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Tag: pa promise for children

News

July 20, 2026

PA Promise for Children Pairs July Books with Activities for Kindergarteners

PA Promise for Children has released a list of eight books for kindergarteners to read in July that are broken into four categories.

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The list of books – which is included in PA Promise for Children’s recent Kindergarten Here I Come newsletter – cover the topics of Language and Literacy Skills, Social Studies Thinking, Science Thinking and Technology, and Health, Wellness, and Physical Development.

The list includes:

Language and Literacy Skills

  • Popcorn! (Elaine Landau)
  • Popcorn (Frank Asch)

Social Studies Thinking

  • In the Night Kitchen (Maurice Sendak)
  • The Baker’s Dozen (Dan Andreasen)

Science Thinking and Technology

  • Bubble Trouble (Joy N. Hulme)
  • Pop! (Kimberly Brubaker Bradley)

Health, Wellness, and Physical Development

  • The Little Red Hen (Paul Galdone)
  • Everybody Bakes Bread (Norah Dooley)

In the newsletter, each category is paired with an activity. For the Language and Literacy Skills selections, caregivers are recommended to make popcorn to accompany the reading, talking about the different ways to make the snack and discussing the sounds, taste, and feeling of popcorn.

The Social Studies Thinking books are recommended to be paired with a visit to a bakery or a tour of a grocery store’s bakery. Children should close their eyes and listen to the sounds and smell the air in the bakery, and then be asked to describe them.

For the Scientific Thinking and Technology selections, caregivers can explore the direction of the wind with children and its connection to bubbles. Use wands and bubble solution to discuss what happens to bubbles when they land on different objects or surfaces.

Lastly, the Health, Wellness, and Physical Development books can be paired with making bread. This activity provides a kindergartener with many unique sensory experiences, such as kneading dough or sprinkling flour. For children who cannot eat the bread, share the experience with them through words by describing the taste and textures.

News

July 13, 2026

PA Promise for Children Recommends July Books for Preschoolers

PA Promise for Children has released its list of July books for preschoolers, providing eight titles across four categories.

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The list of books is included in PA Promise for Children’s latest Kindergarten Here I Come newsletter. The four categories for the selections include Language and Literacy Skills, Science Thinking and Technology, Mathematical Thinking and Expression, and Health, Wellness, and Physical Development.

This month’s selections include:

Language and Literacy Skills

  • Sorting Through Spring (Lizann Flatt)
  • Stick and Stone (Beth Ferry)

Health, Wellness, and Physical Development

  • Fireflies! (Julie Brinckloe)
  • Summer Days and Nights (Wong Herbert Yee)

Science Thinking and Technology

  • Mud Puddle (Robert Munsch)
  • When Day Became Night (Jules Miller)

Mathematical Thinking and Expression

  • Two Speckled Eggs (Jennifer K. Mann)
  • Mouse Shapes (Ellen Stoll Walsh)

To view the entire list, visit PA Promise for Children’s website.

News

May 18, 2026

World Play Day Emphasizes Importance of Play for Child Development

Families and educators will be encouraged to emphasize the important role that play has in children’s growth and learning on Thursday, May 28 for World Play Day.

Resources

Play helps children to develop social skills, emphasizes creativity, improves language, and builds problem-solving skills. It improves children’s well-being and helps with brain development.

Trying Together’s Playful Resources Series includes a number of articles on how play can help children become interested in various topics (such as science), aid with social and cognitive development, and improve decision-making skills.

Some of the articles included in the series include:

The Importance of Play

In a resource titled The Importance of Play, PA Promise for Children notes that play is as important to a child’s development as work is for an adult. Play teaches children new skills and how to share with others. It also helps them to make decisions and learn about the world as well as work through scary and confusing experiences.

The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that play should be child-driven – not adult-directed – and that it is important for young people to have independent time away from TV, tablets, and video games for the sake of using their minds and keeping their bodies in good health.

PA Promise for Children writes that encouraging open-ended play can help children score higher in reading and math tests. A lack of play, on the other hand, can lead to childhood obesity, stress, aggression, and a lack of creativity or imagination.

