The early years of a child's life are very important for his/her development. Parents, child care providers, health professionals, and other adults can work together to help children reach their full potential.

Assessment & Services

Project Find - Provides free developmental/educational assessment and services to Huron County residents from Kindergarten to 26 years of age. Call your local school or the Huron Learning Center at 989-269-9274 for more information.
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Early On - Early intervention services for infants and toddlers, birth to three years of age, with developmental delays and/or disabilities. To be eligible for services a child must have an established medical condition that places the child at risk for a developmental delay or be 20% delayed for their age in any developmental area (gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, social emotional or adaptive). To schedule an Early On evaluation call 989-269-3484. Early On is part of the Michigan's public education services, there are no costs to families and services are not based on income or other financial qualifications.

Common Milestones

Milestone Moments: Center for Disease Control - Look inside this Child Development Guide for milestones to watch for in your child and how you can help your child learn and grow. How your child plays, learns, speaks, and acts offers important clues about your child's development. Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age.
If you are unsure of what is typical for your child's age, use the links below for guidance.
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Infant Development (birth to 12 months)                                   
0-3 months 
4-7 months
8-12 months
Communication skills for babies
Physical Development
Social/ Emotional Development
Thinking Skills
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Toddler Development (1-3 years)
Milestones
Potty training
Communication skills for toddlers
Physical Development
Social/ Emotional Development
Thinking Skills
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Preschooler Development (3-5 years)
Milestones
Mealtimes and Nutrition
Communication skills
Physical Development
Social/ Emotional Development
Thinking Skills

School Readiness

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What is school readiness?  At the end of a successful preschool experience, a typical child entering kindergarten has these kinds of skills:
  • Social and Emotional
            -  Follows three-step directions (put your cup in the sink, put the ball in your room and get your coat on).
            -  Takes care of own needs and asks for help when needed. Able to feed themselves, brush their teeth, comb hair, dress themselves, etc.
            -  Can be away from  parents and looks forward to going to school.
  • Physical
            -  Is able to get from one place to another by traveling (gallop, run, skip, hop) and can balance (hop on one foot, walk in a straight line and stand on one                foot for 5 to 10 seconds).
            -  Can hold a pencil, crayon or marker, and scissors to draw, write and cut. Can paste pictures on paper.
            -  Able to build with blocks, form shapes out of clay or play dough, can thread beads on a string and complete simple puzzles.
  • Language
            - Able to use works to say what they need or want throughout the day.
            -  Asks and appropriately answers who, what, where, when and why questions.
            -  In conversation, maintains eye contact and does not interrupt.
  • Cognitive
            -  Is able to solve their problems and change their plans for a better solution.
            -  Sorts objects by size (smaller, bigger, longer, shorter), by weight (heavier, lighter), by color, and by type (block, doll, ball, etc.).
            -  Understands the order of daily routines, such as meal time routines (wash hands, eat meal, clean up).
  • Literacy
            -  Able to recognize at least 10 letters and the sounds they make and understand that letters can make words.
            -  Recognizes and says simple rhymes (top, mop or fox, box).
            -  Enjoys story time (holds book correctly, turns pages from front to back and knows that sentences are read from left to right) and recognizes stop                        signs, store signs and other print they see often.
            -  Is able to write their name and draw pictures.
  • Math
            -  Can count 10 - 20 things, touching one item at a time as they count.
            -  Verbally counts to 20 and identifies 5 - 10 numbers by name.
            -  Identifies names and describes shapes.
            -  Can copy simple, repeating patterns and can make their own pattern.











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Did you know...
The development of speech and language skills is strongly linked to thinking ability, social relationships, reading and writing, and school success. Speech involves the use of specific sounds to create words. Language is the way we combine sounds, words, and sentences to communicate with and understand others. Each child is different and will develop speech and language skills at a different pace. It's important to note that bilingual children develop language skills just as other children do.

General Communication Tips for Young Children

You can use any of the following tips to help stimulate speech, language, and listening skills for children across the age range from birth to age 5 years.

Building Vocabulary:
  • Talk, talk talk!  Talk about what you are doing and what your child is doing. Your child will learn to associate the words you say with the actions, objects, and feeling you describe.
  • Follow your child's lead and talk about objects, people, and activities that have captured her attention.
  • Expose your child to a large number and variety of words. Even though children learn new words fast, it's still a good idea to repeat the same word frequently.
  • If your child is being raised in a bilingual home, create many opportunities to hear and use vocabulary from both languages in everyday interactions.

