Tandem, Partners in Early Learning

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Tandem, Partners in Early Learning

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Our mission is to co-create equitable, high-quality early learning experiences for children ages 0-5. Visit us at www.tandembayarea.org.

Tandem, Partners in Early Learning® is a Bay Area nonprofit working at the intersection of social justice and early childhood education. We work alongside school districts, early childhood education providers and community-based organizations to co-create equitable, high-quality early learning experiences for children ages 0-5. By partnering with adults across children’s lives, we deliver impactful learning experiences that meet community priorities and address systemic barriers to opportunity.

10/15/2026

StoryCycles® is Tandem's school-to-home book rotation program that provides children with 100+ diverse books in a year in order to create more opportunities for book-sharing experiences at school and at home. Using picture books as a starting point, StoryCycles supports kindergarten readiness across a variety of domains including language, literacy, math, social emotional learning, and more.

To support StoryCycles implementation, a Tandem staff member is assigned to each classroom to support the educator, and visit the classroom 2-4 times per year to model an interactive read-aloud. It is these joyful book-sharing experiences that will develop a child's lifelong love of reading and learning that sets them up for future school success. ⭐️

10/13/2026

We're excited to share that Tandem's Maya Gutierrez, Director of Programs, and Brenda Gardner, Data and Curriculum Supervisor, will be speaking at the National Assembly for Family Engagement in Education on October 28-30.

Their session, "From Playgroups to Partners: A Model for Father Engagement," will explore how our Give Me 5 community-based program was intentionally designed to engage fathers and male caregivers in early learning.

Attendees will learn how community-driven design, trust-based partnerships, and culturally responsive facilitation can shift family engagement from mother-centered to whole-family inclusive.

When we welcome and encourage every caregiver, kids and communities thrive. ⭐️

10/04/2026

October 4 - 10 is Banned Books Week, an annual event that uplifts and celebrates everyone's freedom to read. Book bans have been growing at an alarming rate since 2021, reaching a high in 2025 according to the American Library Association. By attempting to restrict access to books that speak to a diverse group of children, this decreases reading engagement, discourages critical thinking, and compromises our freedom and democracy. At Tandem, we focus on sourcing books that feature diversity across race, gender identity, disability representation and family structures to circulate through our StoryCycles classrooms and giveaway to children and families in the Bay Area.

Check out our previous booklist, 7 Banned or Challenged Children's Books that Belong on Your Reading List! Our website blog includes more details on each book and another great article that dives into the motivations behind book bans and Tandem's role in increasing access to diverse children's books. (www.tandembayarea.org)

10/01/2026

Join Tandem this October virtually or in-person at our many community events!

Our interactive Read Alouds promote social emotional awareness, math, language, and other key skills critical to early development. You can register for all of our virtual Read Alouds at www.tandem.ngo/signup! (Check your email for the link to our Zoom Room)

The virtual Math in Storybooks workshop will uncover the math in “non-math” storybooks and share strategies to help young children explore various math concepts including: counting, understanding quantities, engaging in simple addition and subtraction, identifying shapes and patterns, and using measurement and comparison.

Our Give Me 5 Play-and-Learn sessions are designed for children and their caregivers to focus on school readiness through multilingual, play-based activities and read alouds.

For an in-depth look into our events calendar, visit tandembayarea.org/calendar !

09/29/2026

We had a blast hosting a Give Me 5 play-and-learn group at Oakland's Children's Fairyland ()!

We kicked things off with a bilingual read-aloud (Spanish and English!) of "Stomp, Wiggle, Clap, and Tap", a rhyming book that invites little ones to playfully move. Toddlers are natural dancers, and movement helps build balance, coordination, and body awareness.

We then made ribbon streamers to dance with and painted with watercolors, exploring creativity and through play.

Our community-based program Give Me 5 is a five-week, interactive play-and-learn curriculum for children ages 0 to 5 and their caregivers. Rooted in multilingual, play-based activities that build school readiness, it's offered through community partners like family resource centers, health clinics, and public libraries across the Bay Area. This year, we're delivering 150 sessions just like this one and reaching over 2,000 children and caregivers.

