Early Childhood CARES

It was Teacher Appreciation Week this month! Consider taking a moment to express gratitude to your child's preschool teacher this week. You might involve your child by having them pick flowers or make a drawing to give to their teacher.

A big thank you to all of the families, community members, and volunteers who came to this years Family Fun Day and Resource Fair! We appreciate the community showing up despite the weather and hope that everyone enjoyed the event as much as we did. See you next year!

The guide contains activities, camps, community supports, educational supports, and employment programs that families of youth with disabilities can access. A copy of the Client Resource Guide can also be found on the Direction Service website at https://www.directionservice.org/familyresources

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Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) representatives joined Governor Tina Kotek and state officials today to celebrate its new partnership with The Dollywood Foundation for the statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. During the 2023 legislative session, under Senate Bill 5506, $1.7 million was appropriated to DELC to help administer and expand the program statewide.

The Imagination Library is a program developed by The Dollywood Foundation; a nonprofit organization founded by Dolly Parton. Since launching in 1995, the Imagination Library has become the preeminent, international early childhood book-gifting program. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books each month to children (0-5 yrs. old), free of charge to families, through funding shared by Dolly, the State of Oregon, and local community partnerships.

Today, millions of children receive a specially selected book each month, from birth to age five, to help foster early literacy skills and a love of reading.

The goal of the statewide expansion is to make books available to children ages 0-5 in every zip code in Oregon. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a voluntary program and parents of children ages 0-5 can sign up to receive a new book each month at no cost to families.

“Brain science clearly shows that kids start to develop literacy skills from birth,” said DELC Director Alyssa Chatterjee. “That’s why here in Oregon, we’re making major investments to help kids develop the joy of reading.”

In addition to remarks from Director Chatterjee, Governor Tina Kotek, and House Majority Leader Ben Bowman made comments and were joined by representatives from The Dollywood Foundation and local program partners. Dolly Parton provided remarks by video, concluding with an Oregon twist on her classic “I Will Always Love You.

Currently, over 54,000 children across Oregon receive the gift of a monthly book through 55 community programs. Books are free to the family regardless of family income. The Department of Early Learning and Care is working with local community partners and The Dollywood Foundation to expand.

Families can visit www.imaginationlibrary.com to find out if the program is available in their area or to sign up to be notified when the program expands to their community.

The Early Childhood HUB of Lane County offers a tremendous amount of resources for summer activities, camps, and reading resource. You can view their website here and explore the available resources for yourself.

KITS is free and has helped hundreds of families make a smooth transition into kindergarten for over 10 years! It offers two activities: a school readiness group for kids, and a workshop for parents/caregivers. More information here.

Get ready to think like a turtle! Tucker the Turtle is a fun interactive resource created to help children and families learn strategies to work through big feelings like anger. Tucker helps parents and caregivers support their children in learning what they can do to calm their body and emotions down. Included here are several resources that you can incorporate into your child's day to help practice emotional regulation.

Tucker the Turtle in Spanish

Are you looking for a full or part time position working with young children ages birth through five? Early Childhood CARES is seeking qualified candidates to work in our classrooms as Early Childhood Assistants.

Shifts are flexible and can accommodate working parents and provide on the job training as well as scheduled professional development throughout the year. Permanent employees receive a tuition discount at the University of Oregon.

If you are interested scan the QR code for more information on how to apply. Feel free to share with your networks, as well.

Early Childhood CARES provides early intervention and early childhood special education to infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children in Lane County. Services are individually designed to address the needs of the young child with developmental delays or disabilities. All services are free of charge to eligible children

Email: eccares@uoregon.edu
Website: http://earlychildhoodcares.uoregon.edu
Location: 1500 West 12th Avenue, Eugene, OR, USA
Phone: 5413462578
Facebook: facebook.com/earlychildhoodcares