Book of the Day Activities: Your Best Behavior!

So you're prepared for the first day of school and your Back to School Night is all planned…now it’s time to get down to the business of teaching. When I taught Kindergarten and Prekindergarten, I dedicated the whole month of September to “Getting to Know Us.” I didn’t worry about teaching letters, numbers, or shapes because my primary goal was to have my classroom be a happy and functional place. Imagine how tedious our job would be if we had to solve every problem and clean up the classroom on our own! We have to help our students become independent members of our classroom societies. In order to do this, we have to learn the rules and how to treat each other. Here are a few books and activities that are good reads in those first couple of weeks of school!

Hands Are Not For Hitting by Martine Agassi

• AMA Alliance has a wonderful reading guide for this book.


• Class Hand Collage: On a large sheet of bulletin board paper or tag board, have children create hand prints in a circle. To do this you have two options: You can trace the children’s hands, cut them out and paste them in circle formation on the paper/tag board. OR you can have the children make hand prints using stamp pads or finger paint. In the middle of the circle of hand prints, have the children draw (or cut from magazines) things you CAN use your hands for. Some examples are: playing ball, baking a cake, giving hugs, learning sign language, etc… Hang it in your classroom with the title, "Hands Are For..."
  

Words are Not for Hurting by Elizabeth Verdick

• Kind Words Chart: Cut out a large heart and have children think of words that are nice/kind. Write them on the chart paper and hang it in the classroom.


• Kindness in Action: When you catch children showing kindness, snap a photo, print it out, and post it on a bulletin board titled, “Kindness in Action.” Under the photograph, write a small description of what is happening such as “Carrie is sharing her blocks with Melanie.” Make sure to catch all of the children doing something nice! Remember that praise and positive reinforcement go a long way!

It’s Mine! by Leo Lionni

• It’s My Turn: Sharing is a skill that preschoolers are just beginning to master, so it will take some time and a great deal of teacher intervention/assistance. One thing that I’ve found helpful is to use a sand timer or kitchen timer (3-5 minutes) so that when children have to take turns, they will have a visual reminder of when their turn is over (or when their turn will begin). After a few days of guidance and modeling by the teacher, students will eventually get the hang of using the timer on their own!


• Make a Paper Plate Frog. These frogs can be used for a bulletin board display entitled "It's OURS!" (Attach frogs to the bulletin board so that they depict sharing and kindness. Example: arrange 2 of the frogs so that they are sharing a book). The frogs can also be used so that the children can act out scenarios that depict positive behaviors.


• Visit the Scholastic Lesson Plan site for more ideas on how to use this book.
  

Manners by Aliki

• Two Magic Words: I sang this song/chant for so many years that I don't know who wrote it but it goes like this - "There are two magic words that open doors with ease. One of them is thank you and the other one is please."


• Visit The Manners Lady website.


• Cover Your Sneeze: This is another one of those projects that kindergarten and prekindergarten teachers have been doing for years. Give each child a paper plate and let them draw their face on it with crayons. Be sure to provide crayons that reflect the children's skin tones like Crayola's Multicultural Crayons. You may want to provide the children with yarn and glue to create "hair" on their plate. Next, trace each child's hand on multicultural construction paper that, again, reflects their skin tone. Have the child (with teacher help if needed) cut out their hand. Attach a tissue to the child's nose (on the plate) and then attach the hand on top of the tissue.


• Meal Time Manners (Teachable Moments): Meal times are a perfect time to practice manners and polite behavior. If possible, serve your meals (or at least part of your meal) "family style" so that children learn to say, "Please pass the fruit." In addition, a teacher should sit with the children and model polite behavior such as chewing with your mouth closed, saying please and thank-you, and cleaning up after yourself. In some schools, where children eat in a cafeteria or bring their own lunch this may not be possible. But, if you serve snack in your classroom you can apply the same principals to snack time.

How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? by Jane Yolen

• Do a Puppet Show and have students act out some of the scenes in the story.


• Create a Voice Thread called How Do Kindergartners (or Preschoolers) Play with Their Friends? Here is a Voice Thread done by a First Grade Class. This sample will give you an idea of how you can create a similar version for your class. Take pictures of the students with their friends and create a Voice Thread about it!
  

