For Parents

For Parents

Resources and links for parents.

 

Building strong language
Reading to Children
meaningful writing

Resources and Links

 

Iowa's Early Childhood Parent Web Site

This Web site was created to provide FREE objective, medically accurate early care, health, and education information for families in Iowa. Topics include child care, health and safety, child development, learning to read and write, parenting, pregnancy, and many others.
 

Storyline Online

Storyline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers and educators worldwide. Each book includes supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator, aiming to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners. Storyline Online, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Viola Davis, Chris Pine, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, James Earl Jones, Betty White and dozens more.
 

Every Child Reads

Every Child Reads Birth to Three is a statewide initiative led by the Iowa Department of Education. The goal of the ECR B–3 initiative is to assist adults, who provide early care and education for infants and toddlers, develop skills needed to create the experiences and environments required to promote early literacy skills. This 16-hour training consists of four modules: Foundations of Early Literacy: Birth to Three; How Infants and Toddlers Learn Language and Literacy; Engaging in Conversations with Infants and Toddlers; and Reading with Infants and Toddlers Using Interactive Strategies. There is also a three-hour follow-up module: Selecting Quality Books to Read with Infants and Toddlers.
 

Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. They offer the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music.
 

New Smartz Kids

Be safer online!  
NetSmartz® is an interactive, educational safety resource for children aged 5 to 17 that uses 3-D activities to teach childre