Smart Beginnings is a community partnership created to address the needs of young children (0-6) in order for them to be successful in school and later in life.

Interested in spending more time with your child? Check out our Family Time Guide which lists tons of opportunities for you and your children to learn and have fun together!

Learn more about our:

• Mission and Vision
• Goals of Smart Beginnings
• Leadership Council
• Technical Advisory Committee
• Smart Beginning Projects
  • Born Learning
  • Born Learning™ Tool Kit
• Why are the early years of a Child's life important?
• What does it mean to be prepared for school?
• Tips for a healthy, successful child
• Websites of Interest

 

Mission: To lead community partners in maximizing and coordinating resources that ensures equal opportunities for all young children (0-6) to be ready for school – ready for life.

Vision: Children arrive at school healthy and prepared to succeed.
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Goals
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Goal One: Improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of early childhood care and education programs.
Goal Two: Provide parents with access to information, education and support that will help them identify and meet the developmental, social, educational, and emotional needs of their children.
Goal Three: Improve the health of young children (0-6) by expanding the availability of and access to health services.
Goal Four: Establish and sustain an effective organizational structure that is representative of the community and has the authority, public support and resources to bring the positive changes for young children identified in the strategic plan.
Goal Five: Increase the level of public understanding as to the critical importance of early childhood development.

Children are born ready to learn. Every interaction and experience a child has beginning at birth will prepare a child for success in school and in life.

Rappahannock United Way is glad to introduce Born Learning™, an innovative and fun public engagement campaign designed to help parents, caregivers, and the community use everyday moments to provide quality early learning opportunities for children. Everyday routines like cooking dinner, doing the laundry, grocery shopping, and reading books provide numerous opportunities to develop skills and knowledge that will help a child succeed when entering kindergarten.

Through television and radio public service announcements, print materials, web tools at www.bornlearning.org, and educational materials, you will learn easy and fun ways to help prepare your child for school.

For Parents & Caregivers
Click here to find everyday tips and educational materials aimed at helping you make the best of every moment with your child. Use the Born Learning™ Tool Kit for quick access to educational materials.

For Service Providers
To gain useful information and materials to share with the families you serve, visit www.bornlearning.org and use the Born Learning™ Tool Kit.

The Basics
• 5 Key Ideas for New Parents (English)
• 5 Key Ideas for New Parents (Spanish)

  Your Child's Development
  English

• Your Child @ Birth
• Your Child @ 2 months
• Your Child @ 4 to 6 months
• Your Child @ 6 to 12 months
• Your Child @ 12 to 18 months
• Your Child @ 18 to 24 months
• Your Child @ 24 to 36 months
• Your Child @ 3 years
• Your Child @ 4 years
• Your Child @ 5 years
  Spanish
• Your Child @ Birth
• Your Child @ 2 months
• Your Child @ 4 to 6 months
• Your Child @ 6 to 12 months
• Your Child @ 12 to 18 months
• Your Child @ 18 to 24 months
• Your Child @ 24 to 36 months
• Your Child @ 3 years
• Your Child @ 4 years
• Your Child @ 5 years

  Play and Learn

• The Playbook
• How Does Play Encourage Literacy?
• How Does My Child Learn?
• What is Intelligence?
• Fun and Games with Songs (English)
• Fun and Games with Songs (Spanish)

  Sleeping, Eating, and Health

• How Do I Help my Child Develop Good Sleep Habits?
• What are the Stages of Sleep?
• Sleep Diary (English)
• Sleep Diary (Spanish)
• Meal Ideas for Young Children (English)
• Meal Ideas for Young Children (Spanish)
• How Can I Recognize my Child’s Illness?

  Child Care

• What Type of Child Care is Best for My Situation?
• Child Care Checklist (English)
• Child Care Checklist (Spanish)

  For Dads

• How Fathers and Mothers Differ
• Everyday Activities for Dad (English)
• Everyday Activities for Dad (Spanish)

  For Grandparents

• What Roles Might My Parents Play in my Child’s Life?
• Family History Projects (English)
• Family History Projects (Spanish)

Because it is the most critical period of brain development! The experiences a child has during his early years builds a foundation for future learning. A good foundation, formed by a variety of positive learning opportunities, leads to success in school and in life. Research shows early learning can provide adults with greater success in life, fewer involvements in crime, higher income and higher education levels. You can help prepare your child for success in life. Browse through the Success By 6® sections of this website to find ideas.

