“One… two… three…” you say as you count your baby’s toys for them. Even though your baby can’t solve equations, let alone speak, they are building early math and language skills with each number they hear.
And you don’t need to stop at numbers — there are many early math concepts that you can introduce to your young child, simply through language, play and reading books.
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Here are some fun activity ideas to help introduce early math concepts to your child:
Through simple language and play, young children will start to learn essential early math and STEM skills. And remember, especially for babies and toddlers, just hearing these words early and often helps plant the seed for your future mathematician.
While the idea of “history” may be outside the understanding of a very young child, we can still celebrate Women’s History Month with them by reading books together that celebrate the potential and achievements of girls and women.
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Young children are constantly learning about the world and what is possible for them. Themed history months offer a wonderful opportunity to take stock of your home or classroom library and ask yourself: am I presenting a rich view of the world? Am I offering children ideas and possibilities? Am I fostering a strong sense of self, and an openness towards difference? Books are windows and mirrors, they can reflect children’s own lives, and they can offer glimpses into the lives of others. Women’s History Month presents us with a wonderful opportunity to explore the infinite paths a child might choose to pursue, regardless of gender.
When you select a new book to read with your child, choose something you think you will also enjoy. Your enthusiasm will be catching! Look for books with features that appeal to young children’s imaginations—not too many words on each page, rhythmic or rhyming text and illustrations that invite wonder. The books below are chosen for their appealing texts, rich illustrations and simple—but not simplistic—concepts. While the titles are sorted by age, all the books for the youngest readers will work with preschool-aged children also, and some, (like I Am Enough,) are books you might want to read even without a small child at your side! A high-quality picture-book with beautiful illustrations works for every age, (including adults!) because images are texts that foster meaning-making.
Whether your child is a toddler, in pre-K or on their way to kindergarten, here are some great book recommendations from Anne-Marie Akin, our Educare Chicago librarian to read during this month and beyond:
Books recommended for infants:
Books recommended for toddlers:
Books recommended for children in pre-K or kindergarten:
The 2024 National Home Visiting Summit brought together over 1,300 systems leaders, researchers, practitioners, policy advocates, key partners and decision makers in a collaborative pursuit to advance the home visiting field and systems of care to increase service quality and improve child and family outcomes. Attendees joined in-person in Washington, D.C. and virtually from across the globe participated in workshops, communities of practice and plenary sessions that discussed issues facing the home visiting field today.
This plenary explores the practicalities and promise of bringing lived experience into human services work. Participants are introduced to the Center for Behavioral Design & Social Justice; explore the concept of Intersectional Professionals (people with lived experience of the work they do); get an overview of research evidence examining the effects of lived experience on policy and program design; and learn a set of evidence-informed best practices for leveraging lived expertise in the workplace.
Join our mailing list to learn more about the National Home Visiting Summit and to be notified when registration and call for proposal opens for the 2025 conference.
This plenary session focuses on international research conducted by Dr. Hirokazu Yoshikawa within the Middle East, Bangladesh, and Latin America and will outline learnings from developing, implementing, evaluating, and scaling culturally responsive early childhood programs with refugee, displaced and host community families. Each research project partnered with NGOs based in these regions, aimed to center the voices of the community, and created connections between families, community members, and early childhood professionals. Attendees will leave with information applicable to early childhood systems in the United States, including improved outcomes in program retention, father involvement, child social-emotional development and learning, parental mental health and well-being, and parenting/co-parenting skills.
Join Dr. Tyra Gross (PhD, MPH), Associate Professor of Public Health at Xavier University of Louisiana, for an exploration of the physical health, mental health, and cultural shifts that pregnant people will increasingly experience in years ahead as climate change progresses. Participants will be invited to envision their role – as home visitors and systems builders – in ensuring that home visiting services and systems reflect the lived experiences of those directly experiencing climate change as well as the latest research about its effects. Learn how home visitors and other birthworkers are already innovating and working to support clients and communities in building climate resiliency. Leveraging her experiences as a maternal and child health equity researcher, a partner to maternal health providers and advocates, and a mom, Dr. Gross urges the home visiting field to “answer the call” to climate action and adaptation. Dr. Gross will be joined in her presentation by RH Impact Senior Program Associate Zainab Jah.
