The ARIN Intermediate Unit 28 Early Intervention (EI) Preschool Program provides a variety of programs and services for children from their third birthday until entry into school. Services for children during the preschool years are provided at no cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements. Individual Education Programs (IEPs) are written to define the services that will be provided to those eligible children.

Preschool Services may include:

• Screening and Evaluation
• Support in Early Childhood Environments
• Specialized Instruction
• Speech
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy
• Hearing
• Vision
• Specialized Classrooms
• Transition to School Age Programs

Have you registered your child for kindergarten yet? Check out your home district's website for more information!

Armstrong County:

Apollo-Ridge (Click here for a paper form to print and complete)

Armstrong School District:

• Dayton Elementary
• Elderton Elementary
• Lenape Elementary
• Shannock Valley Elementary
• West Hills Primary

Freeport Area School District

Leechburg Area School District

Indiana County:

Homer-Center School District

Indiana Area School District

Marion Center School District

Penns Manor Area School District

Purchase Line School District

River Valley School District

United School District: Please call the elementary office at 814-446-5615 Ext. 1312 for more information and an enrollment packet.

Not sure which district you live in? Visit the Department of Economic Development’s Find Your Municipality Website. Enter your street address, city and zip code, and click “Find Municipality”. The name of the municipality, county and school district will appear on the screen.

The 2024 Early Intervention Family Survey is now available! Families of children receiving early intervention are encouraged to complete this survey. The results are used to improve the state and local programs!

Family Survey FAQ

Month of the Young Child focuses public attention on the needs of young children and their families and recognizes the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

How can you become involved in MOYC?

Look for ways to celebrate in your home, early learning program, or community. Some national resources, like the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or local resources, like Trying Together, share ways to do this. Your local Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) may also know of events. Find your ELRC at www.raiseyourstar.org.

Other local resources:

• Early Care & Education Council
• Northern Pennsylvania Regional College

Create a display that shares why quality early learning is so important. Think about what quality early learning looks like in your program or community. Partner with local businesses, like grocery stores, libraries, or community or city centers to share your display. Check Pinterest for some suggestions!

Read stories of families who have been impacted by quality early learning. PA’s Promise features the stories of many families who have had access to quality early learning programs. Read family stories.

Share your story about the impact of quality early learning. How has having access to quality early learning made an impact on you, your child’s life, or if you’re a teacher what are the impacts you’ve seen in your classroom? Send your story to Mary at marhal@pakeys.org and we might publish it on PA’s Promise for Children!

The Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) is currently offering family scholarships to attend the 2024 National Autism Conference to be held August 5-8, 2024, in Harrisburg, PA. The Autism conference provides comprehensive, evidence-based information to assist educators, other professionals, and families in developing effective educational programming for all students with autism spectrum disorders.

The Parent/Caregiver Scholarship is available to parent(s) and/or caregiver(s) of a child with an IEP or who receives Early Intervention (EI) services and meets certain qualifications. The registration window is open through May 30, 2024. Scholarships will be granted on a first come first served basis, but with priority given to parent/caregiver scholarship recipients for the Children’s Institute. Eligible recipients are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Notifications will be sent out by June 20, 2024. Please share this incredible opportunity with families in your communities.

The Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids Project is a series of free videos and print resources with practical, evidence-based information and skills to address families most common parenting challenges. This project is part of the Child Mind Institute’s innovative partnership with the state of California. The series is organized into four categories, each containing multiple videos. Each video has been created in both English and Spanish. Ver episodios en español

Parenting can be challenging. There's no such thing as a perfect parent, and there are a lot of different ways to be a good one.

The Early Learning GPS has tips, tools, and resources to help when families encounter challenging behavior with their child.

Parenting is challenging, and the challenge comes with little direction at times. Just as there are no perfect children, there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA) believes every parent needs and deserves two things: Information, and support! Visit the PFSA website for resources and support.

Join the Remake Learning Days across Pennsylvania! This hands-on learning festival showcases the many places where kids can learn across their community, such as early childhood programs, museums, schools, libraries, parks, community centers, tech companies, and more. These events give families and caregivers a chance to learn alongside their children and for kids to experience new learning opportunities. The mission of Remake Learning Days is to spark joy, encourage curiosity and create wonder for kids of all ages and their families. To find activities in our region, click here!

Armstrong County Community Action:

Phone number: 724-548-3408

Facebook Page

Website

Indiana County Community Action:

Phone number: 724-465-2657

Facebook Page

Website

Email: mfaught@iccap.net

Do you know about Power Library, Pennsylvania's electronic library? With Power Kids, you and your child can access things like:

• BookFlix: Watch videos and read books
• CyberSmarts: Learn how to be a safe, responsible and smart citizen with eBooks
• TrueFlix: Learn about people, places, nature, history and science from videos and eBooks
• Chat with a Librarian

In addition, many libraries throughout Pennsylvania offers their members access to downloadable or streaming eBooks and audiobooks through Axis 360 and Hoopla. Enjoy new bestsellers and old favorites on your compatible digital device! Check with your library for additional info.

