At the end of June, ESD Connects members Kayla Swart and Melissa Burt assembled an impressive 118 educational Outdoor Exploration Kits for ECEAP, Early ECEAP and Early Head Start kids in our centers this summer.

An Early ECEAP/EHS kit

76 families of infants-3 year olds received a shovel (many also received collapsible buckets), a mini beach ball, an interactive board book (in the families’ first language of Spanish or English), a bubble wand, and some outdoor-themed stickers.

An ECEAP kit

42 families with kids ages 3-5 received a garden kit, which consisted of an educational coloring/activity booklet in English or Spanish with crayons and stickers, a metal garden trowel, sunflower seeds, soil, peat pots, and planting directions.

The kits were made possible through donations made by staff to our Amazon wishlist totaling roughly $200. In addition, Vickei Hrdina contributed $600 in Washington STEM grant funding to bolster the kits and help them reach all of our families in these programs. Washington STEM gives grant money to the ESD to support Early STEM learning, particularly for underserved populations, and this purpose aligned with the ESD Connects goal for the kits perfectly. Thank you staff, Vickei, and Washington STEM for supporting our ECEAP and EHS families this summer! Also, a big thanks to the ESD Connects crew: Kayla Swart who communicated with our ECE folks and assembled kits, Denise Medina-Castro who kept everything organized and translated the booklets, and Melissa Burt who communicated with STEM programs, designed the booklets and assembled kits.

The kits turned out so amazing!