According to the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention, about one quarter of children in the United States will witness or experience a traumatic event before the age of four. In this article, Susan E. Craig explains how these early trauma histories prime a child's brain to expect certain experiences,…

Universal preschool has the potential to close the knowledge gap--but only if we consider how to best teach preschoolers. Unbridled enthusiasm for universal preschool must be balanced with thoughtful consideration of what goes on in these classrooms, and what activities will most support children's learning. Content-centered classrooms help…

Early childhood education must bolster basic cognitive and social-emotional competencies to prepare children for authentic learning. The preschool educators should view academic skills and concepts as valuable tools in the process of developing essential competencies.

Preschoolers enthusiastically tackle reading when they get to read and share their "special" words. The author, a preschool teacher, describes a successful classroom strategy for helping students make the connection between print and meaning. As students develop word lists that have special meaning for them and then use these words in stories and…