Looking for a fun, free activity to do with your child(ren)? Check out your local Lowe's for the April 20th workshop! You can either complete the activity at the store, or get it to take home and complete!

Click here to register for the workshop! Change your store to the Lowe's location closest to you!

Check availability in your area!

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library provides books free of charge each month to children from birth to age 5. Wondering what books your child will receive each month in 2024? See below!

Sign up for the FREE monthly Kindergarten, Here I Am eNews!

Each month get activities, tips and resources you can use to help your kindergartner prepare for and have a successful Kindergarten year.

April: We're Telling Our Story!

Each month offers activities families can do together in a variety of settings. The activities within the Learning is Everywhere Calendar and on the website are aligned with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards (ELS).

Activities for your preschooler:

Using a paper plate, encourage your preschooler or kindergartner to draw different faces, or use face parts cut from magazines, then glue to paper plate. Let each paper plate represent a different emotion (happy, sad, angry, etc.). Take turns with your child identifying which face would be used in different situations, such as if they got to eat an ice-cream cone, or if the ice-cream cone fell on the ground. (Social and Emotional Development)

Provide your preschooler or kindergartner with a magnifying glass to look at their hair, nails and skin. What do they see? Have them also look at your hair, nails and skin as well. What is the same? What is different? Is each part the same color, texture, or size? What makes each part different? Using the magnification tool on your tablet or computer, demonstrate how the size changes. Create personal dictionaries with pictures and icons as you introduce new descriptive words. Find items in the home for them to feel and explore to extend the sensory experience. (Scientific Thinking)

With your preschooler or kindergartner, create a family tree book. Use photos, stories, recipes, etc. to represent family members. Share stories about when you were a child, or family stories handed down over time. Talk about aunts, uncles and cousins, and how the family will continue to grow when they get bigger and have families of their own. If you have family who lives far away, talk about where they live, and find the location on a map. Include an individual or family time line— write down moments to remember. For a child, this may be a more detailed timeline. For a family time line, it may be more general. (Social & Emotional Development)

Have your preschooler or kindergartner tell you where items of clothing are worn and help them figure out what the purpose is of each item. Ask why we wear boots while in the snow, for example. Don’t forget items like aprons, belts and mittens! If your kindergartner is having difficulty with this, playing with paper dolls, Colorforms, or cut out pictures from magazines provide an opportunity to practice dressing. (Approaches to Learning through Play)

Sing up for the FREE monthly Learning is Everywhere eNewsletter!

10 Growing Up books that go well with this month’s learning theme

• Community Helpers From A to Z by Bobbie Kalman & Niki Walker
• Pretend You’re a Community Helper by Karen Bryant-Mole
• Hello Benny!: What It’s Like to Be a Baby by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley
• When I Grow Up by P. K. Hallinan
• Jobs People Do by DK
• The Berenstain Bears: When I Grow Up by Jan and Stan Berenstain
• When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic
• When I Grow Up (Little Critter) by Mercer Mayer
• Grow Up! by Nina Laden
• Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling, Deborah Hembrook, Andy Robert Davies

Schedules and routines are the things you and your family do every day. They happen at about the same time and in the same way. Schedules are your family's main activities, like mealtimes, bath time, and bedtime. Routines are the steps you take to complete each part of the schedule. For example, breakfast may be part of your daily schedule, but there are routines that happen before, during, and after breakfast. These steps might be cooking breakfast, setting the table, serving and eating breakfast, and cleaning up the dishes.

Every family has its own unique routines. There are no rules about how many or what kind of routines you should have.

Schedules and routines are especially important for children because they:

• Are consistent and predictable to help children feel safe, secure, and loved.
• Give children a sense of control over their environment as they learn what to expect and what is coming next.
• Act as a set of instructions or step-by-step guide for helping children successfully get through their day.
• Include having fun or spending time together (e.g., reading books every night at bedtime), which can strengthen family relationships and create special memories.
• Can eliminate power struggles as children learn what to do at certain times of the day, such as cleaning up toys before bedtime.
• Provide comfort and safety for children during stressful and uncertain times.

Parent to Parent matches parents of children with special needs or disabilities with other families who've had similar journeys. A new diagnosis for your child might feel overwhelming, but P2P wants to ensure that you don't feel alone. By being matched to another family, they can provide emotional support, advice, stories of their own experiences, or just a listening ear!

Click here to complete a new match intake form

Want to become a Peer Supporter? Click here!

For more information, call 1-888-727-2706