A child's early years, those before age six, are the most influential to a child's development. Experiences in early childhood have powerful effects on a child's emotional, physical and mental abilities and capacity. They create lifelong potential for learning in such areas as math, logic, language and music.

Ontario Early Years Centres provide a variety of free early learning and literacy programs which include songs, stories, games, crafts, plus opportunities for children to develop their social skills and Kindergarten readiness. Selected literacy programs include:

• ESSO Family Math - learn math the fun & family way
• Family Alphabet Fun - this interactive parent/child program promotes letter learning, phonetics, rhyming & language development
• Getting Ready for K - prepare your child for a successful transition to Kindergarten
• You Make the Difference - together parents & children 0-6 learn how to enhance a child's social and language development

Early Literacy Consultants are available to provide parents and caregivers with literacy ideas. A monthly "Literacy in the Early Years" e-publication or "idea sheet" is available; a collection of story kits are available for loan from our Clinton Centre.

Call 519.482.8505 or 1.888.371.5718 for more information about Early Years literacy programs or to find out when they are being offered.

Parent Resources

Die cuts are a great way to make learning fun. Produce letters, numbers and shapes in a variety of colours. Use them on crafts, flash cards, nametags, and file folder games, bulletin boards, in scrap books or to make foam stamps.

The Clinton Ontario Early Centre has a die press machine and wide variety of dies available for parents, caregivers and teachers to use.

Bring your own materials to cut - paper, felt, foam, sandpaper, sponge, vinyl sheets - anything that scissors can cut may be used by the die press.

Available Die Cuts include:

• Tiny Shapes (TN) - 16 shapes per 8-1/2 x 11"
• Small Shape (Sm) - 8 shapes per 8-1/2 x 11"
• Large Shapes (Lg) - 4 shapes per 8-1/2 x 11"
• Extra-large Shape (XL) - 1 shape per 8-1/2 x 11"

Complete set of 3" letters (upper & lower case), numbers, and punctuation.

Mini punches are available in the following shapes:

Newborn Literacy Kits

Huron County's Ontario Early Years program provides information on early childhood development and the Ontario Early Years Centres for inclusion in Newborn Literacy Kits. These kits are delivered to new mothers at their post-partum visit by a Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) nurse.

Kits include items created to encourage parents and caregivers to read to their children right from birth; a book by award-winning author Barbara Reid, a video, a CD or audiocassette by Kathy Reid-Naiman and a passport to store your child's records like immunization cards. Information on other County services, such as public health and libraries, make sure that parents have access to the information and services they need to support their children's development.