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 [...]

More Law Enforcment Officers Stand Up for Preschool

A coalition of law enforcement officials across Illinois are urging their state’s lawmakers to invest in the state’s early childhood program. They are not alone. In Santa Fe, NM county sheriffs offered to cut their budgets if it meant putting more money into quality preschool programs. In Scranton, PA, a local police chief stated, “Making [...]

Do Babies Really Understand Words?

We’ve all been told to speak to our babies to encourage their language development, but how much does an infant really understand? New evidence shows that they understand quite a bit! A recent study out of the University of California, San Diego shows that baby brains process words just as adult brains do. This flies [...]

Invest in Early Ed and Care- The Video

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This video is worth so much more! Through the voices of 4 children (an infant – 4 years old) we hear and see the effects of poverty and a lack of a positive environment in the early years. The video clip is targeted to New Mexico [...]

A Deeper Look at “Autistic-Like”

At the NAEYC Annual Conference in Anaheim I had the pleasure of watching a showing of the documentary Autistic-Like by filmmaker and father, Erik Linthorst. The film chronicles the journey of a family as they come to the realization that their beautiful toddler is not developing as children typically do and follows them through the [...]