Transition to Kindergarten

The start of kindergarten should be a memorable and exciting experience for each young learner. Your feedback is valuable and will help us to provide a well-developed transition to kindergarten plan for the students of Manatee County.

School Supply Station

The ELC has collected classroom materials for our teachers with the help of HCA Florida Blake Hospital. The School Supply Station is loaded with learning materials, school supplies, and all the educational cargo teachers may need during the school year to use at their early learning centers to help with learning in young children. Check your email for more details coming soon!

DEL Parents' Pages

November is Family Engagement Month! Learn about Florida's New World Initiative for VPK and public K-5 students, how to find quality child care that meets your family’s needs with Gold Seal Quality Care designation, and child care resource and referral services for families.

Promoting Family Engagement

Families are engaged when they partner with early learning programs to promote their children’s development, learning, and wellness. Positive relationships between families and staff in early learning programs are the foundation for family engagement.  

The Science of Reading

To continue building and enhancing the early literacy instructional skills of our volunteers (and partners) when working with children, We ask that all 2023-2024 ReadingPals volunteers participate in our live session on November 9th, from 11:00am-12:00pm ET, or view the recorded session.

Fairy Tale Follies 2023

Join us on December 14, 2023, for a FREE performance for your classroom! 10:00am showtime. Give your students the gift of theatre and watch their favorite characters come to life live on stage! Seats are limited, reserve your tickets today!

Teachstone Early Learning

Did you know that Florida Division of Early Learning (DEL) recently partnered with Teachstone to provide over $9 million in free professional development for early learning professionals? These trainings are open for you to register yourself and your staff today. Learn more about these courses through the link below.

Exclusionary Discipline

The increasing practice of implementing exclusionary discipline in early learning classrooms does exactly what we do not want to do – it removes the child from an environment that is supposed to be a safe place where educators can provide support and intervention as needed.