Know and Follow the Rules by Cheri J. Meiners

• Play "direction-following" games like Simon Says and Mother May I?


• Make a Classroom Rule Chart. Also, ask students to discuss some rules that they may have at home. Talk about why we have rules and how rules keep us safe.


• Center Time: In the beginning of the school year, I did not open all of my learning centers. Each week of September I would introduce two new centers at a time. This way, we could focus on how to use the equipment/toys and how to clean up. We learned about each center in a slow and purposeful way. Throughout the year, if I added new equipment, I would introduce it at Circle Time before allowing the children to play with it.

Remember, the beginning of the year sets the tone for your classroom for the entire year. Do you really want to spend the next nine months with students who don't share, hit each other, don't know how to clean up, and sneeze all over the toys? Set the tone NOW so that you can have a productive year!

Technology Literate Early Childhood Educators

Remember the old Jetson cartoons where George would call home and his image would appear on the “telephone” screen? And Elroy had a computerized homework helper? We may not be living in apartments in outer space and we certainly aren't flying around in space cars (yet), but some of that Jetson technology has become closer to realty than science fiction. These days most people and many businesses are Skyping, Tweeting, Blogging, Instant Messaging, and connecting through Facebook; these words didn’t even exist a few short years ago!

For a variety of reasons, the early childhood community has been slower to catch when it comes to technology. A recent survey of early childhood professionals by Child Care Information Exchange revealed that among child care centers, most that use technology only do so for administrative purposes such as accounting or record-keeping; and classroom use is often limited to educational software. But technology has the potential to positively impact three areas of our profession: 1) classroom practices and curriculum; and 2) communication and marketing; and 3) networking and professional development.

Not only can teachers use the web to find endless lesson plan ideas, recipes, and classroom themes, but technology can also be used in the classroom even by preschool students! We must first get away from the concept that “educational software” is the only way to use technology with our youngest students. Frankly, some of this "educational" software is nothing more than electronic dittos. Some educators use the term "edutainment" to describe things that are promoted as educational, but really are more entertainment than educational. When using educational software, we must choose carefully!

We also have to open our eyes to the fact that there are many other ways of using technology in our classrooms. Children can use photographs that they (or a teacher) have taken and create slideshows or stories. Websites such as Slideshare and Voicethread can be used to enhance literacy in the early childhood classroom. There are e-pal sites where classrooms can communicate with other classrooms across the state, across the country, or even across the world! Teachers can also scan student artwork or work samples and create electronic portfolios. Word-processing and desktop publishing software can be used with students to creates student books, classroom labels, signs, and much more! My kindergartners were able to type "Do not touch" signs, print them out, and label their block creations. They could also type and print "Wet paint" signs to put near their art projects. While traditional methods should not be abandoned, technology can be used to enhance teaching strategies that we already know are effective.

Technology also provides early childhood teachers with unique opportunities to communicate with parents. Imagine a new parent has just dropped their screaming three year old off at your child care center. Now, imagine how relieved that parent will feel if she is at work and gets an email photo with a digital picture of her smiling child playing with blocks! Sending digital pictures is a great way for child care owners and directors to connect with their families! Creating newsletters, emailing parents, publishing information online (such a menus, calendar of events, etc) are other ways technology can enhance your early childhood program! Having a good website can also help market your program. Providing information about your philosophy, themes, classroom schedules, and photographs can go a long way with potential families.

Social networking sites are new and exciting territories for early childhood educators. Networking is a part of our industry where we often thrive! I’ve been to conferences where I walk in not knowing a soul but you connect with others over your common interests in children and families. Now, you don’t have to leave those conferences with a stack of business cards that you’ve exchanged but may never really use. Instead, you can connect with these same professionals on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Groups, Ning, and other discussion groups, advocacy organizations, and professional societies.

In addition to networking with professionals, technology can help us improve our professional development. Many colleges, universities, and training agencies offer classes and/or workshop hours online. In our profession, where the last child may not leave your Center until 6:00 p.m., it is sometimes difficult to take a workshop or continue our college education. Technology can help us overcome that roadblock.

I would love to create a blog or website about how early childhood educators use technology in their programs. So please share with me...how do YOU use technology in your preschool, childcare center, or Kindergarten program?

