Governor Parnell signed into law three budget bills for fiscal year 2013 that include support for early education in Alaska, including a wage incentive program for early educators, funding to help child care providers replace outdated cribs and support for Anchorage Imagination Library.

Happy Provider Appreciation Day, Friday, May 11th! Provider Appreciation Day is celebrated annually and is a special day to recognize child care providers, teachers and other educators of young children everywhere.

Child Care Aware® of America (formerly NACCRRA) joins with thread, Alaska’s Child Care Resource and Referral organization, in honoring Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) for his work on behalf of young children during the “Week of the Young Child."

April 22nd through 29th marks an annual national celebration around children and families: Week of the Young Child™. This year's week highlights the theme "Early Years Are Learning Years." The Week of the Young Child™ is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and focuses attention on the needs of young children and their families.

Washington, D.C. -- On Thursday in Washington D.C. Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) introduced three new bills supporting those working in the field of early care and education. The new legislation was introduced as a package designed to address access, quality and affordability in early education programs.

“A colleague once said to me, ‘we don’t start building a pipeline at mile 5, we start at 0’,” says Stephanie Berglund, the CEO of thread, Alaska’s Child Care Resource & Referral Network. “The same can be said for our children; we should be investing more starting at birth and earlier in their care and education.”

In 2011, thread, Alaska's Child Care Resource and Referral Agency received $2400 in individual donations through the Pick.Click.Give program. thread has seen an increase in Pick.Click.Give donations each year in support of quality early care and education in Alaska. Pick.Click.Give. allows Alaskans to make charitable contributions to one or more of over 400 eligible nonprofit organizations when they file online for the annual dividend.

You still have time to apply for the 2012 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) before the annual 11:59 p.m. March 31 filing deadline. Your donation can be part of the growing campaign to exceed the $2 million goal for donations to nonprofits through the PFD Charitable Contributions Program Pick. Click. Give.

More than 160 premiere events will showcase Best Beginnings' Babies on Track, a 14-minute DVD for parents highlighting early learning and healthy brain development. The DVD and accompanying baby board books provide at-home and convenient ways to interact with your children. 7,500 sets of the DVD and board books will be distributed free throughout Alaska to families with children under 2 years of age.

thread staff will join early educators and early childhood professionals from around the state at the 31st Annual Early Childhood Conference this Thursday through Saturday, February 2-4 at the Hilton Anchorage. The conference is hosted each year by the Anchorage Association for the Education of Young Children (AAEYC).