Educator & Provider Resources 

If you are seeking engaging lessons and curriculum to use in your classroom or program, these sites offer a wide variety of resources.

• The Collaboration’s Garden Growers: A Lesson for Every Season
• Farm to Preschool
• Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative
• Illinois Early Learning Project (Illinois Projects in Practice)
• Illinois Early Learning Tip Sheets
• Illinois Early Learning Standards and Guidelines
• Illinois Early Learning Project
• Center on the Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning: Resources for Teachers

Developmental Screening

The Collaboration provides support to pediatric and family practice physicians and early childhood education and child care professionals to conduct developmental screenings of all children in their care. The Collaboration provides training and technical assistance to conduct two screenings twice per year:

• The Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition (ASQ-3)
• Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE-2)

If you would like to get involved in the Developmental Screening Project, email health@collab4kids.org.

Developmental Milestones

Developmental milestones help us celebrate and monitor children’s growth and development. Some resources to support you in monitoring children’s development are below:

• Collaboration Publication: Watch and Help Me Grow
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Healthy Children
• CDC: Learn the Signs. Act Early.

• Collaboration’s Annual Early Childhood Symposium
• Illinois Action for Children: Course Catalogue
• Illinois STARNET Training Calendar
• Gateways to Opportunity iLearning Online Training
• Illinois Training Calendar (click “search” if you don’t know what to filter for)
• Town Square: Where Family Child Care Professionals Learn, Share and Thrive (in Partnership with Erikson Institute)
• Early Childhood Investigations is a ongoing series of conference-quality free webinars for early childhood educators.
• Educa Thought Leader Early Childhood Webinars
• edWeb is a free social network and professional learning community
• The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge, The Connect Modules
• PK-3 Teach Lead Grow – Learning Modules

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative

Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center

Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI)

Investing in Early Childhood by Professor James Heckman (video)

Too Small to Fail

Early Math is Big (video)

Informational Documents and Articles about Sensory Processing

• Uncovering the Biological Basis for Sensory Processing Disorders
• Sensory Processing Issues Explained
• The Debate Over Sensory Processing
• What is Sensory Defensiveness? [PDF]
• What Is Sensory Processing Disorder? [PDF]
• The Effects of Infant and Maternal Sensory Processing on Infant Fussing, Crying, and Sleep [PDF]
• The Development of Sensory Over-responsivity From Infancy to Elementary School [PDF]
• References for Sensory Processing [PDF]

Books on Sensory Processing

• Sensory Integration and the Child
• Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight
• The Out-of-Sync Child
• Sensational Kids 
• Understanding Your Child’s Sensory Signals

Online Resource Centers for Sensory Processing Disorder

• The STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder
• Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)Resource Center

Early intervention is a term used to describe the services and supports that are available to babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. 

Early childhood special education refers to services for children, three through five years of age with developmental delays or disabilities and their families. Serves are provided through local school districts and special education cooperatives. 

• An overview of Early Intervention and Special Education
• The referral process for Early Intervention

Local organizations that serve children with disabilities:

• West Suburban Special Recreation Association
• Oak-Leyden Developmental Services

You can find much more information on our Resources for Children with Disabilities and Developmental Delays webpage.