Grand Connections: Everything you need to start the program!

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In the absence of accessible and affordable options for working families, grandparents have increasingly become the cornerstone of early child care in the U.S. One out of four children under the age of five is cared for by a grandparent while a parent works or goes to school. The number of multi-generational families (three or more generations living in the same household) is up. The number of families in which grandparents are raising grandchildren has jumped up as well.

Join us for this webinar describing the joys and challenges of grandparents caring for young grandchildren and learn about the new, one-of-a-kind curriculum we’ve designed to meet grandparents’ needs. Seven 90-minute workshops provide a chance for grandparents to connect and learn from each other, explore the latest child-rearing advice, and develop strategies for collaborating with their adult children on child care. Each workshop also includes a 30-minute picture book and activity grandparents and grandchildren can enjoy together.

Dianne Stone

Associate Director of Network Development and Engagement, Modernizing Senior Centers Resource Center and NISC

National Council on Aging

Dianne Stone has more than 20 years of experience with senior centers and aging issues, primarily as the Director of the Newington Senior and Disabled Center in Newington, Connecticut. Stone has also worked, volunteered, and held leadership positions with a variety of organizations in Connecticut, including Connecticut AgeWell Collaborative, the ADA Coalition of Connecticut, Connecticut Medicaid Oversight Council, and the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity. She joined NCOA in January 2022, as a member of the Center for Healthy Aging, where she is primarily focused on supporting senior centers throughout the country through the ACL-funded Modernizing Senior Centers Resource Center and NISC. 

Kathy Kinsner

Senior Manager, Parenting Resources

ZERO TO THREE

Kathy Kinsner has led ZERO TO THREE’s grandparenting initiative for the last five years, focusing on the unique needs of grandparents caring for grandchildren under five. (zerotothree.org/grandparents) Most recently, Kathy co-created ZTT’s Grand Connections series of grandparent workshops with input from Generations United, the National Family Support Network, and the National Council on Aging, and supervised its pilot at seven US sites. Before her arrival at ZERO TO THREE, Kathy worked for more than forty years as an educator in a variety of settings—as an elementary reading specialist, an Emmy- and NAACP Award-winning producer on PBS series Reading Rainbow, the designer of a non-profit weekly college and careers curriculum for 7th through 12th-graders, and the creator of online graduate courses for educators, one of which won a Teacher’s Choice Award. Kathy holds Master’s Degrees in Education (Bowling Green State University) and Television, Radio, and Film (Syracuse) and was a teaching assistant at both institutions.

Rebecca Parlakian

Senior Director of Programs

ZERO TO THREE

Rebecca Parlakian serves as senior director of programs at ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit focused on promoting the healthy development of children from birth to 3 years old, where she directs a portfolio of federally and privately funded projects related to healthy child development and high-quality teaching and caregiving for children from birth to 5. Rebecca has co-authored four parenting education curricula and developed parenting resources on various topics and in various formats (including an app, podcasts, and videos). Rebecca’s written work has appeared in a variety of publications, including the ZERO TO THREE Journal and the peer-reviewed Young Children, journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She has also spoken widely, both within the U.S. and internationally, on topics including brain development, early literacy and language development, parent coaching, children and media, and more. Rebecca holds a master’s degree in education and human development, with a concentration in infant-toddler special education, from the George Washington University, where she is currently serving as adjunct faculty.

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Grand Connections: Everything you need to start the program!
09/13/2022 at 2:00 PM (EDT)  |  120 minutes
09/13/2022 at 2:00 PM (EDT)  |  120 minutes