Links

Your preschooler asks questions and wonders about everything in their world. When they learn new facts or new skills or discover something they think is amazing, they practice these skills through play. Encourage their play and find ways to interact with your child through play.  Use these resources to provide your child with playful activities that enhance their learning.

Parents and Teachers

• Bright Beginnings Provides K–3 and VPK assessment tools and information and resources for parents and teachers.
• Florida Early Learning As the parent of a young child, you want to make good decisions for your child and your family and do the best job possible of raising your young one.

Professional Organizations

• Florida Association for the Education of Young Children 3600 Members serve in all levels of early childhood education, working directly with thousands of families with children birth to age eight, as well as at the high school and college level training teachers. They teach in approximately 525 publicly funded programs; 450 private, nonprofit schools; 400 private, for profit child care centers and family child care homes and 15 corporate on-site child care centers.
• Children’s Movement of Florida The major objective of the citizen-led, non-partisan Children’s Movement of  Florida is to inform the political, business and civic leaders, and the parents and people of this state, about this issue and encourage them to make the well-being and education of our children our highest priority, including in the way we invest our public resources.
• The National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of more than 300 state and local Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations. The NAEYC Annual Conference and Expo is one of the foremost professional development experiences in the early childhood field.

• Early Learning Coalition of St. Lucie County A not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that oversees and funds early education and childcare programs for at-risk and income eligible children. We are regulated by the Office of Early Learning (OEL), a division of the Department of Education. Provides childcare assistance for qualifying participants at contracted childcare centers and educates parents about the importance of their involvement in their child’s learning.
• The Agricultural and Labor Program ALPI operates as the Central Agency for Subsidized Child Care Services and has provided child care for as many as 4,500 children per year. ALPI also serves as the Grantee Agency for Head Start Services in St. Lucie County.Today, ALPI serves more than 700 children in it’s Head Start/Early Head Start program.
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. The program provides one-on-one mentoring to build and strengthen families with the help of caring adult volunteers who become mentors and role models.
• Florida Department of Children & Families Works to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency. Responsible for nearly 19,000 children in foster care, and find permanent homes for children who cannot safety be reunited with their families. Also provide food stamps and temporary cash assistance and determine eligibility for Medicaid. Provide access to substance abuse and mental health treatment and work with community partners who provide services to families threatened by homelessness and domestic violence.
• Children’s Home Society of Florida Treasure Coast division covers the four-county area of Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee. Staff members provide a full array of prevention and intervention programs for the children, youth and families in the Treasure Coast community. The program reduces absenteeism, by working with school staff to identify children who have 5 or more unexcused absences, and educates the parents on the school district policies and state statutes regarding attendance. Program staff works with the family to improve attitudes and behaviors toward school, and works collaboratively with the schools to ensure appropriate services are provided to families in need.
• Treasure Coast Early Steps TCES provides early intervention services to children and their families residing in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee Counties on the southeast coast of Florida making it the third largest regional program in the state system.
• FDLRS Galaxy A network of nineteen state and federally funded associate centers which provide support services to educators, families of students with exceptionalities, and community agencies throughout Florida. Centers are part of the public school systems and serve from one to nine counties. Each center provides services in the four areas of Child Find, Human Resources Development, Parent Services, and Technology. FDLRS Galaxy serves a four county area including Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie.
• Children’s Services Council Offers parent workshops throughout the community to provide parents with opportunities to enhance their parenting skills. Each workshop is tailored to the needs of the participants, providing support and encouragement through the use of real-life examples and group interaction. The workshops focus on positive parenting styles to reduce struggles in the family system, increase positive communication and to create an overall happier, healthier family unit.
• Boys & Girls Club Provides afterschool and summer development activities for children ages 5-18 that focus on educational enrichment, recreation, leadership development, drug and teen pregnancy prevention, art, music & career exploration.
• New Horizons of the Treasure Coast Substance abuse prevention program provided to middle school students to educate youth about the negative effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and to promote healthy youth development. Student Assistance Program Counselors provide classroom presentations and offer individual counseling to youth who are in need of additional services.
• Hibiscus Children’s Center Offers intervention for families experiencing a crisis through provision of case management and parenting, financial education, mental health services and limited child respite services.
• Healthy Kids Insurance Conducts outreach to provide information about Florida KidCare Health Insurance to local families, community organization and businesses serving children potentially eligible for that program. Provides enrolment assistance at family focused community events or at predetermined locations throughout St. Lucie County.
• Roundtable of SLC Trains adults to identify talents, skills, goals, dreams and successes of every child. The belief, All Children are Capable of Success – No Exceptions! is incorporated into their everyday interaction with children, and becomes the culture of the environment the child is in, whether school, home, recreation, or community. Take Stock in Children IRSC Foundation 462-4786 Circle of Champions-CHS Tykes & Teens (Tony Loupe) IRMO Health Conf. Leads