Learn more about our work at www.tandembayarea.org

09/24/2026

Every book on our shelves is chosen with care. 📚

At Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, every title in our collection is reviewed by our staff to offer authentic mirrors, windows, and doors for the children and families in our communities. Our collection of 4,700+ vetted books includes representations of 33 different languages (including braille and ASL) and 1,500 STEAM titles.

In our 2025-2026 year, we gave away over 40,000 books and cycled more than 50,000 through StoryCycles, our school-to-home book-sharing program. StoryCycles gave over 12,000 children access to up to 100 books each year, all designed to support language, literacy, math, and social-emotional learning.

But it's about more than books. It's about helping families feel confident turning everyday reading into powerful learning, because when adults have the right tools, book-sharing becomes a bridge to a lifetime love of learning.

09/22/2026

⭐️ 📚️ Stories That Inspire: Children's Books to Fuel Imagination and Play 📚️ ⭐️

Books that spark creativity, imagination, and play do more than just entertain—they invite children to explore new ideas, experiment, and express themselves. In these early years, playful learning experiences build the foundation for critical thinking, language development, and confidence.

Because the first five years are such a crucial time for brain development, children benefit most from joyful, engaging interactions that make learning feel natural and exciting. Stories that encourage pretend play, curiosity, and open-ended thinking help children make sense of the world while strengthening social-emotional skills.

That’s why it’s so important to curate book lists—like this collection of Tandem staff picks—that center creativity and imagination. These titles not only inspire a love of reading, but also empower children and families to turn everyday moments into opportunities for connection, discovery, and play. Talking tips, links to purchase, and additional resources available on our website blog (www.tandembayarea.org)

09/18/2026

At Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, we know school readiness starts long before kindergarten — and building curiosity is one of the strongest ways to prepare children for it.

Through our community-based programming, we bring our Give Me 5 curriculum to families: interactive play-and-learn sessions for children ages 0–5 and their caregivers, focused on school readiness through multilingual, play-based activities.

Recently in Contra Costa County, we sang, danced, and read "Lotería" together, learning about colors and how some can mix to create new ones. Kids practiced color identification with a Lotería inspired game, then got creative painting with brushes, rollers, stamps, and crayons — while our littlest learners explored color balls, matching shapes and colors of their own.

Learning through play, one color at a time!

09/15/2026

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Books!

From September 15th to October 15th, we celebrate the enriching and inspiring heritages of people whose ancestors come from Central and South America, Spain, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Coinciding with the independence days for Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua, there is much to celebrate and learn with children all throughout the month. Additional talking tips and resources available on our website blog (www.tandembayarea.org).

A cornerstone of Tandem’s work is the enduring idea that books should reflect children’s lived experiences and introduce them to the lived experiences of others. Whether you are deepening your child’s Hispanic heritage and identity or introducing them to these rich cultures, there are many books that can help promote engaging conversations. The titles in this book list highlight Latine characters in a variety of settings, introducing children to different aspects of the Latine experience. For some children, these books will be mirrors that reflect their backgrounds and experiences; for others, these books will be windows that open up opportunities to learn about friends and neighbors in their community.

When children are able to share their own experiences and learn about the experiences of others, especially those who represent cultures and communities different from their own, it helps them develop empathy, compassion, and the capacity for inclusion—thereby laying the foundation for an equitable society.

09/11/2026

Did you know there is over $326 billion sitting in donor-advised funds right now, just waiting to be directed to nonprofits? We want to put those funds to work when our community needs them most!

That is why we are so excited to join the movement. It is a wonderful way to unlock those funds and help Tandem, Partners in Early Learning win matching grants.

How the campaign works:
⭐️ The goal: Motivate donors to give now instead of waiting.
⭐️ The matches: From June 18 to October 8, hundreds of groups will win dollar-for-dollar matches up to $5,000. Two groups will even win a $25,000 match!
⭐️ What people are saying: Our community loves how easy this is to join, and many have already nominated their favorite causes.We would love for you to be part of our journey!

Visit (www.halfmydaf.com) to learn how you can help Tandem grow. Thank you for caring so much about early learning!

Address

1275 Fairfax Avenue #201
San Francisco, CA
94124

Telephone

+14156835460

Website

http://www.tandembayarea.org/, http://linktr.ee/tandembayarea

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