• 90% of the brain's growth occurs from 0 to 5 years old.
• Scientists once thought that the development of a child’s brain depended on genes. But now scientists have changed their views and they believe that genes as well as early experiences affect the development of the brain.
• The brain is different than the body in that at birth, unlike the rest of the body, the brain is not complete. Its immature and not fully developed.
• Each experience an infant has makes a connection between nerve cells in the brain. These connections influence such things as the ability to recognize letters of the alphabet, communicate with language, and form positive relationships. These connections will help a child to be ready to learn when entering kindergarten.
• Touching, rocking, talking, smiling, and singing affect the way a child's brain is wired (connected) and helps to shape later learning and behavior.
• The brains of children who lack a stimulating environment and who don't play much or are rarely touched are 20-30% smaller than normal for their age.
  

Kindergarten teachers expect children to demonstrate certain skills when entering their classroom. Teachers understand that all children develop at different rates and have different experiences before coming to school. Therefore, they do not expect that children will demonstrate all skills perfectly. The list below is not meant to determine whether a child should or should not enter kindergarten. It was made to give parents an idea of what children need to know to experience success in school when entering kindergarten.

Early skills: Mathematics –

1. Recognizes basic shapes and colors
2. Recognizes number 1-10

Oral Language–

1. Can recite many nursery rhymes without help
2. Recognizes rhyming words orally
3. Recognizes rhyming sounds orally
4. Can sit and listen to a story with appropriate interactions
5. Uses pictures to sequence familiar stories, indicating beginning, middle and end
6. Retell familiar stories using a beginning middle and end
7. Can sort and classify by picture
8. Begins to ask and answer simple questions
9. Talks in complete sentences of 5 to 6 words
10. Communicates in clearly understood speech
11. Follows simple one and two step directions
12. Speaks clearly when necessary

Reading–

1. Recognizes letters of the alphabet
2. Demonstrates comprehension of stories by responding orally
3. Understands how print is organized and read (Read left to right, top to bottom, match voice with print)

Writing–

1. Can write first name with age appropriate print
2. Knows that writing involves making marks that convey meaning on paper
3. Knows writing goes left to right, top to bottom, on page

Basic life skills—

1. Can sit still and pay attention for 15 minutes
2. Shares and takes turns
3. Has respect for authority
4. Is responsible for their actions and realizes actions have consequences
5. Enjoys being and talking with others
6. Works in groups
7. Persistent-able to finish a task
8. Knows right from wrong
9. Has respect for other people and their property
10. Takes care of their own property

Mommy and Daddy, please help make me a success.

I begin to learn the day that I am born. The things that you do with me now will help me to become a happy, healthy, capable, eager-to-learn child by the time I enter school.

1. Give me lots of hugs and kisses.
2. Talk, read, and sing to me every day.
3. Look and listen for my signals. Even before I talk I show you how I feel and what I want.
4. Bring me to my well baby check ups even if I am not sick. These checkups will help find problems early and help prevent disease.
5. Make sure I get my shots. These shots can help prevent diseases that can be very harmful to me.
6. Let me explore in safe places.
7. Let’s play games instead of watching TV. When I do watch TV, monitor the quality of the programs I see.
8. I need a daily routine, especially one that ensures enough rest.
9. Use discipline as an opportunity to teach me. Be consistent.
10. Look for quality childcare and visit me often.
11. I am one of a kind. Love me just the way I am.
12. Take care of yourself; I need you! Please pay attention to your diet, your mental health, and your physical health.

These websites contain activities to do with your children, articles about various parenting topics, and other resources that may be useful to you.

Born Learning
Born Learning is a national public engagement campaign that will help parents and caregivers learn how everyday moments can be turned into quality learning moments. Doing the laundry, making dinner, and grocery shopping are all opportunities for your child to learn more about his/her world. Visit this website for more information and additional activities!

Discovery Channel School
This website contains fresh ideas for parents and teachers to enhance learning in topics from astrology to technology.

Earlychildhood.com
The Activities and Curriculum section of this website contains activities for parents and caregivers to do with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school age children to help them learn more about the world around them and develop skills necessary for school. New activities are posted each month.

Familyresource.com
This website contains articles about subjects such as parenting, relationships, health, and finance. Article topics include everything from “Getting Your Baby to Sleep” and “How to Get Children to Cooperate” to “Talking to Your Children About Terrorism and War”.

The National Parenting Center
The “Articles” section of this website contains brief articles from the National Parenting Center’s newsletter, “ParenTalk”. The articles cover the stages from pregnancy through adolescence. Some topics include “Questions & Answers about Newborns”, “How Your Infant Learns”, and “Stimulating Your Preschooler’s Language Development”.

Zero to Three
This website has resources for both parents and professionals to help ensure a child’s happy and healthy development. Highlights for parents include: parenting tip of the week, Parenting A-Z (articles and resources to help parents deal with issues from aggression to toilet training), and Brain Wonders (a resource to help parents understand what’s going on in their child’s stage of development and ways to support this development).