Early Childhood: Resources
Connecting Educators, Families and Communities to Early Childhood Resources
The Basics™ — a public health messaging campaign developed by the Harvard Achievement Gap Initiative and Dr. Ronald Ferguson to improve learning outcomes for all families — focuses on five key caregiving behaviors that are important for cognitive and social-emotional development of children, birth to age five.
With these 5 principles in mind, caregivers play and interact with children while laying the foundation for future growth and learning, giving every child a more equitable start in life.
For maximum impact in the community, VPM partners with organizations who incorporate The Basics™ initiative directly into their existing work.
Visit The Basics™ webpage for more information.
Reading Doesn’t Just Happen messaging campaign
Most people understand that becoming a reader is not just critical to a child's academic success, but success in life. What isn't common knowledge is that reading doesn't just happen automatically in school; the foundations for reading must be taught.
Parents and caregivers — a child’s first and most important teachers — play an essential role in building the foundation for reading, and it starts at birth.
To support reading success for all children, VPM and Virginia Literacy Partnerships (VLP) are partnering on the Reading Doesn’t Just Happen messaging campaign.
Visit the Reading Doesn’t Just Happen webpage for resources and suggestions for simple, everyday actions to help lay the groundwork for reading success.
Trauma Resources for Families and Educators
VPM Early Childhood Care and Education supports families, educators, and the community with resources to help navigate traumatic experiences.
Sesame Workshop, along with other resources are listed below to support you through these difficult times:
Learn to Build Classroom Community
The things we do today manifest a better tomorrow. Starting conversations about the people and heroes in our world can foster values of, and an appreciation for, stewardship, activism, diversity and kindness in our youngest learners. Check out these resources for clear pathways to connect with your students, have important conversations, and inspire our leaders of tomorrow!
What is Toxic Stress?
Stress is called toxic when it is continuous and does not stop; when there are not supportive relationships in place to help us manage the stress we are feeling. To understand more about toxic stress or what to do about it in our lives, watch this short video.
Self-paced Learning for Teachers
PBS KIDS offers a FREE special collection of flexible self-paced learning to help inspire teachers and provide support for the classroom. Choose from several learning experiences designed to spark new ideas and expand your skill set—you may also be able to earn between one to three professional development credit hours.
Established in 2018, this awards program recognizes committed educators who work with young children, from infants to second graders, and offers a variety of community building, leadership and professional learning opportunities provided by VPM and PBS KIDS.