Early Childhood Initiative
Our Purpose is to promote social-emotional development of young boys by providing gender responsive training, coaching and resources to early childhood educators.
We envision a future where all boys – and the men they become - retain their natural capacities to be loving, caring and sensitive. We believe that early childhood educators and their professional child and family serving allies can help achieve this vision. Together we are changing the way we raise boys today, so that tomorrow boys thrive personally, socially and academically, and become men who are compassionate and accountable partners in families and communities
Professional development for early childhood (age 0-5) and school-age educators (age 6-10), child care and family service providers, children's librarians, home visitation, and higher education programs that credential early childhood educators. What we offer:
Community Model: Selected leaders and staff from multiple organizations attend one-day training. Optional follow-up coaching is available.
Agency Model: Agency-wide staff attend one-day training. Optional site-based group-coaching is available.
Continuing Education: Earn .5 MAAEYC CEU’s or 5 Training Hours for attending the one-day training.
Approach includes:
Unpacking the Man Box: An experiential and group analysis of gender norms and stereotypes
The Cycle of Male Socialization: Examining the male cycle of violence, trauma and race
Co-Constructive Storytime Model: Group activity and teaching strategies with selected children’s books
Literary Strategies: Group Activity and teaching strategies with selected children's books
Coaching Sessions: Group, site-based and virtual coaching options available (post-training)
Online Resources: FAQ’s, Tip Sheets, Discussion Guides, videos and links for continued learning
Program Evaluation: Includes pre/post survey for all training participants (Agency Model only)
MERGE Children’s Book Campaign: Offers free books with positive gender themes