Early Childhood Technology Resources

Early Connections: Technology in Early Childhood Education

Linking Teaching to Technology

Meaningful Technology Integration in Early Learning Environments

NAEYC Position Statement on Technology and Young Children

NAEYC Social Media

NAEYC Technology and Young Children Interest Forum

Technology in Early Childhood Education- Finding the Balance

Training Opportunities*

Care Courses

Directory of Online Degree ECE Programs

Early Childhood Courses at E-Learners (link removed at request of E-Learners)

The Center for Best Practices Online Workshops

Online Workshops

*There are many online training opportunities. Please check your state/local regulations before taking any workshops to be sure that they meet established guidelines for continued training.

Book of the Day Activities: The First Day of School

Going to school for the first time can be a stressful time for children, their families, and the teachers! Here are a few books, and some related activities, that can help ease the pains of the first day of school:

Will I Have A Friend? by Miriam Cohen

• It would be great if teachers contact families before school starts and ask parents to email you a photo of their child. Create a little newsletter that includes the names and photos of the children and mail them to each family so that the children can see names and faces of their friends before the first day of school!
• On the first day of school, send home a note asking parents to send in one piece (or can) of fruit with their child the next day. Make a Friendship Fruit Salad: Have the children wash hands, wash the fruit, and make a fruit salad! (Note: Check for food allergies before doing this activity!). Of course, the teacher may have to cut some of the fruit, but most fruit can be cut with plastic knives. Pampered Chef used to make a knife that was safer for young children.
• Have each child draw a picture of something that they did on the first day of school. Laminate and bind the pictures together in a book for the classroom library. Save a copy of the book and make a similar book at the end of the school year. Allow students to reminisce and compare the beginning and end of the school year!
• Re-read this book if you have new students join the class in the middle of the school year!
  
  

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten by Joseph Slate

• Allow the students to introduce themselves by name and tell how they got ready for school (as the characters do in the book). You can also introduce the letters of the alphabet and/or rhyming words with this book!
• Ahead of time, make a chart that has the letter/animal picture that corresponds to the the first letters of the students in the class... Example: "Emily the Elephant," "Lenny the Lion," etc. Give each student a sentence strip with their name on it and allow them to place their pictures under the correct first letter. In other words, a student named "Lisa" would put her name card under Lenny the Lion's picture. You can use magnets, Velcro, or tape to attach the name cards. This activity can be expanded into a graphing/math activity!
• Visit the illustrator's website to find out about the characters in the book: http://www.ashleywolff.com/whois.html
• Don't forget to read other books in the Miss Bindergarten series: Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip, Miss Bindergarten Stays Home from Kindergarten, Miss Bindergarten Has a Wild Day in Kindergarten, Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten, and Miss Bindergarten Plans a Circus With Kindergarten.
  
  

My Teacher Sleeps in School by Leatie Weiss

• Often students don't ever think of the teacher as a person with a home and a family! Think about it, you are there when the children leave each evening, and when they come to school the next day, you are "still" there! Bring in family photographs to show the children. Show them pictures of your pets, your children, your wedding photos, vacation photos, etc.
• Show the students some photographs of you when you were a child. And don't forget to tell your students your first name! Seems like a no-brainer, but many students have no idea that your first name isn't Miss!!
• Have children illustrate what would happen if a teacher really slept in school: Where would she cook? How would she brush her teeth? Where would she sleep?

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

• Record yourself reading the story and put it on CDs. Give each family the CD as a "first day of school" present.
• If you have a Back to School Night or Parent Orientation, this is a good story to read to the Moms and Dads!
• Have students make sugar cookies (the prepared dough is fine) using heart shaped and hand shaped cookie cutters.
• Variation: If Back to School Night is held on or shortly after the first day of school, have children make the cookies described above. Save some for snack time so the children can eat them, but make enough for each set of parents too. Have children decorate a heart shaped piece of paper that illustrates something that they did in school that day. At the Back to School Night read the story and then give each family the cookies and illustrations that their child made along with the CD of you reading the story. Those parents will love you for the rest of the school year!
  
