TX State Center for Early Childhood Development

Background

Mission & History

In 2003 Governor Rick Perry named The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education (CIRCLE) as The Texas State Center for Early Childhood Development to work with the Office of the Governor and the Texas Education Agency to design plans for implementing the Governor's Early Start Initiatives. As the designated state center, work is carried out to:

• develop training for early childhood providers in Texas,
• enhance pre-literacy skills development for young children,
• further coordinate efforts among early childhood education funding streams and programs, and
• develop a quality rating system to certify early childhood education programs as getting children ready for formal schooling.

Parent Calendar

The Parent Calendar includes daily, fun activities for you and your child. Each month has a different focus, such as Building Vocabulary and Letter Knowledge. To use the calendar, simply download and print it. Download and Print the Parent Calendar English Version | Spanish Version

Classroom Themes

Building classroom activities and materials around a thematic topic is a wonderful way to get children excited about learning and to connect the different areas of your curriculum in a meaningful, integrated way.

Thematic instruction is based on the idea that children (in fact, adults too!) learn best when instruction is presented in the context of a coherent "whole," and when they can connect what they're learning to the real world. Thematic instruction provides opportunities for children to make connections among different subject areas (such as reading, math, and science) and to build a base of knowledge about a particular topic. The teacher chooses a thematic topic and then chooses lessons, books, and activities that relate to the theme. A thematic unit may be designed to last for a week, a month, or even longer. Most teachers change themes every few weeks or so. Click here for more information

Latest Developments

• More than 1,000 Classrooms Awarded Texas School Ready! Certification from the State Center for Early Childhood Education
• Non-Profit Development Center for Homeless Children Prepares Them for Kindergarten
• New Training for Toddler TEEM now available! Click here for more information.

Downloads

• Preparing to be a Texas School Ready!™ Program
• Classroom Themes
• TEEM Parent Calendar 2008
• Social Competence Screener Brief Summary TEEM
• Texas Early Education Model: Findings from 2 years of implementation
• Report from the State Center for Early Childhood Development
• State Center Awards “Texas Readiness Certification” to Pre-K Classrooms
• State Center Awarding “Texas Readiness Certification” to 450 Pre-K Classrooms for the ’07-’08 School Year