Resources for Parents
At First 5 Orange County, we believe that all young children deserve to reach their full potential. But sometimes we all need a little help, and that’s where First 5 Orange County can point you in the right direction.
Whether it’s concerns about a child’s health, development and mental well-being, or finding child care, early learning activities and food assistance, here are some resources to help families and children.
Early Learning/Child Care
Speech and Language Resource
Do you have concerns about a child’s speech and language development? Here are two key resources and tips for parents to help access speech-language services and support.
Click here to download the resource in English.
Click here to download the resource in Spanish.
Click here to download the resource in Vietnamese.
In our program, parents can engage with their children on a deeper level, beyond simply observing them play; they are provided with an opportunity to foster more meaningful connections and ask questions to staff,” – Renee Ybarra, Coordinator for Early Childhood Education at Orange Unified School District
Learning Link
Help your child learn and grow through play at a Learning Link! Learning Link is a drop-in program for children – infants to 5 years old – and their parent or caregiver. Learning Links are a great place for children to meet other children, and for caregivers to learn new ways to play with their child with the help of a qualified preschool teacher.
Building Blocks for Kindergarten
First 5 OC created a free resource, Building Blocks for Kindergarten, to help families and children prepare to start school.
This guide introduces tips and information for parents and caregivers to help children get ready for their kindergarten school experience.
Getting Your Child Ready for School
First 5 OC also created a free parent's toolkit called Getting Your Child Ready for School. This parent and family resource is based on the Early Development Index (EDI) and Kid Builders.
The EDI is a teacher-rated measure of kindergarten children’s readiness to learn at school in five areas of early childhood development.
Kid Builders are activities designed to support children’s health and development. This parent toolkit provides tips, information, and Kid Builder activities for each of those five EDI areas.
Click here to download the resource in English.
Click here to download the resource in Spanish.
Click here to download the resource in Vietnamese.
Click here to download the resource in Russian.
Click here to download the resource in Simplified Chinese.
Click here to download the resource in Traditional Chinese.
Parenting OC: Ask the Expert
First 5 OC's Early Learning Systems manager Cristina Blevins has over 20 years of experience in early childhood education. In this Parenting OC column, she shares how parents can help their children ages 2 to 6 with anxiety about starting school. Read the column: parentingoc.com/education/dealing-with-school-anxiety.
Kid Builders
View Kid Builders activities — a fun and free, action-packed resource for all children ages 0-5 to help them grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.
These easy-to-do activities, right at your fingertips, can help your kids grow in six critical areas: body, health, mind, relationships, safety and words.
The activities are available online at https://first5oc.org/kid-builders/.
Safety
Creating a Safe Sleep Environment
Creating a safe sleep environment for babies is essential in reducing the risks of SIDS, suffocation, and other sleep-related causes of infant death. This resource provides key safety guidelines, including placing your baby on their back in a crib or bassinet without blankets, pillows, or toys. By following these recommendations, caregivers can better protect young children and promote healthier sleep practices.
Click here to access this resource in English.
Click here to access this resource in Spanish.
Click here to access this resource in Vietnamese.
Legal
Legal Problem-Solving and Flourishing Handbook
This handbook was designed to assist in embracing legal problem-solving as a strategy and to provide a bigger toolbox that taps legal problem-solving resources both inside and outside the sector, so that perinatal and early childhood systems, programs, and teams can more effectively meet their mission of supporting families to flourish. Get the handbook here.
The handbook is available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Cape Verdean Creole, and Haitian Creole here.