  

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen

• Let children choose other animals to write stories about, like How Do Giraffes Go to School?
• In Block Area, provide school related props (small desks, chairs, tables, can be found in the dollhouse section of your local craft store), and toy dinosaurs. The children will enjoy reenacting this story!
• Read the other "How Do Dinosaurs...?" books.
• This is a good time to make your classroom rules. I always had 3 simple rules: Listen to the teacher. Be kind to your classmates. Take care of our toys and classroom. Almost everything else falls under one of these three rules. But having your students come up with the classroom rules, especially after reading this story, will be fun!
  

If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Joffe Numeroff

• Create flannel pictures of each key element in the story (the mouse, lunchbox, backpack, etc) and make a flannel board story. The class will enjoy retelling it. This will also make a good sequencing activity.
• Cut stacks of paper into a mouse shaped pattern. Here is one example pattern, but many are available on the web. Staple pages into a book. Place these blank books in your writing area to encourage children to create their own mouse stories!
• Invest in a mouse puppet. I like the puppets at Folkmanis but there are many others available. The mouse puppet can be used to act out all of the Mouse stories (If You Give a Mouse A Cookie, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, The Best Mouse Cookie, etc). I suggest creating prop boxes for each of the stories that include the puppet and various other objects/props from the stories.
• Visit the author's "Teacher Links" for many more ideas and story starters.
  
  

I Am Absolutely Too Small To Go to School by Lauren Child

• Have the children make a list of other things they think they are too small to do.
• On chart paper have the class list things that they can already do and make a list of things that they want to learn how to do. Keep this list in the classroom throughout the year and check off things as they are learned!
• Visit Charlie and Lola on the Web!
• 
  
  Check out the other books in the Charlie and Lola series. This brother and sister duo are adorable and funny.
  
  

Some Twitter Favs:

@katejewave likes The Kissing Hand, Miss Bindgergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, and If You Take a Mouse to School

@PaBast recommends Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois and Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

Book of the Day Activities: Fishy Tales

Books of the Week for August 2-8

This week's books are all about the FISH. What are your favorite fish books? Please add them below!

Ten Little Fish by Audrey and Bruce Wood

• Make a file folder counting game (see link below).
• Make fish "aquarium" for snack using blue jello and gummy fish.
• Make a class mural using a large sheet of bulletin board paper and blue/white paint. Add fish that the children have made/cut out of construction paper.
  
  

Hello Fish: Visiting the Coral Reef, A National Geographic Book by Sylvia Earle

• View National Geographic Website below to learn about fish facts.
• Learn about the parts of a fish. Put a large diagram on the bulletin board or Smartboard for students to see.
• Learn other words that begin with the letter F. Make a fishing game by tying a magnet on the end of a dowel. Gather about 10-15 picture cards where at least half of them depict "F" words like fish, frog, flag, etc. Place magnets on the back of each picture. Put the pictures in a small inflatable pool and let the children fish out each card, one at a time. When they get their card, they have to say if the picture begins with an F or not. You can sort the pictures on a magnetic board.

Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On by Lois Ehlert

• Cut out various fish shapes from construction paper. Give students lots of collage materials and allow them to choose a fish to decorate. Some collage materials might be: beads, buttons, sequins, tissue paper, yarn, confetti, party streamers, stickers, etc...
• Read other books by Lois Ehlert and study how she creates her illustrations.
• Do some fish math - find or make some fish counters and do some simple math word problems with a small group of children at a time.

Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni

• Create water color drawings.
• Do a painting with tissue paper: give children a white sheet of water color paper and colored tissue squares. Allow the child to dip the tissue paper in a shallow bowl of water (or "paint" water on the paper with a small paint brush; you can also use watered down glue instead of water). Place the colored tissue paper on the white construction paper, rub for a few seconds and then remove the tissue paper. You will be left with the color of the tissue paper! The result will be much like a water color painting but you will have some defined shapes and some deeper colors.
• Learn about Leo Lionni.
  
  

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

• Classic Seuss! Watch the video of this story. It is available online.
• This is a good book to use introduce number words.
• This is also a fun introduction to rhyming words.
  
  

Fish: A DK Eyewitness Book by Steve Parker

• Visit an aquarium, or see if your local aquarium has an outreach program, so the children can learn about fish.
• Give children pictures of various animals (it is best to use real pictures and not outlines/patterns) and have them sort them into two categories: fish or not a fish.
• Set up a classroom aquarium. Make this a journal activity by having the students document the steps the class had to take to create the aquarium.
  

