Will banning toys save calories and curb childhood obesity?
EarlyStories wishes there was as much attention to the need for high-quality pre-kindergarten and its impact on the lives of children as there are stories on any given day about childhood obesity. From bake sale crackdowns to new programs that offer counseling and exercise, hardly a day goes by without media attention or discussion of [...]
What does it mean to educate ‘the whole child?’
Education is filled with jargon, acronyms and annoying phrases, but few are more confusing and overused than the phrase: “we educate the whole child.” Anyone who has ever toured a nursery school, kindergarten or elementary school might hear this philosophy, which truly begs some follow-up questions. After all, is there anyone who advocates educating only [...]
When the littlest learners need help
Anyone who has ever parented a toddler or watched a tantrum in action knows that there are often no logical explanations for seemingly impossible, irrational behavior. But how is a parent (or an educator) to know the difference between a terrible twos moment and a real problem that needs more serious attention? That’s why EarlyStories [...]
Life on Mars, or kindergarten, NYC style?
An outsider might have a hard time believing what parents in New York City go through to get their children into public – not private — kindergarten. The difficulty of gaining entry into private nursery school has already received more than its share of publicity, including the hilarious film Nursery-U. But in the last few [...]
Why are young children so fat? They snack too much
Obesity is getting a particularly bad rap these days, with more efforts to crack down on what young children eat in school grabbing headlines. The New York City Department of Education, for example, will no longer allow cupcakes at bake sales. The department estimated that about 40 percent of the city’s elementary school students are [...]
Obama’s early education agenda: More listening?
At a time when President Barack Obama’s early childhood education agenda has been somewhat derailed, the U.S. Department of Education will be hosting a series of meetings to discuss critical topics in early learning. Yes, it’s another listening tour. It’s not clear exactly what will come out of the meetings, which will take place over [...]
Coughing table or coffee table? The language children hear
EarlyStories loves stumbling across stories that spend time on topics such as how children acquire language. The Cape Cod Times had such a piece recently, taking a look at what children hear, and how confused they are by the words adults use. Most of us have head children give descriptive names to items when they [...]
At what age Descartes? Philosophy at a young age
EarlyStories has always been fascinated by how children learn — along with what they are able to learn if exposed to certain topics at a very young age. Herbert Ginsburg of Teachers College has done some interesting work on teaching young children math that showed just how much, when given a chance, children are capable [...]
Could Early Learning Challenge Fund make a comeback?
Last week, advocates for early childhood education lamented the loss of the Early Learning Challenge Fund, President Barack Obama’s competitive grant proposal to boost early learning. The $8 billion dollar bill got stripped out of the agreement over health care and student lending. It appears that the grants may be back, according to Early Education [...]
What does high quality child care look like?
What should happen after a child is dropped off at a child care center? It’s a question that can be answered in thousands of different ways because the quality of care is so uneven in the U.S. That’s why EarlyStories found it refreshing to read about progress in Oregon, where a state study of 300 [...]
