Family Support and Education
Whether in the car, bath, at the dinner table, or being tucked into bed preschoolers are always learning. For this reason families and carers are their child's primary and most important educators and one of our greatest privilieges and responsibilities is to support them in that role. Therefore, we've included here links to various websites that we hope will be helpful to you as a parent or caregiver. Contributions to this page from our Preschool community are always welcome. Simply forward them to the web-administrator via chalcea@northdouglaspreschool.com.
Enriching the Environment : sites with suggestions for songs, creative activities, books, games, etc. to enrich a preschooler's learning experience and environment:
- Preschool Education Dot Com : 1000's of free ideas, songs, craft projects, etc. www.preschooleducation.com/
- Kinderart : A wide variety of fun learning experiences through art education www.kinderart.com/littles/litles.html
- Invest in Kids: 'Comfort, teach and play' ; ideas for supporting child development at different stages www.investinkids.ca
- StrongStart BC Centres: free early learning programs for preschool-aged children attended with families/caregivers www.bced.gov.bc.ca/literacy/early_learning/ss_centres.htm
- childcareland.com :
Ages and Stages: sites with general information regarding early childhood ie. typical developmental milestones and parenting issues
- From the University of Michigan's Health System: www.med.umich.edu/1Libr/yourchild/devmile.htm
- Developmental milestones of early literacy: www.uwkc.org/volunteer/programs/reader/newsletter2007jun.pdf
- 3 Year Olds: www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/ages.stages.3y.html
- 4 Year Olds : www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/ages.stages.4y.html
- Family Education.com: information regarding a wide variety of parenting issues and concerns www.familyeducation.com/home/
Educational Games: fun computer sites for preschoolers
- 'Up to Ten' : over 1000 age-appropriate learning games for kids aged up to ten. www.uptoten.com/
- 'Sesame Street' : simple games with familiar characters promoting literacy and numeracy skills. www.sesamestreet.org/home
- Apple Corps: An excellent introductory game for preschoolers. apple-corps.westnet.com/apple_corps.2.html
- Nick Jr's Games Online: Dora, Diego, Franklin, Max and Ruby....www.nickjr.com/index.jhtml
Government Resources: available to parents in the Province of British Columbia
- Achieve BC: brings together the latest educational tools/information promoting early childhood development. Click on 'Literacy' for access to reading, writing and oral resources. www.achievebc.ca
- B.C. Child Care Resource and Referral Centre: provides referrals to quality childcare programs and resources: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/childcare/parents/htm
- B.C. Health Authorities: Contact your local health authority if you have questions related to nutrition, hearing, dental, speech, immunization or overall health and development. www.healthservices.bc.ca/socsec/index.html
- BC Nurseline: Confidential health information, advice and referrals from registered nurses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call: 1-866-215-4700 toll-free across B.C.
- Dial-A-Dietitian: free nutrition information line available in over 130 languages including English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Punjabi. 9am-5pm, Mondays-Fridays. www.dialadietitian.org
What's New: sites providing the latest research and news regarding early childhood care, development and education
- 'Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development': dedicated to increasing the knowledge of the social and emotional development of young children. www.excellence-jeunesenfants.ca/home.asp
- South Vancouver Island Family Child Care Association: Provide information regarding quality family child care and its' providers as well as local and national political news relating to the subject of child care. www.svifcca.com/