Bemidji ECFE brings back Wheels event for families, May 12

Bemidji Early Childhood Family Education is turning the J.W. Smith Elementary School parking lot into a place for discovery, with its annual Wheels event set for Tuesday, May 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. More than 25 vehicles with wheels will be on site, giving young children a chance to see them up close, touch them, climb into them and explore them in a way most kids rarely can.

That hands-on approach is the point. For preschoolers, a fire truck, loader, plow truck or other large machine is not just something to watch roll by on the street. It becomes a conversation starter, a chance to ask questions, name colors and parts, and connect what children already know about movement, size and sound to the real world around them. ECFE uses events like Wheels to blend play with early learning, helping families build curiosity and confidence before kindergarten.

The event also fits the larger mission of Minnesota ECFE, which serves caregivers of children from birth to kindergarten enrollment through public school districts. ECFE programming typically includes parent-child activity time along with caregiver discussion, giving adults a place to talk about child development while children are engaged in learning through play. The state says the program uses a sliding fee scale and that no family is turned away because it cannot pay, a policy that keeps family learning within reach for more households across Beltrami County.

Minnesota marked ECFE’s 50th anniversary in 2025, a milestone for a program that traces its roots to the first ECFE bill introduced in the Minnesota Senate in 1973. In Bemidji, the work has deep local history as well. Bemidji Area Schools noted 40 years of ECFE programming in the district in 2024, underscoring how long families here have relied on early-childhood activities, parent support and school-based connections.

The setting carries extra weight at J.W. Smith Elementary, which has been part of district closure discussions tied to a projected $3.5 million deficit for the 2026-2027 school year. The parking lot will be doing something different on May 12: serving as a community gathering space where young children can learn by doing and families can connect with one another and with school-based resources that support readiness long before the first day of kindergarten.