Illinois Early Learning

Swimming looks different for different age groups. Choose swim lessons with safety and quality instruction in mind. Explore our tip sheet for more information about swim lessons for young children.

Swimming for the Ages | Illinois Early Learning Project Swimming looks different for different age groups. Choose swim lessons with safety and quality instruction in mind.

Classroom visits, where families observe future settings, can support a child’s transition into a new program.

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STEAM learning provides children hands-on opportunities to discover their world. For example, play is a pathway for STEAM exploration. This play can be messy yet full of rich possibilities for learning. Explore more in this toolkit.

Make a Mess and Explore STEAM | Illinois Early Learning Project This tool kit provides ideas and resources to help you plan engaging and developmentally appropriate STEAM activities for young children.

Do you work with the Illinois Prevention Initiative (PI)? Explore the PI Implementation Manual supporting programs implementing PI Evidence-Based Home Visiting, PI Child Care Centers, PI Family Child Care Homes, and PI Family Child Care Group Homes as well as Family Support and Educational Services.

Illinois Prevention Initiative: Implementation Manual | Illinois Early Learning Project The Illinois Prevention Initiative Implementation Manual is based on the Illinois Birth to Five Program Standards and Quality Indicators and is organized as such.

Toddlers can keep us so busy that we might think they will always be physically fit. Read this tip sheet and learn how to make children’s physical activity a way of life.

Physical Fitness for Toddlers | Illinois Early Learning Project Toddlers can keep us so busy that we might think they will always be physically fit. But toddlers who get used to an inactive lifestyle are at risk for obesity later in life.

Please join OneOp for an upcoming free professional development webinar this Thursday, June 11th at 10am.

Insights & Best Practices from the USDA Summer Meal Programs

This webinar will provide an overview of federal summer meal program priorities, highlight practical strategies from a successful summer meal site, and discuss opportunities to strengthen community partnerships and program operations. Attendees will gain both policy insights and on-the-ground perspectives to support effective planning and implementation of summer meal programs.

· Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
· Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM CT
· Details & free registration: https://oneop.org/learn/160129/

Who should attend:
Registered dietitians, public health professionals, health educators, social workers, and other service providers.

Both sessions are approved for FREE continuing education from the Commission on Dietetic Registration, American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences, and the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.

Incorporate math into bedtime routines by counting pillows or stuffed animals. 🧸

As a project progresses, one challenge that teachers face is knowing how much to get involved. When and how do we offer support or guidance, and when do we step back and help children as they wonder and problem solve? In our blog, learn how children can drive the topic, ask the questions, and direct the investigations, but how the teacher has a role, too.
https://illinoisearlylearning.org/blogs/supporting-problem-solving/

Supporting Children’s Problem-Solving Skills in Project Approach Work: What is the Teacher’s Role? | Illinois Early Learning Project As a project progresses, one challenge that teachers face is knowing how much to get involved. When and how do we offer support or guidance, and when do we step back and help children as they wonder…

Teams of practitioners and families solve problems together.