Some Fishy Links

EPA Fish Site for Kids

Florida Museum of National History: Ichthyology Site

Fish FAQs - Good background information for adults

Fish File Folder Games

DLTK's Fish Site - Printables, Crafts, Coloring Pages

Fish Songs from Everything Preschool

National Geographic for Kids - Creature Features Fish Page

Preschool Ocean Songs

Children See...Children Do

This video was posted on Twitter today and I thought it was worth sharing here because it deserves more than the 140 character limit that Twitter has. This message speaks volumes to parents, teachers, mentors, grandparents, godparents, and other adults who have influence in a child's life.
It's no surprise to us that children like to imitate adults. As a former kindergarten teacher, I only had to look in my dramatic play area and see my students pretending to go shopping, cook dinner, feed the baby, go to work, drive a car...we have more of an influence on children then some of us even imagine. As teachers of young children, take a peek on your playground at recess to see children "playing school." As parents, watch your child play "mommy and daddy." They want to emulate the people that they look up to so it is up to us to provide a positive example of how to live!
How have you influenced the children in your life?

Thank You to @urbaneducation for sharing this wonderful video!

Book of the Day Activities: Multicultural Tales

Books of the Day for July 26 - August 1

Because this week's books are traditional fairy tales, you are likely to find various versions of them. I have included images of the versions with which I am most familiar, however, I encourage you to seek out other versions and read them to your class/children. They may take delight in comparing the various stories! Please respond below if you have other tales or activities that will go with any of the featured books for this week. Please add your own books and/or activities in the comment section!

Here are some activities that will go with all of the books on this week's list:

• Mark on a map or globe the areas where these stories originated.


• Make passports for the children and let them stamp them every time you read a book from a different country.
  
• Connect with a different classroom (pen pals, e-pals, or another classroom in the school) and compare/contrast different versions of the stories.


• Even young Preschool and kindergarten students can begin to learn the difference between real and pretend. Talk about what "fairy tales" and "folk tales" are and look for ways to tell if a story is real or pretend (ex: talking animals, magic, etc)


• Make flags of the corresponding countries. Learn a little about what the colors and symbols represent.


• Use the Internet to go on a "photographic" tour of the countries featured in these books.


• Several of the books on this list are Caldecott Winners (Lon Po Po, Anansi the Spider, Strega Nona). Learn about the Caldecott honor and bring children's attention to the illustrations in these award winning stories!

Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel

• Practice saying the main character's name: Tiki tiki tembo-no sa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo! The children will have fun just trying to learn the name.
• Allow the children to clap out and count syllables in the name. Then count the syllables in their own names and classmates' names.
• Research the meanings of each child's name. Older students can also research the meanings of their parents' names.
• Tie this story into a theme on opposites. One brother had a long name and one brother had a short name. Make a list of other opposites with the children!
• Note: Make sure that children know that this is a "pretend" story since most people of Chinese decent do not really give their children long names like Tikki Tikki Tembo...

Babushka's Doll by Patricia Polacco

• Visit the author's website.
• Use this story as an opportunity to talk about patience; the main character in the story wants things "now." Have children discuss and/or illustrate times when they have to be patient (waiting for their turn on a bike, going to the store with mom, etc).
• Learn about Matryoshka dolls or Russian Nesting Dolls. The Russian Legacy Website has a lot of good background information for adults. Some websites have the dolls for sale between $30 and $40.
• Have the students rewrite and illustrate the story.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

• Make a mitten match activity: the teacher should cut mittens from tag board and decorate each pair various patterns and colors. Laminate the mittens and store them in a container of your choice. Encourage students to find matching pairs. Note: the mitten patterns can be used for all sorts of activities: matching upper/lower case letters, matching opposites, pairing pictures w/beginning letter sounds, addition activities, etc. Here is an example of mitten match game using colors.
• Use Jan Brett's site which has mitten and animal patterns to make a flannel board or file folder version of the story.
• Use the animal patterns from Jan Brett's site (see link above) to make an Beginning Sounds Game: have children match the animals with their beginning sounds. This game can be done on a magnetic board, flannel board, or made into a file folder game.
  

