Power of Preschool

In June 2004, FIRST 5 approved funding to work with the Advancing Excellence in Early Education (E3) Institute and other stakeholders in the local child development community to deliver a Master Plan for FIRST 5 Santa Clara County Power of Preschool. The Master Plan includes best practices in providing quality childcare environments, a quality childcare workforce development plan, childcare curriculum strategies and a plan to make preschool accessible to all families.

Power of Preschool Master Plan » (pdf, 905 KB)

Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards (CARES)

FIRST 5 Santa Clara County funds the CARES program, which stands for Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards, to promote, reward and encourage educational attainment among early education professionals in Santa Clara County. The CARES program is implemented by the E3 Institute in partnership with four community-based agencies throughout the county.

For more information: www.e3institute.org or 408-299-1700

Learning, Arts & Discovery Opportunities

Artsopolis

www.ArtsopolisKids.com, sponsored by FIRST 5 Santa Clara County, serves to increase the visibility of local arts programming appropriate for children under 12 years and their families, with a particular emphasis on children between 0 and 5 years of age. ArtsopolisKids.com is an extension of its parent website, Artsopolis.com, the leading online resource for arts and cultural information in Silicon Valley and beyond. Artsopolis.com offers the largest database of Silicon Valley arts and cultural events, as well as additional listings of classes and workshops, jobs, auditions, organizations, venues, individual artists and discounted ticket offers.

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
FIRST 5 Santa Clara County "The Wonder Cabinet"

Open the door to a wonder-filled world where our youngest explorers can make big discoveries! In Children's Discovery Museum's newest 3,000 square foot exhibit, you'll find the Woodland Puppet Forest, Giant Dragon, Sand Science Laboratory, Crawl-Through Tunnel, Child-Sized Kaleidoscope and more. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers will build, touch, create, listen, look, pretend and laugh. And as they collect precious memories, adults will share in their child's delight and marvel at their curiosity. The Wonder Cabinet invites hands-on exploration upon walking through the "cabinet" doors and into the remarkable environment filled with wonders. The Crawl Space, designed specifically for pre-walkers, features sensory activities, mirrors, puppets, dioramas and even an aquarium in the floor that infants can slither or crawl up to. The Forest is a place to explore stories, where a giant tree is really a theatre, the woodland animals are puppets, the grassy knoll is comfortable seating for an adult audience and the forest is filled with books. The ABC Case helps visitors explore the alphabet in creative new ways, where each letter is in a shadow box, such as "E is for eating." Learn more about the Wonder Cabinet at www.cdm.org/p/viewPage.asp?mlid=189.

Hooked on Nature

Hooked on Nature is a movement to increase awareness of nature, enhancing the emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual health of children and communities they live within. Hooked on Nature conducts workshops and activities for parents, care providers and children to increase children's interaction and learning from nature. To find out more go to: http://www.hookedonnature.org/index.html.