Attention Parents and Caregivers:
Would you like ideas to support your children’s learning and development? Check out our 2012 Calendar for Early Literacy. It’s full of great book suggestions and activities to go along with each book.
Would you like to attend a FREE Play & Learn Group?
Click here for information on Play & Learn Groups. Click here for the February 2012 Calendar.
Would you like help finding quality child care or preschool. Check out Great Start CONNECT, Michigan’s online early learning resource.
We want to make sure that all of our children are ready for school—socially, emotionally and intellectually. From the time they’re babies, young children need a stimulating environment that allows them to explore and discover. They need a responsive, nurturing caregiver and positive interactions with others.
Early Learning Communities are enriching the learning experiences of young children by strengthening the skills of early childhood caregivers and educators. Early Learning Communities are focused on the neighborhoods around Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Academy and Burton School.
There are several different approaches to strengthen early learning:
- Professional development and training for educators and caregivers
- Play & Learn Groups, where children participate in fun literacy-based activities and parents and caregivers learn things that they can do at home to help get children ready for school
- One-on-one coaching for in-home caregivers to help them improve their skills and learning environment
Early Learning Communities grew out of the Family, Friends & Neighbor pilot project completed in 2010. The evaluation found improvements in several areas: interactions between the provider and child; number of literacy activities in the provider’s home; learning development and social skills of young children; and access to community resources. Click on the link to read the full Family, Friends & Neighbors Year 1 Report.
The Early Learning Communities project is a community partnership led by First Steps, Grand Rapids Public Schools and the Great Start Collaborative. Other partners include: Arbor Circle, Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative, Grand Rapids Public Library, Great Start Western Regional Child Care Resource Center, Head Start for Kent County, Kent District Library, Kent Intermediate School District, Kent Regional 4C, Kent School Services Network, PNC Grow Up Great and several local churches.
To learn more about Early Learning Communities, please call Site Coordinators Barb Todd or Marti Coto-Hernandez at 616-819-2808.
Funding for the Early Learning Communities project is provided in part by PNC Grow up Great, ReImagine Early Years (ECIC) and the Western Great Start Regional Child Care Resource Center.