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola *This story may not be a traditional "folktale" since it is an original story. But it has a lot of the elements of a traditional tale!

• Make a chart of the various Italian words used in the book (Grazia: Thank you
  Per Favore: Please, etc).
• If you (or a parent) has a pasta maker, make pasta from scratch!
• Have a gelati tasting or make cannolis.
• Compare/sort different types of pasta (elbow, bow tie, spaghetti, etc). Make a pasta collage.
• At the easel, encourage children to paint their own pictures of their Magic Pot. Antony's pot had pasta but encourage students to come up with their own ideas of what they would want in their pots.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema

• Young children will love to say this big word "onomatopoeia" which is really a fancy word for words that imitate sounds. Have the class make a list and write it on chart paper. Examples: buzz, wham, woof, moo, bang, choo-choo, etc...
• Make sequencing cards and have students put the major story events in order.
• Do "nighttime" drawings using colored chalk and black construction paper.
• Learn about a few of the animals in the story (iguana, python, rabbit, crow, monkey, owl, lion, and of course, mosquito). Sites such as National Geographic for Kids often have video, pictures, and facts that are appropriate for young children.
  

Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott

• Use a child-friendly computer program like KidPix to have children create their own spiders.
• Visit the PBS Kids' Africa site.
• Learn about spiders and other arachnids
• Make a spider - search the web for "spider crafts" and you will find dozens of options!
• Make a spider snack: body = large marshmallow, legs = stick pretzels, eyes = mini chocolate chips (attach w/ a dot of peanut butter if there are no allergies)
• Make a Venn Diagram and compare a "real" spider with Anansi

Lon Po Po by Ed Young*Thanks to peekabooplay (on Twitter) for reminding me to add this one!

• Read this version and a more familiar version of Little Red Riding Hood and help the students compare/contrast the stories.
• Make a graph of what version the class likes the most. When making graphs with young children it is most important to be very visual.
• Do a "Fact" vs "Fiction" activity about wolves.
• Learn to write some letters or count to 10 in Chinese.

Other Favorite Folktales from Twitter:

Katjewave said, "The Bossy Gallito is a Cuban folktale retold by Lucia Gonzalez."

peekabooplay loves Brett's version of Goldilocks.

Katjewave likes Just a Minute! by Yuyi Morales. It's a counting book in a tale about how Abuela tricks Sr. Calavera.

meristemstudio said, "Some of my favorite multicultural fairy tales are retold by Gerald McDermott..."

Katjewave is a huge 'Cinderella' fan, and since she's EVERYWHERE in the world, suggests Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by Steptoe.

Affordable Child Care ... a CRAZY social program?

Tonight I decided to relax and polish my nails after a long hard week...but then somehow I found myself browsing around on Google News. I read a story about a preschool program called the Early Childhood Inititive in Ohio having to close because of funding, or lackthereof. So I am putting away the nail polish and getting out the proverbial "pen."

As I read the article, I felt sympathy for those parents who are struggling financially who now have no child care. What about the single mother who has a minimum wage job and manages to pay her rent, utilities, clothe and feed the chidlren, and has no money left to pay for quality childcare? How is this mother supposed to go to work to continue to support her family if there aren't programs like the Early Learning Intiative? No child care for many single parents means NO WORK.

And then I read this quote and I felt my feelings of sympathy being overcome by anger:

Warren County Commissioner Mike Kilburn is all for the [budget] cut. "We've got to stop the craziness of all these social programs," he said. "They're breaking us. We have got to send a message to people that you've got to have responsibility for your kids and your family and doing good by yourself," said Kilburn.

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Will we, as a nation, ever grow up and realize that it really does take a village to raise a child? Many other countries are so far ahead of us in providing free or low cost quality programs for children.

Research shows that programs like ELI are succussful and beneficial for children and families. I certainly don't think that such programs will solve all of the woes in our society. But it's foolish of us not to consider the profound effects that quality PreK programs can have on children, especially children who may be potentially at-risk. Pre-K Now describes Ohio's efforts to put early childhood at the forefront; now it seems that they may be taking a couple of steps backwards.

How is your state doing?