ECFE - Early Childhood Family Education
Based on the idea that the family provides a child’s first and most important learning environment, and parents are a child’s first and most significant teachers, ECFE is designed for parents and young children (infants to five years old). District 196 Early Childhood Family Services Manager Karen Kellar said that the goal of ECFE is “to support families with young children, to build strong families and help prepare kids for life and school experiences. ECFE is focused on providing support so parents can be the best parents possible, so children can grow up in great environments that help them to succeed.”
The goals of Minnesota’s ECFE programs are to support the parent-child relationship in physical wellbeing and motor development, social and emotional development, in approaches to learning, language development, communication skills, and general knowledge. ECFE aims to help parents to understand the importance of what they do with their children and how it changes over time, to develop realistic expectations, to meet the developmental needs of their children, and to demonstrate sensitive and responsive care of their children.