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The Power of Music in the Learning Process - “Giddy-up horsy, let’s
go!” John says, and we all go galloping around the yard singing.
Little voices join in as Josiah overtakes me on his imaginary horse.
Build Solid Foundation with Early Childhood Programs
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Investing in our youngest children is the best economic development tool
we have as a state and nation. Don't take my word for it, ask a brain
researcher or a Nobel Prize winning economist.
Commentary:
Investing in Young Minds is Good Business - From the moment of birth
to the time our children enter the formal years of schooling, their tiny
brains are like sponges soaking up knowledge.
This scientific fact should make every sensible person take pause and ask,
why do we not begin the formal investment in education until a child is
five or six years of age?
Governors Push Access to Preschool - Heeding studies showing that
investing money in kids before kindergarten increases their chances of
graduating and staying out of jail, nearly half of governors this year are
pushing for -- and many are getting -- more funding for preschool
education.
Study Says Trained Preschool Teachers Pay Off - Publicly funded
preschool programs that have well-paid, college-educated teachers improve
children's language development and math skills, according to a study in
Michigan and four other states.
Using Art to
Teach Children with Special Needs - Using art as a means of
teaching increases a child's chances for success---and makes the
experience pleasurable as well.
Opinion: Little Kids Need Good
Teachers Too - Early education is the next frontier of public
education reform. We know now, more than ever, how important quality
preschool programs are to preparing city children to succeed in school and
to helping families rise out of poverty.
MO
Preschool Programs Struggle For
Funding - Studies show that children start learning at birth and that
those who participate in high-quality preschool programs do better
academically in the short term and in the long run. But preschool often
faces an uphill battle for funding.
Can
Today's Preschoolers Save Tomorrow's Social Security? - When poor
children are provided access to high-quality preschool, research shows
they perform much better in school, experience higher graduation rates,
and tend to stay out of trouble with drugs, alcohol, and crime. As adults,
they would enter the workforce at higher skill levels, earning larger
salaries and paying higher taxes into the system. According to economist
Robert G. Lynch, a national, high-quality, early childhood development
program which serves all three- and four-year-olds who fall below the
poverty line, will target the very 1.6 million youngsters who, as they
grow up, would otherwise cost taxpayers most, leaving more money for other
programs including the Social Security program, which some experts project
will begin facing financial difficulties in the year 2018, about the time
when the first class of today's preschoolers would enter the workforce.
Getting Every Child Ready For School: A Foundation For Success -
Preschool access is just the beginning of getting every child ready for
first grade. A new report from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)
outlines four successful strategies: (1) Offer pre-kindergarten to all
children who are at risk of academic failure, not just those from families
living in poverty; (2) Strive to meet quality standards; (3) Ensure that
all children have a school-readiness assessment before they enter first
grade; and (4) Continue to place a priority on programs that encourage
vaccinations and health insurance for children.
More Nursery School Children Going Online - Before they can even read,
almost one in four children in nursery school is learning a skill that
even some adults have yet to master: using the Internet. Some 23 percent
of children in nursery school -- kids age 3, 4 or 5 -- have gone online,
according to the Education Department. By kindergarten, 32 percent have
used the Internet, typically under adult supervision.
TN
Tennessee's Pre-K Plan:
Start Small and Learn - Tennessee is closely studying other states'
preschool programs to ensure its new expanded program, likely to become a
reality this fall, is implemented smoothly. Like Georgia, Tennessee will
try to serve as many children as possible, keep classes small and give
parents choice between public and private centers, but it will probably
move more slowly.
OH
Preschool Gives Edge to Kindergartners in City's Schools - Half of
Cincinnati Public Schools' kindergartners enter school lacking fundamental
early reading skills necessary to succeed academically, according to a
groundbreaking report on kindergarten readiness.
MI
Education Not Tracking School
Readiness Program - Children participating in the Michigan School
Readiness Program were receiving a quality education, but the Department
of Education was not taking steps to ensure that was always true,
according to a report released Wednesday by Auditor General Thomas
McTavish.
CA
A New Day for L.A. Preschools - Although the Los Angeles Universal
Preschool Program begins with a modest $9,149 payment to the Union Pacific
Children's Center of the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles, it represents the
start of an ambitious countywide system that over the next decade will
enroll 100,000 pre-kindergarten children — or 70% of the 4-year-old
population — regardless of family income. Universal preschool is the most
notable program to emerge from First 5 LA, a nonprofit formed to use
tobacco tax revenue to fund early childhood development, health and
education programs. With backing from filmmaker Rob Reiner, California
voters in 1998 approved a 50-cents-a-pack tax to fund such efforts. The
agency is staking much of its credibility, as well as millions in public
funds, on the success of its preschool effort.