Developing Listening Skills and Speech Sounds
  • Children do not learn to say all speech sounds at once; instead, they say sounds in a predictable sequence depending on the particular language or languages they are learning.
  • Be a good speech model. Speak clearly, naturally, and use correct speech sounds and real words.
  • If your child is being raised in a bilingual home, communicate with your child in the language that you are most comfortable using.
  • If your child has a speech error, say the sound correctly in your own speech. Don't correct your child in the early stage of speech development.
  • Show excitement when your child vocalizes, imitates your mouth movements or sounds, or uses new sounds and words.
  • Gain your child's attention before you speak. Notice where your child's attention is focused and talk about those objects, events, and people.
  • When interacting with your child, make every attempt to keep background noise to a minimum. This will help your child to focus on your words without competing noises.

Participating in Conversations:
  • Respond to any of your child's communication attempts, including early cooing and babbling sounds.
  • Imitate your child's sounds or words and add to them.
  • After you talk, pause and give your child a chance to respond - even it your child just cries or vocalizes.
  • Talking, listening, and responding to your child helps develop the ability to understand and follow the rules of conversation:
            - taking turns to speak
            - keeping the needs of the listener in mind when                     speaking
            - understanding facial expressions and gestures
            - staying on topic
            - knowing how to respond appropriately
  • Help your child learn how to have a conversation:
            - pause after you speak, giving time for your child to have a turn speaking
            - try not to put words into her mouth; instead, gently guide her when she 
              seems unable to continue
            - help him stay on topic by extending his conversation and adding related 
              information
  • Encourage your child to extend upon ideas about a topic and use many different sentences about the same topic. Ask questions, make comments, and build on each response.
  • Show that you are listening and comment on what your child says.
  • Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer when your child is developmentally ready. Also, ask questions that have more than one right answer to help your child learn that people have different opinions and ideas. Encourage older children to tell you why they answered in a particular way.
  • Encourage your child to ask you questions as curiosity blossoms.

Getting Ready for Reading and Writing:
  • Reading to your child builds language skills. Read to her even before she understands what your are saying.
  • Read to your child often and start early - from birth.
  • If your child is learning more than one language, read to your child in each language.
  • Share books with your child each day in a relaxing and fun way, even if it is only for a few minutes.
  • Expose your child to many different reading and writing materials. Create a "literacy-rich" environment at home. Jut having books, newspapers, magazines, and other printed words creates an atmosphere that helps with reading and writing development.
  • Talk about the objects, characters, actions, and plots in books you read together. Interaction during reading time should be positive and pleasurable.
  • Fluctuate your tone of voice while reading. The variety in the pitch of your voice will help to gain and keep your child's attention.
  • Read the same book many times.
  • Point to and run your finger under words while reading books to your child.
  • Show your child how to turn pages and let him try.
  • Make frequent trips to the library to let your child choose his own books, share your childhood favorites, and select books recommended by teachers and librarians. Attend story hour or library activities recommended for your child's age.
  • When relatives ask what your child needs, suggest a sturdy brightly illustrated book with colorful pictures.
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Help your child learn the importance of reading.
What young children like in books:
  • Infants 0 - 6 months:
          -  Books with simple, large pictures or designs with bright
              colors.
          -  Stiff cardboard, "chunky" books, or fold out books that can
              be propped up in the crib.
          -  Cloth and soft vinyl books with simple pictures of people
              or familiar objects that can go in the bath or get washed.
  • Infants 6 - 12 months:
          -  Board books with photos of other babies.
          -  Brightly colored "chunky" board books to touch and taste!
          -  Books with photos of familiar objects like balls and bottles.
          -  Books with sturdy pages that can be propped up or spread
              out in the crib or on a blanket.
          -  Plastic/vinyl books for bath time.
          -  Washable cloth books to cuddle and mouth.
          -  Small plastic photo albums of family and friends.
  • Young Toddlers 12 - 24 months:
          -  Sturdy board books that they can carry.
          -  Books with photos of children doing familiar things like
              sleeping or playing.
          -  Goodnight books for bed time.
          -  Books about saying hello and good-bye.
          -  Books with only a few words on each page.
          -  Books with simple rhymes or predictable text.
          -  Animal books of all sizes and shapes.
  • Toddlers 2 - 3 years:
          -  Books that tell simple stories.
          -  Simple rhyming books that they can memorize.
          -  Bed time books.
          -  Books about counting, the alphabet, shapes or sizes,
          -  Animal books, vehicle books, books about playtime.
          -  Books with their favorite TV characters inside.
          -  Books about saying hello and good-bye.
Ways to Share Books with Babies and Toddlers
Build Up - helps parents and their children, 3 through 5, get additional educational support, as they begin and continue to learn the skills needed to enter Kindergarten. Michigan's Early Childhood Special Education includes special instruction and related services provided to young children, ages 3 through 5, who qualify under the Individuals With Disability Act (IDEA, Part B, Section 619). For more information call 989-269-3408.
Well-Child Exam - your pediatrician or family doctor will look for developmental delays and talk with you about any concerns you might have about your child's health and development. If concerns are identified, an appointment should be made for a free, developmental evaluation at the Huron Intermediate School District. See the Huron County Family Resources Brochure for a list of local pediatricians and family doctors.