Resources for Families

The OELL believes family engagement is a partnership between families and schools.  This relationship seeks to create active participation, communication, and teamwork between families, schools, classrooms and the communities in which they serve.  The OELL office seeks to empower families and communities by providing assistance and resources to ensure student achievement and success of all South Carolina students.

Resource Information and Links

• Supporting Early Literacy at Home: A Parent's Guide is an online resource designed to provide information for parents and caregivers so that they can support their children’s early literacy development. Research shows that parent/caregiver involvement is the number one predictor of early literacy success as well as future academic success. The guide provides information and strategies that will equip parents and caregivers with tools to support children from birth through the beginning years of school. Each module includes a video introduction, resources to view, resources to read, and a place to reflect and respond. 
• Family and Community Engagement Information from the US Department of Education (external link)
• Helping Your Child Become a Reader - a brochure for parents (PDF 265KB - 11/01/2016)
• Vroom - web app to assist parents and families with incorporating early learning activities at home
• Developmental Milestones - birth to 12 months (video - external link)
• Developmental Milestones - 12 months to 24 months (video - external link)
• Developmental Milestones - 24 months to 36 months (video - external link)
• Preparing for PreK - Murray's First Day of Preschool - Sesame Street (video - external link)
• The School Ready Child (external link)
• EdVenture Camps for Kids (external link)
• Transition to Kindergarten (PDF 169 MB)
• Summer Camps and Programs at the Roper Mountain Science Center, Greenville SC (external link)
• Bridging Language and Culture for Family Engagement (external link)
• Fear and Anxiety – An Age by Age Guide to Common Fears, the Reasons for Each and How to Manage Them.  This helpful resource breaks down childhood fears by ages and then explains them.
• Daily Touchscreen Use in Infants and Toddlers is Associated with Reduced Sleep and Delayed Sleep Onset: Recently published research based on a survey of families in the United Kingdom showed that 75% of toddlers ages 6 months to 3-years use a touchscreen daily. Results showed every additional hour of touchscreen use was associated with an overall reduction in sleep of 15.6 minutes.
• Hold Those Babies: Study Shows Early Touch Has Lasting Effects on Babies. Hold those snuggly newborns as much as you can. It's not only good for you, it's good for them. Research reported in the March 2017 issue of Current Biology shows that those early experiences when babies are touched and held linger in their brains. 
• Free Information and Resources for New Parents. Arizona First Things First recently created a digital Parent Kit to help new parents support the healthy development of their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The virtual resource provides information on child development, health and safety, how to choose high-quality childcare, family well-being, and school readiness. Very little of the content is Arizona-specific.
• Nine Tips to Inspire Family Reading.  Make family reading time is a vital way to help your child become an expert reader.  
• Truce Play Guide:  What parents can do to provide healthy play.