Community of Practice (CoP) posters from the 2024 National Home Visiting Summit are available below as a resource. These include a poster from the Advocacy & Policy CoP highlighting their work from the previous year, as well as posters from two Professional Development Project Teams on this year’s research projects.
These posters represent the collaborative exploration of key issues related to career pathways for the home visiting workforce as studied by a project team comprised of members of the Community of Practice-Professional Development. A series of posters summarize an exploration of today’s challenges and identification of ways to make a difference at every level of the field to promote stabilization of a diverse workforce and career long engagement.
Start Early’s National Community of Practice (CoP) for Home Visitor Professional Development has developed and begun conducting an eDelphi study to conceptualize the behaviors and beliefs that comprise current approaches for coaching home visitors. This poster will present the survey as well as an overview of the study’s methods, progress, and expected benefits.
This poster is intended to provide high-level information about the membership, activities, and key lessons learned from the National Home Visiting Summit Advocacy & Policy Community of Practice. This poster describes key advocacy strategies, public financing tools, and state home visiting policy wins as covered in the 2023 CoP cycle.
At Start Early, we are committed to cultivating an environment built on the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. The opening remarks were provided by Chandra Ewell, DEIB team lead.
February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements, culture and legacy of Black Americans who have made contributions and played a critical role in shaping our country. We take the month of February to center Black voices and honor Black stories as we lift up the past, recognize the present and share hopes for the future.
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It’s never too early to start sharing positive reflections by sharing diverse stories with your children. It is important for children not only to see themselves, but others represented in the books we read to them. Reading books with your little one is a fun and easy way to help introduce them to new cultures, experiences and events in history.
Literature transforms the human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection, we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation.
"Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors" by Rudine Sims Bishop
Whether your child is a toddler, in pre-K or on their way to kindergarten, here are some great book recommendations from Anne-Marie Akin, our Educare Chicago librarian to read during this month and beyond:
Books recommended for infants:
Books recommended for toddlers:
Books recommended for children in pre-K or kindergarten:
The earlier that we can start to help our children understand their emotions, the better the outcome in raising kind, empathetic children. Brain scientists, educators, economists and public health experts all agree that building a good foundation for healthy relationships begins at birth. The earlier that your child can adapt and develop key social-emotional skills—like attentiveness, persistence and impulse control—the sooner they can begin engaging in healthy social interactions with peers.
Young children aren’t necessarily born with the skills to engage in healthy relationships; they are born with the potential to develop them. With young children, it’s important that parents teach empathy by being the example. Show empathy daily to your children, family, and others in your community during your day. When empathy is shown by the parent, talk that through with your child by being attentive to their feelings. Use language like “I know that was hard for you, you seemed sad but you’re safe and loved.” This language will help children to be aware of their own emotions and feelings, in turn helping them be empathic to others.
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You as a parent play an important role along with your child’s teachers in laying a strong foundation for social-emotional skills that will help your child to form healthy relationships. It is important for the adults in your child’s life to model positive behaviors and set clear rules.
Here are 2 activities that you can do at home with your little one to help teach them about empathy:
The Kindness Tree is a symbolic way to record kind and helpful actions. Family members place leaves or notes on the tree to represent kind and helpful acts. Parents can notice these acts by saying, “You __(describe the action)__ so __(describe how it impacted others)__. That was helpful/kind!” For example, “Shubert helped Sophie get dressed so we would be on time for our library playdate. That was helpful!”
The Kindness Tree can also grow with families who have children of mixed ages. Initially, young children simply put a leaf on the tree to represent kind and helpful acts. As children grow and learn to write, the ritual evolves to include writing the kind acts down on leaves or sticky notes. Start your own Kindness Tree with this template.
Families with older children can simply use a Kindness Notebook to record kind acts and read them aloud daily or weekly.
The We Care Center provides a way for family members to express caring and empathy for others. Fill your We Care Center with supplies like minor first aid items (Band-Aids, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, scented lotion), card-making supplies (preprinted cards, paper, crayons, sentence starters), and a tiny stuffed animal for cuddling.
When a friend or family member is ill, hurt, or having a hard time, your family can go to the We Care Basket to find a way to show that person they care. At first, parents might need to suggest how and when to use the We Care Center, but your children will quickly understand the intent. In this way, the We Care Center encourages the development of empathy by providing a means for children to offer caring and thoughtfulness to others every day.
