FAMILY RESOURCES

While November is National Family Literacy Month, the Coalition celebrates reading all year long! This is the perfect time to encourage the joy of reading and help children build a lifelong love of books. The New Worlds Reading Program makes it easy for families to spark that love at home!

Through this free program, eligible children recieve a new book each month, delivered right to their door. Every story is designed to inspire curiosity, imagination, and confidence in young readers.

Join us in celebrating this month and explore how New Worlds Reading can open up a world of possibilities for your child!

Learn More About New Worlds Reading 

The Family Portal has been upgraded to Single Sign-On. To access your account, follow the steps below. You can also refer to the Family Portal Guide or watch the video tutorial for instructions.

Existing Families:

• Visit the Family Portal. Click the Sign-In  button.
• Click Hosted / Self-Registered login.
• Enter your username and password from the Single-Sign-On registration. 
• You will be prompted to send a code to your selected method of multi-factor authentication. Retrieve the code and enter it. Then, click the Verify Code button.
• Your Family Portal account home page will be displayed.

New Families:

• Visit the Family Portal. Click the Sign-up button
• Enter your valid email address and click the Send Verification Button.
• Retrieve the code and enter it on the Portal page. Click the Verify Code button.
• Complete the relevant fields.
• You will be prompted to send a code to your selected method of multi-factor authentication. Retrieve the code and enter it. Then, click the Verify Code button.
• Navigate back to the Family Portal homepage to sign-in.

If you experience any issues or have questions, please email: communications@elcpalmbeach.org

June is the perfect month for outdoor exploration and hands‑on learning! Families can keep children learning all summer long by taking nature walks to collect leaves, count seashells or make simple patterns in the sand.

Safe water play like sprinklers in the yard or pouring water into buckets and cups gives children a fun way to explore, experiment and build joyful memories. Summer fun and learning go hand in hand when families explore, play and create together! 

• Outdoor Adventures: Take nature walks to collect leaves and talk about the different sizes, shapes and colors before sorting the leaves in small, medium and large piles. Plan a trip to the beach to count seashells that have washed onshore or make patterns in the sand.
• Safe Water Play: Parents can play fun music while children run, hop and dance through a gentle sprinkler spray. This helps build coordination, strength and balance while keeping children active and engaged. Using buckets, cups and scoops allows children to explore pouring, filling and transferring water. These activities support hand eye coordination and fine motor skills.
• Storytime Outdoors: Bring a few favorite books and invite your child to bring a beloved stuffed animal to a shady park, backyard or porch. Reading together outside creates a calm, enjoyable experience. Ask “Who/What/Where/Why” questions together to help your child understand the story. Reading outside makes early literacy fun and interactive and invites conversation.
• Art in the Sun: On a sunny afternoon, place a leaf under a piece of paper and gently rub a crayon over the top of the paper. Children love seeing the leaf’s shape and patterns magically appear! Rock painting is another way to show artistic imagination when painting faces, patterns or simple designs. Using nature materials for art projects support creativity and fine motor skills.
• Family Games: Go on a scavenger hunt to locate flowers of the same color and then count to see who found the most flowers before placing them in a cup or vase with water. Play with sidewalk chalk by drawing shapes (circle, star, square) instead of numbers and let children hop to each shape the parent calls in a hopscotch game.

Summer BreakSpot, or the Summer Food Service Program, provides nutritious meals to children and teens 18 and under in their communities during the summer. Summer BreakSpots are conveniently located throughout Florida in neighborhoods, churches, and schools that are convenient. Some Summer BreakSpots are mobile and visit different areas, and some may offer transportation. To find a location, visit the site finder map, text "Food" to 304-304, or dial 2-1-1 when schools release for the summer break. The 2026 Summer BreakSpot site map is now available!

For families with children ages 0-3 who need extra support, Basic4Babies is a special pantry in Palm Beach County that provides items such as diapers, formula, and baby food, to make sure little ones get what they need to grow and stay healthy. For more information and locations, visit https://www.hmhbpbc.org/pantry.