In this section of the website, you can find information about the ABC's of your child's first five years developmental milestones. This section includes recommended websites, reading materials, articles, publications and Building Blocks' own materials which help answer these questions:

~ What accounts for positive development or recovery among children who experience traumatic circumstances?
~ What are the naturally occurring protective processes for human development?
~ What are the most effective intervention strategies that foster positive development among children with high risk for problems?

Building Blocks Newsletters
Communication Skills
Early Childhood Social Emotional Websites
Early Relationships Matter
Nutrition Matters
Positive Behavior Supports
Physical Activity Matters
Reading Matters
Resilience
Sensory Integration
Your Mental Health Matters
		For Providers and policymakers

BUILDING BLOCKS NEWSLETTERS:

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

PBS Communications Skills ~ Long before children can say words or join them into sentences, they are active language learners. Within a few short years, young children go from newborns without language to excellent communicators and lively inventers and tellers of stories.

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EARLY CHILDHOOD SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WEBSITES:

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5. CSEFEL is a national resource center funded by the Office of Head Start and Child Care Bureau for disseminating research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the country.

The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children, also known as TACSEI, is a five-year grant made possible by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. TACSEI takes the research that shows which practices improve the social-emotional outcomes for young children with, or at risk for, delays or disabilities and creates FREE products and resources to help decision-makers, caregivers, and service providers apply these best practices in the work they do every day. Most of these free products are available right here on our website for you to view, download and use.

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. ZERO TO THREE mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. We know that as babies, the way we are held, talked to and cared for teaches us about who we are and how we are valued. This profoundly shapes who we will become. Early experiences set a course for a lifelong process of discovery about ourselves and the world around us. Simply put, early experiences matter.

National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health's Through a family and youth driven approach, children and youth with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges and their families obtain needed supports and services so that children grow up healthy and able to maximize their potential.

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EARLY RELATIONSHIPS MATTER:

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NUTRITION MATTERS:

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS:

Positive Behavior Support for Young Children. A Supplement to Positive Behavior Support for ALL Michigan Students: Creating Environments That Assure Learning ~ Many young children are not in public school systems. They are in preschools and childcare programs where childcare providers and other early childhood professionals have a huge effect on children’s behavior. This supplement is written for professional childcare providers, childcare provider associations, teachers, directors of early care and educational programs, and other early childhood professionals.

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PHYSICAL HEALTH MATTERS:

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READING MATTERS:

Building Blocks "Reading Matters" handout ~ a one-page handout that provides valuable information about the importance of reading to young children together with a list of recommended books to children age 0-8.

Reading and Language ~ A website where you can learn how children become readers and writers and how you can help them develop by talking, reading, and writing together every day.

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RESILIENCE:

Resilience in Development: The Importance of Early Childhood ~ Resilience research, studies of normal development and psychopathology and prevention science all highlight the importance of early childhood for establishing fundamental protections afforded children by positive relationships, healthy brain development, good self-regulation skills, community supports for families and learning opportunities. A resilience framework for systems of care has emerged, with an emphasis on building strengths and competence in children, their families, their relationships and the communities where they live.

SENSORY INTEGRATION

Building Blocks "Sensory Integration" handout ~ a one-page handout that provides valuable information about what sensory integration is and signs of sensory integration functioning.

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YOUR MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS:

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