This content was cross-promoted on our partner’s website, Big Heart World. Check out Big Heart World for additional social-emotional resources for parents and educators.
As we reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the National Day of Racial Healing, we asked our early learning experts for advice on how talk to your little ones about racial healing, equity and justice.
As a parent, it can sometimes be difficult to talk to your children about serious issues like racism, but it is so very important. Sparking conversation with your little ones on this topic can help them to address bias and to be mindful as they navigate this big and sometimes scary world we live in.
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One of the best ways to help your child learn is through reading. By choosing books that affirm the identities and backgrounds of all children you and your child can have an open dialogue about recognizing and celebrating differences. Here are book recommendations from our early learning experts to read aloud with your little one to learn about racial healing:
Enrollment and retention data have long suggested the home visiting field could do more to meet the needs and desires of families, and workforce data point to challenges finding and sustaining a highly-qualified workforce. Start Early’s Illinois Home Visiting Caregiver and Provider Feedback Project used an organic, mixed-methods approach to understand what families and providers see as needed improvements to the home visiting system, and from this input, created precise recommendations.
The findings of this multi-year project carry significance for programs, model developers, researchers, systems leaders and policy makers. By actively engaging with the recommendations, leaders at all levels can ensure that resources are optimally allocated and can drive transformative change, paving the way for a more responsive, equitable and effective system that uplifts families and nurtures the healthy development of young children.
We encourage members of the home visiting field – including funders, model developers, researchers, program leaders, home visitors, and family participants – to read this report and identify the levers for change that they can act upon to strengthen and improve how the home visiting system supports caregivers and providers.
For questions about this report, please reach out to alowefotos@startearly.org.
The Start Early Illinois Policy team is pleased to release our newest multi-year policy agenda, guiding our work for the next four fiscal years (FY24-27) and building on the work of our recently-concluded inaugural agenda.
The FY24-27 Policy Agenda incorporates the many advances in the field over the past four years, including Governor Pritzker’s exciting multi-year Smart Start initiative, and encompasses our priorities – both within and alongside Smart Start. Our work will also both inform and be shaped by the governor’s recent announcement of the creation of a standalone early childhood agency. The agenda continues to be anchored in community and provider voices, and is organized into four foundational components:
We look forward to work that not only drives us toward this vision but is rooted in the current challenges we know families and early childhood providers and programs face on a daily basis. The challenges the field faces are significant and urgent, and while recent investments have been incredibly helpful, our progress is tenuous. We can be successful only when we work in partnership with families and providers, our advocacy partners, our public partners in city and state government and the tremendous philanthropic community in Illinois. We look forward to tackling these challenges with all of our partners to make Illinois the best state in the nation to raise a child.
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American Indians have been using legends (stories) as a way of teaching ever since time began. There are many lessons in storytelling. Most legends stress that one should not be greedy, boastful, or make fun of others. The legends also encourage older children to watch out for and help younger children. In this way legends taught the right way to do things. The tradition of storytelling tells us that we have a strong heritage for being good listeners and for talking to our children. Positive parenting is based on this concept. To have strong children we need to have good relationships. Good relationships depend on being able to talk AND listen.
Positive Indian Parenting Curriculum, Lesson II: Lessons of the Storyteller
Storytelling is integral in Indigenous cultures—they can be told from books or through utilizing oral storytelling as a way for entertainment, education/teaching, and the sharing of culture and traditions.
As parents, we know that learning is most impactful when it’s shared with our children. Native American Heritage Month encourages us to engage in activities that promote understanding, respect and appreciation for Indigenous cultures. Here are a few age-appropriate books and resource recommendations you can share with your little one to celebrate this special month:
Books recommended for infants and toddlers:
Books recommended for children in pre-K or kindergarten:
Additional resources:
For over 40 years, Start Early has been singularly focused on the healthy development of young children, from before birth until kindergarten, helping close the opportunity gap and ensure children are ready to learn.
We are uncompromising in our pursuit of excellence and remain steadfast in our commitment to dismantling the unjust practices and policies that are harmful to children and families of color. Our work would not be possible without recognizing that each child and family has been uniquely impacted and traumatized by racism and generations of long-tolerated inequities.
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