May We Hold Space for You?

Hello! Our names are Heather Millard and Lynnea Pfohl, and we are the two licensed parent educators working for Wiona Area Public Schools. We’re looking forward to celebrating 50 years of ECFE in Minnesota by sharing a bimonthly newsletter with parents of young children in our WAPS community. In these newsletters, we look forward to sharing parenting tips and resources with all of you!

Heather says: “I have been working in Parent and Family Education for 16 years. I have always had a passion for helping children, and there is no better way to help a child than to support and educate the family they come from. I am lucky enough to come to a job every day that I genuinely love. There are so many parts of this job that I appreciate but my top two are watching a caregiver build relationships with other families and in turn build better relationships with their children.”

Lynnea says: “I had never heard of ECFE before I landed in our Baby and Me class as a parent 14 years ago. I’ve been in our parent education room at Goodview, in one capacity or another, ever since! I’m grateful to have transitioned from a parent who found great value, lifelong friends, and community in ECFE, to a parent educator who gets to help facilitate those same connections in new families at ECFE. I split my time between parenting classes at Winona Area Learning Center, ECFE, and private consultation with parents in our community.”

ECFE provides classes and discussion groups for parents, enriching classroom learning-through-play opportunities for young children, ages birth to third grade, and home visits. ECFE is based on the idea that the family provides a child's first and most significant learning environment, and parents are a child's first and most important teachers. The goal of ECFE is to enhance the ability of all parents to provide the best possible environment for their child's learning and growth.

Parenting is tough. Let's do it together.

At the beginning of parent discussion time in an ECFE class, the parent educator usually asks something along the lines of "May we hold space for you today?" as a way to check in with each parent in the room and see if anyone has a parenting problem they need help with.

Sometimes it's about bed time. Sometimes it's about meals. Sometimes it's about long trips, getting ready in the morning, teething, socialization, siblings ... the list goes on, and on, and on.

This is where the community of ECFE shines. This is where parents connect and bond over the struggles, the frustrations, the celebrations and the joy that comes with raising little humans.

According to Psychology Today, "holding space" is a practice of making space for somebody else's experience and centering them. To hold space, one must be fully present and create a safe environment. Once the circumstances are created, holding space fosters listening and empathizing.

It is in that spirit that we name this newsletter "May We Hold Space For You?" as a way to welcome more people into the Winona ECFE community, to share the roller coaster of emotions that comes with parenting, and to provide help and guidance through tips, resources and an invitation to join our programs.

When emotions run high, people do and say things they normally would not. When you’re a young child, this is what you do all the time.

Emotional self-regulation, a large component of emotional intelligence, is the ability to manage one’s experience and expression of emotions. With practice, children improve their capacity for emotional self-regulation.

Click the link below to read the rest of this article from The Gottman Institute:

Join Early Childhood Family Education and the Winona Public Library for this program series for caregivers and infants (under 1 year old). The program is free and includes a meal, circle time, and a guided discussion on topics such as sleep; using songs, rhymes, and play; food and feeding; and responsive parenting. Registration is required.

This program meets at the Winona Public Library (151 W. 5th Street). Please note that this program is intended to be dedicated time between baby and caregiver, so we ask that older siblings not attend, if at all possible.

• WAPS Free Family Movie Day (Oct. 12)
• WAPS Community Education Family Halloween Dance (Grades PK-4, Nov. 2)

"May We Hold Space For You?" will publish twice a month during the school year. Make sure you don't miss the next issue by adding your name to our mailing list. Need some time? Let us know what topics you'd like to cover in this newsletter by filling out the form at the link below.