Charleston County First Steps

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Charleston County First Steps Our mission is to ensure that all Charleston County children are healthy and ready for kindergarten.

WHO WE ARE:
Charleston County First Steps exists to improve school readiness for families with children from birth to 5 years old. First Steps is the only statewide entity solely devoted to increasing school readiness. We are a grassroots partnership identifying public and private community resources and collaborate opportunities, including: business and community leaders, early education professionals, faith-based community and parents of preschool children.

VIP Opening ReceptionFriday, October 23 | 7:00-9:00 PM | Tickets $45An evening of fine art, live music, and spoken word....
10/14/2026

VIP Opening Reception

Friday, October 23 | 7:00-9:00 PM | Tickets $45
An evening of fine art, live music, and spoken word. Buy your tickets through The Global Art Fair and enter promo code CCFS. 10% of proceeds from ticket and fine art purchases supports Charleston County First Steps.

Community Health & Well-Being Festival

Saturday, October 24 | 12:00-5:00 PM | FREE, families welcome

Plant a seedling with The Harbor Store, join The Art of Well-Being with MyNDspace Foundation, and catch the Kids Pitch Contest. There’s also community resources, fine art, live performances, a classic car show, and a Future of Nonprofit Leadership panel.

Presented by The Medi in partnership with The Global Art Fair.

Grab your tickets for Friday night, bring the whole family on Saturday, and come say hi to the First Steps team. 🎟️

CommunityEvent FamilyFriendly

October is National Book Month!Pick a book, pull your little one onto your lap, and start turning pages. Ten minutes a d...
10/12/2026

October is National Book Month!

Pick a book, pull your little one onto your lap, and start turning pages. Ten minutes a day is plenty. Babies love the sound of your voice, toddlers love pointing at pictures, and preschoolers love asking for “one more.”

A few easy ways to celebrate this month:
📖 Let your child pick the bedtime story, even if it’s the same one again
🏠 Start a small book basket in the living room
🎭 Use silly voices for the characters
🚗 Keep a board book in the car or diaper bag

Think back to the grown-up who believed in you when you were small. Maybe it was a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, or ...
10/06/2026

Think back to the grown-up who believed in you when you were small. Maybe it was a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, or a neighbor who always had time for you.

Right now, a child in Charleston County has someone like that cheering them on. It might be you.

At Charleston County First Steps, we get to work alongside the champions in kids' lives every day: the families learning together, the childcare professionals showing up early and staying late, and the community members who read one more story. Thank you for being in their corner.

Tag a champion from your childhood and tell them thanks. 👇

Swipe through 5 easy ideas you can do at home with things you probably already have:🌳 Q-tip fall tree painting🎃 Paper pl...
09/29/2026

Swipe through 5 easy ideas you can do at home with things you probably already have:

🌳 Q-tip fall tree painting
🎃 Paper plate pumpkins
🍁 Leaf people
🦶 Footprint pumpkins
👀 Googly eye leaf monsters

Little hands get a great workout from painting, gluing, and pressing leaves onto paper, and every squished pumpkin and wobbly leaf person is a keeper. Go on a leaf hunt around the neighborhood first and let your kiddo pick their favorites.

Which one is going on your fridge? Tell us in the comments! 👇

PlayBasedLearning

Our Child Care Training Program offers FREE certified training hours designed to meet SC DSS requirements and childcare ...
09/24/2026

Our Child Care Training Program offers FREE certified training hours designed to meet SC DSS requirements and childcare licensing regulations — because investing in the people who care for our youngest learners is investing in our whole community.

Here’s what we offer:

✔️ 24 hours of high-quality, certified training
✔️ FREE training to meet DSS requirements
✔️ Relationship-based Pyramid Model series

This program also supports career advancement through the SC Endeavors Career Lattice and helps childcare programs progress in the ABC Quality Rating and Improvement System — strengthening quality from the inside out.

Learn. Grow. Inspire.

Scan the QR code to see upcoming training opportunities, or reach out to Danielle Dumas, Childcare Specialist, at (843) 259-8658 or [email protected]

Happy First Day of Fall, Charleston County! 🍂📚There’s something about this season — cooler mornings, cozy story time, pu...
09/22/2026

Happy First Day of Fall, Charleston County! 🍂📚

There’s something about this season — cooler mornings, cozy story time, pumpkin patches, and a little extra magic in the air. It’s the perfect backdrop for learning, play, and connection with the little ones in your life.

Whether you’re curling up with a book, picking out pumpkins, or just soaking in the crisp air, we hope this fall is full of joy for your family.

From all of us at Charleston County First Steps — happy Fall, y’all!

Registration is open for our MotherRead/FatherRead Book Club! 📚☀️This free program is all about empowering parents, stre...
09/15/2026

Registration is open for our MotherRead/FatherRead Book Club! 📚☀️

This free program is all about empowering parents, strengthening families, and building literacy together — one book at a time. Every Monday, families with children ages 0-5 will gather at the Family Engagement Center for a program built to support you, including:

✔️ Free children's books
✔️ Free childcare
✔️ A free meal
✔️ Free Uber or CARTA transportation, if needed

📅 Class begins September 21st and runs through November 16th
🕐 4:45 PM – 6:15 PM, every Monday
📍 Family Engagement Center (Rhett Building next to Burke High School), 244 President Street

Scan the QR code on the flyer to sign up, or reach out to Jeehan Dinwiddie at (803) 404-2348 or [email protected] for more info.

Spots are limited — we'd love to have your family join us!

Did you know?Kids who attend high-quality early learning programs are significantly less likely to be placed in special ...
09/09/2026

Did you know?

Kids who attend high-quality early learning programs are significantly less likely to be placed in special education or held back a grade — and more likely to graduate high school — compared to kids who don't.

That's not a small effect. It's proof that the investment made in a child's earliest years pays off for a lifetime.

This is exactly why early childhood matters so much, and exactly why Charleston County First Steps exists — to make sure every child in our community has access to that strong foundation. 💛

Playtime is learning time! These sweet photos come from one of our CCFS families, enjoying a sensory toy from one of our...
09/02/2026

Playtime is learning time!

These sweet photos come from one of our CCFS families, enjoying a sensory toy from one of our free Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) sessions. We love sending games and activities home with our families — not just for fun, but because that hands-on play is where so much early development happens: fine motor skills, curiosity, problem-solving, and connection all rolled into one giggle-filled moment.

Thank you to this family for sharing this moment with us. This is exactly why we do what we do.

Want to learn more about our free Triple P parenting sessions? Send us a message — we’d love to have your family join! 📩

Labor Day weekend is almost here! A gentle reminder: kids thrive on rhythm, even during a break. However you're spending...
08/31/2026

Labor Day weekend is almost here! A gentle reminder: kids thrive on rhythm, even during a break. However you're spending the weekend, we hope it's full of rest, sunshine, and time with the people you love. 💛

Address

4975 LaCross Road
North Charleston, SC
29406

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+18437450237

Website

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