Links to resources for families:
Bright Beginnings
An invaluable resource for Wild Plum Center Early Head Start families is Colorado Bright Beginnings. This program empowers parents with the guidance, knowledge and tools to create a bright beginning for their child. Home visits are available, free of charge, for three age groups: prenatal-12 months, 12-24 months and 24-36 months.
St. Vrain Valley School District
This is the main website for the St. Vrain Valley School District. Wild Plum Center follows this school calendar and we partner with local schools as children transition into kindergarten from our programs.
Head Start
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family/for-families
Have questions about Head Start? This website is an excellent resource for Wild Plum Center families!
Love and Logic
http://www.loveandlogic.com/articles.html#six
Trusted for over 30 years, Love and Logic® is a philosophy founded in 1977 by Jim Fay and Foster W. Cline, M.D. It is the approach of choice among leading educators, parents, and other professionals worldwide. The Love and Logic Institute is dedicated to making parenting and teaching fun and rewarding, instead of stressful and chaotic. Love and Logic provides practical tools and techniques that help adults achieve respectful, healthy relationships with their children.
Colorado Dads
http://www.coloradodads.com/index.cfm?page=1
Services target fathers of children who are at risk of negative outcomes due to limited father involvement and limited economic support. These include children whose fathers are low-income, teenage parents, fathers of children with disabilities, single custodial parents, non-residential fathers and families receiving child protective services. Services provided by funded programs of the Colorado Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Initiative are available to all eligible persons regardless of gender, race, age disability or religion.
Parent Further
From time to time, all parents need a little help. Sometimes, a piece of solid, encouraging advice can help you have an “a-ha” moment that changes the way you think and act. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong with kids, our positive, strength-based approach to parenting focuses on what’s right with kids (and parents) and the small, everyday steps you can take to help kids be successful in the future.
ZERO TO THREE
ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.
The mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers.
Safe Shelter
http://www.safeshelterofstvrain.org/
Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley provides a comprehensive system of programs and services to address the needs of victims of domestic abuse.
Safe Shelter services include, but are not limited to:
• 24-hour crisis line
• Emergency shelter
• Individual and group counseling
• Case management (including transitional housing programs)
• Information and referrals
• Legal advocacy
• Community and peer education
All services are available in both English and Spanish.
Mayor’s Book Club
http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/youth_services/early_care/mayors_book_club.htm
The Mayor’s Book Club was established in 2007 to not only help 3 and 4 year-olds develop a love for reading and learning at an early age, but to create a level playing field for all of our youngest learners. The “achievement gap” in Longmont, or the disparity in key academic scores, falls along socio-economic and ethnic lines. The Mayor’s Book Club is open to all 3-4 year olds in Longmont, but in an effort to close the achievement gap before kindergarten, this program make a special effort to recruit families who are low-income and newer immigrants.
Bright EYES
http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/youth_services/early_care/
Awareness around the importance of quality early care and education programs has been raised throughout the country and Bright EYES is Longmont’s own initiative to promote quality programs for pre-school-aged children.The EYES in Bright EYES stands for Early Years Education Stewards and conveys the vision of Longmont’s role in providing the best possible opportunities for our community’s youngest learners.
The Bright EYES initiative was formed in 2003, when a local ad-hoc group of representatives from the City of Longmont, the St. Vrain Valley School District and several Longmont health and human service agencies formed to focus on ways that the Longmont community could help ensure that ALL Longmont children have a healthy start in life and are ready to learn when they enter school.