Parent Tools

Parent Tools

Welcome to your one-stop shop for early learning education materials. United Way believes that one of the building blocks for a better life is supporting a vibrant and strong early childhood experience. Along with partners we strive to educate community members about the importance of early learning activiites, such as reading regularly and learning through play. The materials below will help you incorporate early learning activities into your daily interactions with your young child.

Born Learning Downloads Born Learning provides easy research-based ways to turn everyday moments into fun learning opportunities for young children. To learn more about what to expect at various stages of early childhood, how to help your child learn through play, and to learn helpful parenting tips, visit www.monroeunitedway.org/bornlearningdownloads.

Born Learning Play Path A fun, interactive series of outdoor games, the Play Path helps adults and young children explore and learn together. The Born Learning Play Path offers activities that build language and thinking skills fundamental to a child’s success in school and in life. To learn more about the activities at the Born Learning Play Path, including how to get out there and play, visit www.monroeunitedway.org/bornlearningplaypath.

Kindergarten Readiness Booklet This guide is filled with tips for helping children learn and grow during their first five years. To familiarize yourself with the appropriate kindergarten readiness skills, download the Kindergarten Readiness Booklet pdf.

Kindergarten Readiness Checklist This one-page school readiness checklist, approved by MCCSC and RBB school districts and created in partnership with Monroe Smart Start and the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, offers guidelines to help caregivers prepare children for school. To help the children in your life start kindergarten ready to learn, download the Kindergarten Readiness Checklist pdf.

Let's Read Packets The Let's Read Packets contain appropriate materials to help you learn the best way to read with your child at various stages of their early childhood. These packets also include age appropriate Born Learning materials and Reading Rockets reading tips. To download the packets, visit www.monroeunitedway.org/LetsRead.

Play Infographic United Way developed a Play infographic to highlight how and why play is so important to developing brains and bodies. To print the infographic and learn more about the importance of play, visit www.monroeunitedway.org/Play.

Real Men Read Parent Toolkit Find information and ideas to help your child get the most out of a book while having a ton of fun. The books featured are part of the Real Men Read program currently taking place in RBB and S-OCS classrooms.


Additional Parent Resources

Child Care and Referral Guide The City of Bloomington prepared the Child Care and Referral Guide to present parents, families, practioners and care givers with up-to-date, comprehensive information on early childhood education and care options in the community. To learn more about licensed child care homes and centers, registered ministries, preschool programs, and summer programs for school-age children in the Bloomington community, visit http://bloomington.in.gov/media/media/application/pdf/15020.pdf.

First Steps To learn more about resources to help children with special needs, visit www.firststepssoutheast.org.

IU Health Bloomington To learn more about baby, children, and family health & wellness, visit http://iuhealth.org/bloomington.

Monroe County Public Library Children's Department To learn more about local events and information for children, visit www.mcpl.info.

Monroe Smart Start To learn more about early childhood development, visit www.monroesmartstart.org.

Paths to Quality Paths to QUALITY™ is Indiana’s statewide rating system for early care and education programs. It is a free resource to help families make informed decisions and to help early care and education providers improve the quality of their programs. Visit http://childcareindiana.org

Purdue Extension To learn more about child care and development resources and classes, visit http://extension.purdue.edu/Monroe/pages/sc.aspx?intHomeID=54&intSubCatgID=55

Reading Rockets Reading Rockets is a national multimedia literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read and how caring adults can help. For more reading resources, visit www.readingrockets.org.

Text4Baby By texting BABY to 511411, individuals can receive free cell phone text messages guiding them through pregnancy and their baby’s first year. To learn more about Text4Baby, visit www.text4baby.com.

Do you want to strengthen education in our community?

Please consider donating to the United Way Education Priority Fund. This fund helps children achieve their potential through cradle-to-career initiatives that ensure kids enter kindergarten ready to learn and graduate high school ready to earn success in college or career.

Want to learn more about additional Education initiatives or the other building blocks for a good life - Earnings and Essentials?

Keywords:

Early Education

Parents

Education

Did You Know?

A gift of $2 per week provides 70 bags of healthy groceries to low-income families.

Of the high school seniors enrolled in mentoring programs at United Way member agencies, 94% graduated and 91 % have plans to attend college or vocational school

$60/week can provide materials for 3 volunteer-built handicap-accessible ramps allowing low-income seniors to live at home safely.

Nearly 24,000 rides on Rural Transit and bus passes have been provided so people without transportation could get to and from work

In Monroe, Owen, and Greene counties, 445 individuals saved $69,217 in prescription drug costs through the FamilyWize discount prescription drug card distributed by United Way of Monroe County at agencies, pharmacies and community outreach events.

At Big Brothers Big Sisters, a United Way member agency, 75% of youth improved or maintained their good attendance at school and 61% increased or maintained their good grades

Born Learning materials are free and help parents, caregivers, and our community create early learning opportunities for young children.

Calls made to 2-1-1 are free and confidential.

In 2017, 2-1-1 specialists and online database searches responded to 3,752 inquiries from Monroe, Owen, and Greene counties and made 5,138 referrals. Most callers were seeking help with housing and utilities assistance, and food.

Legacy Donors include United Way in their estate plans, including a will, a retirement plan, or a life insurance policy.

When you choose to donate to United Way, you improve a life.

Locally, 1 in 5 children are at risk of hunger

A gift of $9 per week ensures 3 days of emergency shelter service for victims of domestic violence.

88% of Amethyst House clients reported maintaining or increasing income and 100% learned new budgeting skills. 88% of residents in transitional housing programs increased or maintained their income.

Your donation of $1 per week provides 2 people with bus transportation to a new job for a month.

838 school children received supports like clothing, shoes, school supplies, medical services, and special transportation assistance through the MCCSC and RBBSC Assistance Funds so they could fully participate in classes

A gift of $10 per week provides 3 community events to educate low-income community members about legal rights.

A gift of $20 per week can provide 50 people with their birth certificates which will help them in securing housing, employment, and other necessary resources.

A gift of $3 per week provides 12 people with needed prescription medicine.

With 17 regional partners, the Free Community Tax Service helped low-income people in Monroe and Owen counties bring back over $2.9 million in refunds and credits

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