Using Play to Boost Academic Skills

The case for play in early childhood gets stronger and stronger every day. The more we learn about how children grow and develop, the more we see that children need to play to flourish- socially, emotionally AND academically. A recent article in Newsweek’s The Daily Beast, Let Preschoolers Play! says: a growing body of research [...]

New Data Supports “Old-Style” Kindergarten

Today, kindergarten looks a lot like any other elementary school classroom. Dramatic play and block building have been replaced by desks and writing assignments. Supporters of this academic focus in kindergarten say that today’s kindergarteners are smarter then previous generations of 5 and 6 year olds. They are ready for these challenges and we need [...]

What is Academically Rigorous?

Today, as I was searching the internet for information on effective nap time routines, I came across an older article from the Washington Post, “Preschools Break From Nap Time“. Apparently Superintendents of  public schools in Virginia and Maryland eliminated nap time from their preschool day because it is precious academic time that is wasted. Nap [...]

The True Value of a Good Kindergarten Teacher

Last week, NBC took a look at the state of education in our country through a widely-promoted multi-media series they called “Education Nation”. I don’t often get a chance to watch TV, so I missed most of the week’s coverage, but I’d been hearing great reviews about the issues they were presenting, so I thought [...]

What is RTI and How Does it Work in Preschool?

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a term that is being used a lot in schools across the country. Basically, it is an effort to give children a more customized educational experience. Over the past decade schools have found that an increasing number of their students need special education services. This is costly for schools, and [...]