FL
State May Let More Public
Schools Offer Pre-K Classes - Public schools, largely written out of
Florida's new pre-kindergarten program, might be back in the game as state
leaders scramble to make room for all 4-year-olds who could enroll in the
free pre-K classes, officials said Thursday.
MI
Law Enforcement
Releases New Report Showing High-Quality Preschool Cuts Crime (PDF) -
Michigan law enforcement leaders and crime victims today released a new
report showing that high-quality preschool cuts crime, and called on the
state government to increase investments in quality preschool programs.
[from Fight Crime - Invest in Kids, February 9, 2005]
AZ
Four-year-old Kindergartners Strain Arizona - The little learners
wouldn't be so controversial if they all were kindergarten material.
But they are being held back for a second year in kindergarten at
rates as high as 62 percent in Mesa and in Tempe at five times the rate
for 5-year-olds.
MI
Ypsilanti Preschool Program's Results Prompt a Call to Expand - They
were poor Ypsilanti children likely to perform poorly in school when
researchers randomly placed them in an experimental preschool program in
the 1960s. Now, decades later, their successes as adults are fueling a
push for more quality preschool programs for low-income youth. The
findings showed that for every dollar invested in the High/Scope Perry
Preschool Study, the nation has saved nearly $13 in social-welfare costs.
NJ
Preschool Program's
Cost Lands in Court - One sweeping requirement in the state Supreme
Court's effort to get New Jersey to help its poorest kids was the order
establishing preschool programs in 30 needy school districts. Supporters
say it has helped kids in poor areas increase their chances of succeeding
in school and in life.
NM
Governor of New Mexico Wants to Invest in Preschool Programs - With
full-day kindergarten a reality for all New Mexico kids, Gov. Bill
Richardson says it's time to move on to preschool. Richardson announced
has a plan to pump $7 million to $9 million into new programs for
4-year-olds.
OH
Ohio Could Save $782 Million in Taxpayer Money by Investing in Children
- Renewing our Schools, Securing our Future: A National Task Force on
Public Education recently released a report on the importance of early
education titled Investing in Early Childhood Education in Ohio: An
Economic Appraisal.
AR
State Education Board Allocates
$5.4 Million for Preschool - The Arkansas State Board of Education
allocated $5.4 million Sunday to pay for preschool programs for 1,374
youngsters around the state this year.
Preschool Lessens Gap of Poor, Rich - Attending preschool can shrink
achievement gaps between poor and rich children and help students from all
backgrounds enter kindergarten better prepared, according to a new report.
Inspired:
A Project Inspired by No Child Left Behind - Sebastian Wren, the
Program Associate for Reading at the Southwest Educational Development
Laboratory in Austin, Texas, has been personally involved with INSPIRED, a
very successful pre-school and day-care project in Round Rock ISD,
Round Rock, Texas. Wren recently concluded,
"Although they started out with different performance levels, by the end
of the year, African American students, Caucasian students, and Hispanic
students were performing approximately equally. Thus, there is some
evidence that the INSPIRED project is helping to 'level the playing field'
for disparate groups of students."
Are Preschools a Crime Deterrent? - Convinced that youngsters
struggling in the back of class in kindergarten are more likely to find
themselves slouching in the back of squad cars before graduation, law
enforcement officials from Allegheny County will join colleagues across
the country today in pleading for more preschool funding.
The
State of Preschool: 2003 State Preschool Yearbook - The National
Institute for Early Education Research's (NIEER) State Preschool Yearbook
is a first-of-a-kind report describing state-funded pre-kindergarten
programs in the 2001-2002 school year. Information is presented on three
key characteristics: access, quality standards, and resources. Each of the
50 states is given a ranking (1=best, 50=worst) as a comparison against
other states.
Preschools Break From Nap Time
- After lunch and snacks, alphabet and story times, the lights go off.
Sixteen tiny bodies sprawl on a sea of red foam mats, the sounds of
classical piano coaxing them to sleep. And there they stay, tucked under
Spider-Man and Powerpuff Girls blankets, until teacher Chantay Wynn
switches on the lights 45 minutes later. “Come on, get up,” Wynn chides
4-year-old Steven Dieu, lifting him from his mat.
No Fighting, No Biting - With an increase in sandbox feuds and
tantrums, more lessons aim to shape up preschoolers' social skills.
Bridges4Kids/Early On
Review: My First Day at Preschool
(DVD/VHS) - My First Day at Preschool plays out Buddy's first day linearly.
As Papa Bear drives Buddy to school, Buddy is vocal about his apprehension. Papa
Bear assures him that his day will be full of fun, learning and new friends. By
the time school is over, Buddy cannot wait to come back the next day to see his
new friends and to learn and play!
UK
In Their Own Time - How can you tell a true Montessori school? Louise
Livingston offers some suggestions. There are so many misconceptions about
Montessori. Some people say: "That's where the children are allowed to do
exactly as they like." Others say: "It's too rigid – the children have to
work all the time and there's no time to socialize." Montessori is neither
of these.
