Early Learning Resources for Parents and Educators

Looking for ways to support your infant, toddler and preschooler’s development? This is a list of recommended resources curated to support parents, caregivers and educators of children ages birth-5 years. For recommended resources for children of all ages, read our post here. 

Resources from Lake County and the State of Illinois

Lake County’s WIC program serves pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children up to 5 (WIC Here For You COVID-19). New applicants are encouraged to call WIC: (847) 377-8402

From the Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD), and the leadership at the Illinois Departments of Human Services (IDHS) and Children and Family Services (DCFS) has developed a COVID-19: Emergency Child Care for Communities & Providers webpage to connect you with information to understand your options for offering and accessing child care for essential workers within your community during this pandemic.

For basic information on the Coronavirus, visit Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the CDC websites.

PARENTS

Colorin’ Colorado – Colorín Colorado is a bilingual national website serving educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK-12 by providing free research-based information, activities, and advice to parents, schools, and communities.

CDC’s Milestone Tracker App is a parent-friendly app that tracks your child’s developmental milestones from age 2 months to 5 years. Get tips from CDC for encouraging your child’s development; and find out what to do if you are ever concerned about how your child is developing.

Reading Rockets “is a national public media literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.” This website is a wealth of informative and fun ideas parents and educators.

VROOM Live Videos: Every Tuesday at 10 am PT, Vroom will share a Vroom Tip video on Facebook to help you add early learning into your new daily routines.

VROOM: A free online website and app (Daily Vroom) that uses the science of early learning to help your child thrive with fun and engaging learning activities tailored to your child’s age. Free, printable worksheets to use at home are also available in English and Spanish.

Zero to Three: Their mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. In addition to their comprehensive website, you can follow Zero to Three on Instagram for parenting tips, encouragement, and activity ideas for children birth-age 5.

PARENT-CHILD ACTIVITIES

Bookflix: One of the library’s databases, Bookflix pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction eBooks. For grades Pre-K through 3rd. (Cook Memorial Public Library District library card required)

Cook Library Face Book Read Alouds: Tune in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 3:00 pm CST to hear favorite picture books read aloud.

Curious City: Explore a variety of book-based home learning and literacy-based play resources, including author read–alouds and interviews, links to lesson plans, and more.

Curious City PreK: Curious City now has a PreK-K category of engagement tools for you and Home Learning & Play: https://www.curiouscitydpw.com/category/grades-prek-k/

Embracing Diversity: Songs and Rhymes in 15 Languages: Produced by Burnaby Public Library, you can choose a  language to view lyrics and a video, meet the performers, and learn about the language and culture. Adobe Flash Player required to view the videos.

Hoopla Read-Alongs: A variety of items available for digital check out, including fun picture book read-alongs. (Cook Memorial Public Library District library card required)

KidLit TV: Explore a collection of children’s authors and illustrators reading out loud.

Storyline Online: Watch videos of celebrated actors reading children’s books and short stories for children of all ages.

Storytime From Space: Enjoy listening and watching Astronauts on the International Space Station read picture books.

STORYBLOCKS: Rhyming videos for children ages birth-5-years w/caregiver in different languages.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS

Colorin’ Colorado – Colorín Colorado is a bilingual national website serving educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK-12 by providing free research-based information, activities, and advice to parents, schools, and communities.

Developmental Milestones Resources for Early Childhood Educators: CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” (LTSAE) has FREE research-based, parent-friendly resources on child development to help you boost family engagement and your own professional development. 

Early Childhood Investigations Webinars – These free conference-quality webinars are presented by many of the thought-leaders and experts in the field of early care and education. Critical topics are explored that offer new ideas and insights to early childhood professionals, especially administrators.

Early Childhood Professional Learning offers free workshops and webinars through the Illinois State Board of Education, Division of Early Childhood in Partnership with Early Childhood Professional Learning (ECPL). Other resources include articles, books and archived webinars on a variety of topics related to early childhood education, and a comprehensive list of early childhood organizations.

Illinois Early Learning Project is a source of evidence-based information and resources on early care and education based out of the University of Illinois and funded by the Illinois State Board of Education. Some of the resources include podcasts, activity tip sheets, videos, Illinois early learning guidelines, and more.

Reading Rockets “is a national public media literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.” This website is a wealth of informative and fun ideas parents and educators.

Zero to Three: Their mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. In addition to their comprehensive website, you can follow Zero to Three on Instagram for parenting tips, encouragement, and activity ideas for children birth-age 5.