Types of play that should be encouraged include:

  • Large and small-motor play
  • Language play (telling stories, making up silly songs)
  • Construction play (building things)
  • Sensory play (in mud or water)
  • Make-believe play
  • Rough-and-tumble and risk-taking play
  • Symbolic play (turning a stick into a magic wand, for example)
  • Mastery play (learning to do new things)

PA Promise for Children’s The Importance of Play article can be found on its website.

News

May 12, 2026

PA Promise for Children Releases May List of Books for Preschoolers

Pennsylvania Promise for Children has released its May list of recommended books for preschoolers that includes eight titles across four categories.

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The four categories in which PA Promise for Children has organized the books are: Language and Literacy Skills, Social and Emotional Development, Learning Through Play, Mathematical Thinking and Expression.

This month’s selections are:

Language and Literacy Skills

  • The Grumpy Morning (Pamela Duncan Edwards)
  • Harry the Dirty Dog (Gene Zion)

Social and Emotional Development

  • Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash (Sarah Weeks) 
  • The Flea’s Sneeze (Karla Firehammer)

Learning Through Play 

  • Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? (Nancy White Carlstrom)
  • Caps for Sale (Esphyr Slobodkina)

Mathematical Thinking and Expression

  • Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! (Marilyn Burns)
  • Cora Cooks Pancit (Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore)

To view the entire list, visit PA Promise for Children’s website.

News

April 22, 2026

PA Promise for Children Releases April List of Books for Children

PA Promise for Children has released its list of April books for preschoolers that includes eight books across four categories.

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The list, which was included in PA Promise for Children’s latest Kindergarten Here I Come newsletter, lists recommendations in four categories – Languages and Literacy Skills, Social and Emotional Development, Scientific Thinking and Technology, and Mathematical Thinking and Expression.

The books on the list include:

Language and Literacy Skills

  • Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (William Steig)
  • Three Pebbles and a Song (Eileen Spinelli)

Social and Emotional Development

  • A Day’s Work (Eve Bunting)
  • Families (Susan Kuklin)

Scientific Thinking and Technology

  • Me and the Measure of Things (Joan Sweeney)
  • What Will Hatch? (Jennifer Ward)

Mathematical Thinking and Expression

  • Kindergarten Count to 100 (Jacqueline Rogers)
  • How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? (Jane Yolen)

To view the list, visit PA Promise for Children’s website.

News

March 24, 2026

PA Promise for Children Pairs Activities with Booklist for Children

PA Promise for Children has put together a list of books for children that incorporate the subjects of math, social-emotional development, literacy, and science. 

The list includes two books per subject, and PA Promise for Children has recommended activities in which caregivers can participate with children in their care.

Social-Emotional Development

For social-emotional development, caregivers are suggested to role-play in a job. This includes setting up a space for a pretend post office, grocery store, restaurant, or other workplace. Caregivers should encourage children to use items and toys as props at the job.

Books that are paired with the activity include:

  • Curious George Takes a Job (H.A. Rey)
  • The Biggest Job of All (Harriet Ziefert)

Mathematical Thinking and Expression

For the math section, caregivers should ask children to search for sets of things found in the home or outside – for example, a rock, two forks, three balls, and so on. Then, they should match photographs of the different items to the actual items to help them develop visual recognition. 

Also, caregivers can incorporate sensory development by asking the child to trace numbers or letters with their fingers.

Books that are paired with this activity include:

  • One Mole Digging a Hole (Julia Donaldson)
  • 1,2,3 Peas (Keith Baker)

Language and Literacy

The activity for this subject involves helping children learn the days of the week. To start, add words to the days that begin with the same letter – such as Musical Monday or Fun Friday. Then, do the same with the months.

Also, caregivers can help children learn the months of the year by creating a calendar that includes special dates – such as holidays or birthdays. Encourage them to draw or color pictures or find pictures online that show which of these days happen each month.

Books that are paired with this activity include:

  • Today is Monday (Eric Carle)
  • The Day You Begin (Jacqueline Woodson)

Scientific Thinking

PA Promise for Children suggests an activity in which a child is asked to see how many things they can balance at once. Then, have a balancing race to see who can go the fastest balancing a paper cup on top of a paper plate. Add other items and keep on going.

