited to have Trinity Prep Center LLC join us for some interactive dance performance FUN! 🎉🎉🎉

Trinity Prep Center holds that every one of us has a natural rhythm living within, and it’s time to let it out! They offer interactive, challenging and most of all rewarding dance classes, for youth three and over, to suit every skill level.

Hope to see your little ones join us on the dance "lawn" at the Milham Park Party!

We hope to see you tomorrow! Meet us at the Eastwood Library (1112 Gayle Avenue in Kalamazoo) at 10:30am for a song, story, and play time in their beautiful children's room! Every child will receive a literacy bag to take home.

Looking for some indoor playtime and connection with other families this week? Stop by the Eastwood Branch of Kalamazoo Public Library for a story & playtime on Thursday from 10:30-11:30am! We will read a couple short stories, provide literacy bags to take home with you, and have activities & toys set up for kids to play with. Hope to see you there!

Another fantastic Party In The Park! Rain or shine - we love our littlest readers! Thank you, KPL for another wonderful event! 🎉