The DEC Recommended Practices provide guidance to families and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning outcomes and promote development of young children, birth through age 5, who have, or are at-risk for, developmental delays or disabilities. "Teaming and Collaboration: Building and Sustaining Partnerships" is…

Each week, nearly 11 million children under age 5 are in some type of child care setting for an average of 35 hours. Parents, as consumers of child care, equate a child care license with state approval--a gold seal for those businesses to which a state grants a license. Child Care Aware® of America reviews state licensing policies, which include…

Family gatherings are an effective way to build meaningful partnerships between classrooms and families. Children learn best when they are in a supportive environment, one that meets the needs of the children, the needs of the families, and the needs of the staff of the child care center or school. The partnership-building process can be assisted…

The Research in Practice Series is published four times each year by Early Childhood Australia. The series aims to provide practical, easy to read, up-to-date information and support to a growing national readership of early childhood workers. The books bring together the best information available on wide-ranging topics and are an ideal resource…

This booklet is designed to assist families, child care providers, and advocates in planning and delivering child care for children with disabilities and special health care needs. The booklet defines the term inclusion and discusses common misconceptions about children with special needs and disabilities. It explains what the Americans with…

Although many may think that a child learns to read in kindergarten or first grade, research indicates that learning to read and write can start at home, long before children go to school. Children can start down the road to becoming readers from the day they are born. Very early, children begin to learn about spoken language when they hear family…

The Illinois Early Learning Project (IEL) is funded by the Illinois State Board of Education to provide information resources on early learning and training related to implementing the Illinois Early Learning Standards for parents and for early childhood personnel in all settings. The IEL tip sheets offer suggestions to parents and early childhood…