Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the development of a child's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and well being.

 

Idaho and Oregon provide helpful online resources to support early childhood care and education. These websites provide online pamphlets to help with anything from caring for a newborn, finding the best childcare for your child to Headstart preschools (government-subsidized preschools).

 

Idaho:  Early Childhood Information Clearing House

 

Oregon:   Oregon Early Learning Division | Homepage

 

Free Shining Star publications are available to parents to help teach their children to read 

Shining Stars: HOW PARENTS CAN HELP THEIR TODDLERS LEARN TO READ

Shining Stars: HOW PARENTS CAN HELP THEIR PRESCHOOLERS LEARN TO READ

Shining Stars: HOW PARENTS CAN HELP THEIR KINDERGARTNERS LEARN TO READ

Shining Stars: HOW PARENTS CAN HELP THEIR FIRST GRADERS LEARN TO READ

Shining Stars: HOW PARENTS CAN HELP THEIR SECOND & THIRD GRADERS LEARN TO READ

 

Free Preschool online resources:

Pre-K Homeschool Curriculum: Free Resources for Ages 3-4

Montessori at Home Preschool Plans - Free Unit Study Printable

Ultimate List of Free Preschool Curriculum Resources – Teach Beside Me

Preschool Lesson Plans | Education.com

 

 

Free School Breakfast and Lunch Programs and Summer Meal Programs for ages 1-18

 

Idaho

National School Breakfast and Lunch Program for Idaho

Summer Food Service Program for Idaho

 

Oregon

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National School Breakfast and Lunch Program for Oregon

Summer Meals Oregon: Home
 

Area Local Preschools

 

Fruitland

 

West Valley Preschool

100 E 1st St, Fruitland, ID 83619

(208) 739-1307

 

Little Scholars Learning Center & Little Scholars Nursery- Day Care

836 NW 13th St, Fruitland, ID 83619

(208) 452-4091

​New Plymouth

 

Kids Korner Preschool & Daycare

503 S Plymouth Ave, New Plymouth, ID 83655

(208) 369-7044

 

Luv N’ Care Child Care

5415 Sand Hollow Rd, New Plymouth, ID 83655

(208) 405-5335

 

Payette

 

Payette Head Start Center-WICAP

2281 7th Ave N

Payette, ID 83661 - 5342

(208) 642-9086

 

Ontario

 

Malheur County Child Development Center Head Start & Early Head Start

830 SE 5th St, Ontario, OR 97914

(541) 889-5534
 

Giggles & Grace – Early Learning Center

1260 SW 8th Ave, Ontario, OR 97914

(541) 889-6141
 

Treasure Valley Children’s Relief Nursery - (TVCRN)

780 SE 6th St, Ontario, OR 97914

(541) 823-2526

Treasure Valley Children’s Relief Nursery-TVCRN Therapeutic Classroom-Children enrolled at TVCRN attend a therapeutic classroom twice weekly for 47 weeks of the year. The focus is on social-emotional skills, helping children ages 18 months to 5 years to develop a stronger sense of self. To see the significant changes in toddlers who arrive responding to everything with wailing and drama, or those who come to us severely angry, whose responses include shouting, hitting, or bitting, is to witness something incredible. It is because of the consistent responses and actions of our nurturing classroom staff that significant strides are made.

 

Consider that 90% of brain development occurs by the age of 6. The architecture of the brain is making connections. Those things which a child knows to be true will likely have made an impression on his brain because they involved language, touch, sound, and movement – or the absence of them. Children learn to trust adults, learning that adults largely give direction in an effort to keep a child safe.

 

Our classroom is child-focused, meaning that although there is a consistent pattern to each day, children largely decide in which activity they’ll engage. Our well-trained staff uses what they know about the child, his current home situation, and the activity he’s chosen, to help move him toward the goals established by his parents with the child’s home visitors. 

 

Home Visits -There is a large body of research showing that an evidence-based home visiting program consistently delivered over a large period of time, can substantially lift a family. Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, and brain researcher cites the emotional stability of the home as the greatest predictor of intellectual success.

Our home visits center around child development and parenting strategies. By simply better understanding the ages and stages of infants, toddlers, and young children, parents’ expectations of their child’s behavior are more reasonable. Thus, they are less likely to respond with anger or violence.

 

It is perhaps a tertiary objective at the Relief Nursery, but our model also lends itself to kindergarten readiness. By helping children develop a strong sense of self, along with their social and emotional skills, children are better prepared for academic learning in kindergarten. And, kindergarten teachers can focus on instruction instead of having to discipline children who misbehave.

 

Family Night Events-Staff also provides a monthly Family Connection Event for our parents. These events include a program, often with a guest speaker, which centers on a topic that is helpful to our clients. Past topics have included:

• Cooking nutritious meals on a budget

• The importance of reading to children

• The connection between music and learning

• How to go back to school (GED or Associates)

• Grooming behaviors of child predators

• No-cost & Low-cost stress relief methods

We provide child care for parents when needed, and light refreshments are served. Some Family Connection events provide opportunities for positive parent-child interactions.