Resources for Early Childhood Administrators and Educators

Building young minds and the future of Massachusetts. 

The STEM Sprouts Teaching Guide and Parent Tip Sheets began as products of collaboration among National Grid, Boston Children’s Museum, and WGBH. The goal of this guide is to assist educators in focusing and refining the naturally inquisitive behaviors of three to five-year-olds on science, technology, engineering, and math. It includes general information on how young children explore science topics as well as specific activity suggestions that align with the Massachusetts state guidelines for STEM teaching in early childhood. 

Child Care Aware® of America works with more than 400 state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies nationwide. To achieve our mission, our organization leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, undertakes research, and advocates child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families. 

The CDA® is a credential that early childhood educators can earn to demonstrate certain competencies and, in turn, can help them advance their careers. The Child Development Associate credential is carefully administered to ensure that those who earn it know how to put important ECE understandings into practice. Our CDA educators know how to nurture the emotional, physical, intellectual and social development of children. 

The Massachusetts Association for Infant Mental Health (MassAIMH) is a non-profit interdisciplinary, professional statewide organization established to promote and support the optimal development of infants, very young children, and families through relationship-focused workforce development and advocacy efforts.

We recognize the vital importance of the foundational early years of development and that families need and deserve the support necessary in order to be able to nurture their children. Like you, we are providers and professionals serving young children and families and are dedicated to promoting healthy social and emotional development in the earliest stages and relationships of life.

MCAAP is committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental and social health for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. To this end, the members of the MCAAP dedicate their efforts and resources. The MCAAP is a member organization of over 1,700 pediatricians, pediatric residents, medical students and affiliates who are dedicated to advocating for Massachusetts children and pediatricians. 

From Preschool to Post-Secondary education, The Executive Office of Education works to connect all of Massachusetts residents with an education that creates opportunities.

The mission of the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is to promote and enhance access to higher education by delivering quality student financial aid information and services to residents of the Commonwealth, and thus ensuring that they have an opportunity to enrich their lives and contribute to the economic development and social progress of the state. 

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.       

Started in 1982, the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) is the only national professional association dedicated to promoting high-quality early childhood experiences in the unique environment of family child care programs. NAFCC works on behalf of the one million family child care providers operating nationwide.    

The Office of Child Care (OCC) supports low-income working families by improving access to affordable, high-quality early care and afterschool programs. OCC administers the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)—a block grant to state, territory and tribal governments that provides support for children and their families with paying for child care that will fit their needs and that will prepare children to succeed in school.  

The mission of the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is to promote and enhance access to higher education by delivering quality student financial aid information and services to residents of the Commonwealth, and thus ensuring that they have an opportunity to enrich their lives and contribute to the economic development and social progress of the state.  

 Strategies for Children works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs that prepare them for success in school and life. 

WGBH offers the richest collection of educational media available in the US to teachers and students around the world, entirely for free. By tapping into PBS Learning Media, teachers can travel with their students into black holes, conduct science experiments using real data, and learn about cultures from Korea to Kenya. Outside the classroom, children can engage with a rich array of resources designed to expose them to the wonders of numbers and letters, encourage curiosity about the natural world, and help them practice the social and emotional skills they’ll need to navigate the world successfully.