Happy New Year!

Welcome 2025!

Thank you for starting your year with us at the Hub.

In this edition, you'll find lots to read on those rainy days ahead this winter: books to build bravery, upcoming 2025 titles, and DIY bookmarks to log your reading journey with your child. Our OPEC blog post will celebrate the Power of Play and our Meet the Hub spotlight is a call for you to join us! (Yes, we're hiring!) January is also Braille Literacy Month. We are proud to share that Dolly Parton's Imagination Library partners with AHP to provide young children who are blind and visually impaired with accessible books in print/braille and audio formats. We've also included a list of exciting MLK events in Lane County and included an Oregon guide to Lunar New Year that begins at the end of the month.

Seeking community? Meet new people by joining one of the parenting groups and community cafes kicking off this month. It is all ahead.

We are glad you are here!

2025 Reading Bookmarks and Logs

Who doesn’t love a great bookmark? How about one that doubles as a book tracker?! These printable bookmarks, plus a reading log with space to record book titles, are a fun way for kids to keep on top of their reading goals.



Featuring four beautifully illustrated seasonally-inspired bookshelves, each bookmark includes ten book spines that challenge kids to read ten books in a season. Voracious readers can print out additional copies and glue them together for a 20-book challenge. Kids can decorate and color in a spine for each book they finish reading. They can write book titles directly on the spine or use the included reading log.

Print these bookmarks on cardstock to ensure sturdiness.

January Reading Recommendations

Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?: A Who Was? Board Book By Lisbeth Kaiser and Who HQ Illustrated by Stanley Chow

This age-appropriate introduction honors and shares the life and work of one of the most influential civil rights activists of our time, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim - Lunar or Chinese New Year Read Aloud Storybook For Kids - Goldilocks Fairytale Retelling

Goldy's parents thought she would be lucky when she was born, but she is a bit clumsy. It's Lunar New Year, and she is sent over to her the Changs' house to give them some turnip cakes to celebrate. When she arrives, the panda family isn't home and calamity ensues. This is a great multicultural retelling of the classic Goldilocks story!

Parenting Blog Post: The Power of Play

While babysitting recently, the 15-month-old was a little wary at my arrival. Once I started reciting “This Little Piggy” on her toes, she broke into a giant smile, and we were good friends. Play helps build social skills, emotional well-being, physical development, and literacy. When I’m around small children, I love the opportunity to be silly and giggle together, but I don’t cultivate as easily it in my own life. Not only do we need to help our children find more opportunities for unstructured play, we can benefit from creating these experiences for ourselves as adults. Playing will help us navigate stresses in our world. When we play, we can inspire joy and playfulness in the children and families around us.

Read full article here / Leer el artículo completo aquí

January is Braille Literacy Month

Celebrate Braille Literacy Month! Find out where you can learn braille, where to get free braille books, ideas to celebrate Louis Braille's birthday, and more resources on braille.

Since 2011, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) has partnered with American Printing House for the Blind, Inc (APH) to provide many of the wonderful books in our program, available in braille and audio format to be accessible to young children who are blind or visually impaired.

Thanks to this collaborative effort, DPIL, APH and Penguin Group USA, continues to expand its collection of titles which are available as free downloadable children’s audio books and many other titles available in braille from APH. These are offered free-of-charge to eligible families and may be purchased at a low cost by all others. Visit APH.org/Imagination-Library-Collaboration to learn more.

Local Martin Luther King Jr Events

Lunar New Year Celebrations in Oregon

How to Celebrate Lunar New Year in Oregon

A brief history and a roundup of statewide events to celebrate renewal.

Lunar New Year, traditionally known as the Spring Festival in many East Asian and South Asian cultures, marks a period of renewal. The holiday brings together friends and family to feast, reflect and usher in prosperity, happiness and good health.

Based on the traditional lunisolar calendar, Lunar New Year does not adhere to a fixed date like the January 1 of the Gregorian calendar. Typically occurring anywhere between January 19 and February 23, Lunar New Year in 2025 falls on January 29. In accordance with the Chinese zodiac, each year is associated with one of the five Chinese elements and one of 12 astrological animals. This is the Year of the Snake.

Local Parenting Resources

WellMama is a non-profit organization that provides comprehensive pregnancy and postpartum support for new, expectant, and grieving parents.

Group classes and Wellness Workshops include:

Mariposas y Rosas - Únete a nosotros para un espacio de apoyo donde podrás conectarte con mamás que hablan español.

Walkers & Talkers - This group offers a safe & supportive space to connect with other parents with toddlers, while receiving support and access to resources.

New Parent Support - This group offers a supportive space to connect with other parents, while receiving support and access to resources.

Wobblers and Crawlers - This group offers a safe & supportive space to connect with other parents with crawlers, while receiving support and access to resources.

WellMama CONNECT on Zoom

Open Loss Circle - All are welcome to attend this circle – come as you are.

Building Connections: Wonder Year

NICU Support, and so much more!

Check out the WellMama calendar for January here!

Fact Oregon: Early Childhood Learning Conference

4J School Choice

90by30 Parent & Community Cafe: Strengthening Relationships through Repair

Neurodiversity Family Support Night

Families Connected: Coffee Meet Up

Our Community Birth Center: Baby Clinic

Creswell FRC Raising a Reader

The Arc Kids' Saturday Social - available in Springfield & Oakridge

This month's Meet the Hub Staff spotlight is a call to join us. The Early Childhood Hub of Lane County is hiring! Learn more about our two job opportunities here and apply soon. The Parenting Education Navigation Manager position closes this Friday, January 17. The Preschool Promise Enrollment Project Manager closes on

Interested in being a part of the FLC? The 90 minute meetings are virtual, and council members receive a $50 gift card for their time. Meetings offer live translation into Spanish.

To learn more, visit the Early Childhood Hub through the link below!

Thanks for reading our newsletter! We would love to hear your feedback on the content of our newsletter, questions, or recommendations on what you would like to read about next time. Feel free to send us an email at education@unitedwaylane.org.

Thanks to Crosscultural Now for Spanish translation. Newsletter edited by Lisa Milton.