Executive function Curriculum
EGG: The proven toolkit for building lifelong resilience and focus
Designed for children ages 3 to 5, EGG Toolkit contains fun, flexible, and science backed lessons that work in as little as 30 minutes per day.
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For information on piloting or to schedule a presentation, contact us today!
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Hatched by Experts, Piloted by Teachers
EGG Toolkit, also called EGG or “Empowering Generational Greatness,” was developed in 2017 by John Everett Till of The Family Partnership and Christine Wing, CCC, SLP, PhD, in collaboration with early childhood educators and leading experts in brain science, child development, and curriculum design.
EGG works by helping children develop executive function and self-regulation skills during the critical years of early childhood, the stage when brain development is at its fastest and most foundational.
Research and Pilot Partners
The Readiness Recipe for Kindergarten (and Life!)
We are creating a world in which every child has the opportunity to learn the skills they need to thrive in school and life. In this world, children know how to share their thoughts, reflect on their behavior and regulate their bodies. Preschool classrooms are more joyful and teachers feel successful.
That world doesn’t yet exist for many children. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) are extremely common and disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and families of color in the U.S., including Minnesota where:
- American Indian and African American adults have three times the ACEs scores of their white peers
- Black, Indigenous, and children of color experience some of the worst opportunity gaps in the U.S.
Research shows that ACEs disrupt the development of executive function (EF) skills, and these effects can be observed in children as young as 3 to 5 years old—more than 20 years before other impacts including depression, heart disease, and substance abuse.
EGG Toolkit helps to buffer children against the harmful impacts of ACEs, closing opportunity gaps in childhood and supporting a lifetime of better outcomes for physical, mental, and behavioral health.
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Key Ingredients for Joyful Learning
Through activities focused on language, storytelling, and mindfulness, EGG Toolkit helps children build focus and resilience: key capacities for success in school and life.
Most importantly, EGG helps children form a strong foundation for kindergarten readiness, addressing over half of preschool competency standards across multiple domains.
Educators and caregivers use EGG to encourage healthy brain development in two key areas: executive function and emotional regulation. These cognitive skills help children listen to instructions, follow through on activities, reflect on their behavior, and manage their emotions.
EGG helps children build their skills for focus and resilience in the following ways:
INTERNAL STATE LANGUAGE
Children learn and use words to describe how they feel and what they think, also known as “internal state language.”
Example: “I’m feeling sad.”
STORYTELLING
Children use storytelling to talk about what they experience, called “narrative.” Narratives give children context for positive and negative experiences so they can think about what to do next time.
Example: “First I shared my toy. Next, my friend smiled.”
MINDFULNESS
Children use mindfulness skills to “re-set” and focus during stressful situations.
Example: When a child feels stressed, they take a deep breath instead of throwing a toy.
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A parent told us that when she feels stressed, her daughter reminds her to do belly breathing. It is great when what a child learns in the classroom transfers to the parent.
John Everett Till, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation
Proven Results Backed by Science
From 2017-2019, The Family Partnership developed and piloted three rounds of the curriculum with preschool children and their caregivers in Minneapolis.
Evaluation of our pilot programs show that EGG Toolkit increases executive function skills. These results are especially significant for children who have experienced household or systemic trauma.
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Investment Opportunities
EGG Toolkit is used in 10 programs across 10 U.S. cities in the 2024-25 school year. We have ambitious plans to reach 15,440 children in 31 programs by the 2028-29 school year.
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Interested in learning more?
Contact us for information on piloting or scheduling a presentation:
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John Everett Till
Chief Operating Officer of The Family Partnership and EGG Enterprise Manager
Phone: 612-294-2683
Email: jtill@thefamilypartnership.org
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