Books that are paired with this activity include:

  • The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (Dr. Seuss)
  • I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories (Dr. Seuss)

News

March 16, 2026

Caregivers Should Have These Items Ready for Kindergarten Registration Process

With kindergarten registration opening in some school districts around Allegheny County and its surrounding counties, there are several items that caregivers will want to start collecting to complete the process.

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Kindergarten registration is already open in sections of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Armstrong, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. 

In Allegheny County, several school districts will soon open registration – Allegheny Valley in March, North Allegheny in April, and Northgate School District will hold a kindergarten registration event in May. 

During registration, caregivers will want to make sure to bring the following documents when registering a child:

  • The child’s birth certificate
  • Proof of residency, such as a utility bill or copy of a lease
  • Vaccination records (the state’s Department of Health shares which ones your child needs)
  • Any forms required by the school district, such as an application or emergency contact list
  • There may be other documents required, so be sure to check with your school district.

Some schools or districts set aside specific dates to register for kindergarten, while others hold special events such as summer orientation for incoming students. To find your local school’s contact information or registration dates, visit Pennsylvania Promise for Children’s website.

For more information on registration, visit Trying Together’s Pre-K and Kindergarten Transition page.

News

March 10, 2026

PA Promise for Children Releases List of March Books for Preschoolers

PA Promise for Children has released its list of March books for kindergarteners in its Kindergarten Here I Come newsletter.

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The list is broken down into four categories – Language and Literacy Skills, Social and Emotional Development, Social Studies Thinking, and Mathematical Thinking and Expression.

The eight books on the list include:

Language and Literacy Skills

  • The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale (Steven Guarnaccia)
  • Iggy Peck, Architect (Andrea Beaty)

Social and Emotional Development

  • Bear’s New Friend (Karma Wilson)
  • Froggy Gets Dressed (Jonathan London)

Social Studies Thinking

  • One Watermelon Seed (Celia Lottridge)
  • Big and Little (Steve Jenkins)

Mathematical Thinking and Expression

  • So Many Circles, So Many Squares (Tana Hoban)
  • When a Line Bends… A Shape Begins (Rhonda Gowler Greene)

News

February 18, 2026

Book List Includes 9 Titles to Read to Children During Black History Month

PA Promise for Children has released a list of books to read to children to celebrate Black History Month in February.

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The printable list includes nine titles from such authors as Ezra Jack Keats and actress Lupita Nyong’o to former President Barack Obama.

The list, which was unveiled in PA Promise for Children’s Kindergarten Here I Come newsletter, also includes resources on how to celebrate with and teach a child about Black History Month.

The list of books includes:

  • Henry’s Freedom Box (Ellen Levine)
  • Mae Among the Stars (Roda Ahmed)
  • Before She Was Harriet (Lesa Cline-Ransome)
  • Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills (Renee Watson)
  • Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters (Barack Obama)
  • Sulwe (Lupita Nyong’o)
  • Dream Big, Little One (Vashti Harrison)
  • The Snowy Day (Ezra Jack Keats)
  • The Story of Ruby Bridges (Robert Coles)

News

February 17, 2026

PA Promise for Children Releases List of February Books for Kindergarteners

PA Promise for Children has released its list of February books for kindergarteners in its Kindergarten Here I Come newsletter.

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The list is broken down into three categories – Scientific Thinking and Technology, Mathematical Thinking and Expression, and Social-Emotional Development.

The eight books on the list include:

Science Thinking and Technology

  • How a Seed Grows (Helene J. Jordan)
  • Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth (Jane Yolen)
  • Penguins! (Gail Gibbons)
  • If You Were a Penguin (Wendell and Florence Minor)

Mathematical Thinking and Expression

  • One Mitten (Kristine O’Connell George)
  • Two of Everything (Lily Toy Hong)

Social-Emotional Development

  • Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook (Barbara Park)
  • The Doorbell Rang (Pat Hutchins)