MA
The Crayola's on the Wall as Pols Push Preschool Plan - The prospect
of universal preschool in Massachusetts received a giant boost yesterday
when the House unanimously passed a measure to create a Department of
Early Education and Care by 2006.
WI Preschools
Stressing Academics Over Naps - In an effort to help low-income
children get off to a solid start, language and reading programs are
replacing blocks and nap time to close a yawning achievement gap between
students of different races and economic backgrounds.
Study:
Preschool Children Better Prepared
for Kindergarten Than Peers Without Preschool -
Children who attend preschool for two years are twice as likely as
children with no preschool experience to have the language, literacy and
math skills needed to be ready for kindergarten, a Connecticut study says.
The legislature's Education Committee requested the study to determine how
many children in the state's poorest school districts entered kindergarten
with the necessary skills.
Pre-school Crucial Time
- By the time children get to Grade 1, it may be too late to help those
who have already fallen behind, says a new study by a renowned child
development expert.
CA
Los Angeles USD Chooses New Route to Prepare
Students for Kindergarten - More than 23,000 Los Angeles preschoolers
will study Wright Group/McGraw-Hill’s early childhood program, DLM Early
Childhood Express, in English or Spanish, beginning this summer.
FL
Can Florida Afford Better
Preschools? - Advocates want more college grads to teach state-funded
preschool classes approved by voters, but lawmakers worry about the cost
of paying higher salaries and the effects on a shallow ed labor pool.
CA
Novel Preschool Grooms Parents - A free center in Oceanside coaches
families on preparing their kids - like 15-monthold Sarah Graves at the
LISTOS Center - for school.
The State of Preschool:
2003 State Preschool
Yearbook - 50-state survey points to states' failure to invest in
quality preschool. The State Preschool Yearbook has been developed by the
National Institute for Early Education Research to provide information on
one important contributor to change in the education of young
children—state-funded pre-kindergarten programs.
TX
Preschool Programs'
Overhaul Proposed - State's $2.4 billion share of cost 'a hurdle.' A
statewide coalition of educators on Wednesday proposed sweeping changes
for Texas preschool programs.
Assessing
Readiness - (PDF size=177kb) Can children's school readiness be assessed without
doing them harm? Can readiness assessment avoid labeling or stigmatizing
children? Will preschool programs become distorted if they "teach to the
test"? Is it possible for readiness testing to recognize the unique
character of early development and learning? If large numbers of children
are not ready for school, will this be viewed as a problem in the child or
within the community?
Education Week Briefing Paper:
Preschool - Read an
excellent briefing paper from Education Week summarizing current issues
surrounding preschool in the United States. To view other education
issues from Education Week
click here.
WV
New West
Virginia law guarantees free preschool - In less than 10 years,
preschool will be free for 4-year-olds throughout the state of West
Virginia.
Study Links Smart Start, Child Care Quality, and Children's Outcomes
U.S. Falls Behind on Preschool Education - More than 75 percent of
American children under 5 spend at least part of their day in child care.
Throughout the United States, working parents struggle to pay for care that
too often fails to give children the foundation they need to succeed as
learners and as individuals.
Great Resource: First-School -
http://www.first-school.ws/
Preschool Activities and Crafts -
First-School features fun preschool lesson plans, educational
early childhood activities, printable crafts, printable activities,
calendar of events, and other resources for children of preschool age. The
preschool lesson plans and activities are appropriate and adaptable for
toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarten level (ages 2 to 6).
First-School's content is ideal for home schooling, preschool and
kindergarten teachers, child care providers and babysitters.
Video
Documentary "Emma's Gifts"
- This documentary tells the story of Emma
who, unlike her twin sister, has Down Syndrome. The video documentary
follows Emma and her family on their journey through the preschool years.
We see the power of advocating for a child's rights and the importance of
early intervention.
Study Shows Preschool Programs That Involve Parents Can
Prevent Child Abuse -
In one of Chicago's poorest
neighborhoods, a little girl with pigtails and a denim jumper
stands in front of a table and fingers the shape of wooden
letters as she fits them into a puzzle. In the next room, her
mother talks to a teacher about taking the GED and how she can
help her daughter with homework.
Preschool plan puts play on top
- Never mind neat handwriting; switch to activity-based
learning promises to turn out confident children who speak up.
MD
School store lets parents
cash in on involvement - Point
system pays for holiday shopping in preschool program.
"Moving
up the Grades: Relationship between Preschool Model and Later School
Success" from Internet journal "Early Childhood Research &
Practice" - A follow-up study of children who began school at
age 4 was conducted to examine the influence of three different preschool
models on later school success. The sample was 96% African American and
54% female, with 75% of the children qualifying for subsidized school
lunch and 73% living in single-parent families.
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