Preschool settings play a significant role in promoting physical activity for children under five years. Most of the time, however, is sedentary (50-94%) with only a small percentage devoted to light (5-27%) or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (1-17%). While the experiences children have during childcare hours can impact their physical…

Conversations with families about understanding and nurturing their young child's development can be both rewarding and challenging. In this article, two seasoned HealthySteps specialists and two HealthySteps physician champions were asked to reflect on this central aspect of their mission in serving infants, toddlers, and families and on what…

Immigrant women with young children are at a disadvantage when trying to settle into a new life in Canada. The male of the household remains the primary focus for settlement services, and he receives educational and employment opportunities. The mother in the family is often considered less important by services. Of particular concern is the lack…

Vygotsky (1978) describes play as having three main components, one being the ability for a child to create an imaginary situation, the second taking on and acting out roles, and the third, following a set of rules that were determined by the roles children took on during play during social or group settings. Hence, supporting much needed social…

Parents, family members, and other adults can play critical roles in helping their multilingual preschool-age children confront the stresses and trauma of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. This brief highlights various language practices of multilingual children that deserve to be respected and nurtured through daily conversations and…

Precocity in the very young should be a valid topic of discussion in parental and educational circles, yet too frequently those conversations are slow to occur or are absent altogether. Many parents and educators remain silent about raising and nurturing precocious preschoolers, and author Leigh Ann Fish believe that the silence is due to a lack…

The authors' experiences with Latinx families confirm research that shows parents are willing and have the desire to help their children with their mathematics schoolwork (Colegrove and Krause 2016). However, structural barriers make it challenging for Spanish-speaking parents to support their children's mathematics learning. For example,…

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) began as a year-long initiative to support early learning for very young children and families. The program has grown into a self-sustaining, nonprofit, place-based organization committed to improving the lives of children and families in the underresourced neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, MI.…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) -- the phase before primary education -- is increasingly acknowledged as providing the foundations for lifelong learning and development. This second edition of 'Key data on early childhood education and care in Europe' charts the progress made in the key quality areas identified in the Council…

In previous research the "Joan Ganz Cooney Center" and "New America" have characterized the children's educational app market as a "Digital Wild West" (Guernsey, Levine, Chiong & Severns, 2012; Shuler, 2011). The marketplace is chock full of choices but lacks essential information to aid parents' and educators'…

Young gifted children can become passionately interested in social justice. It makes sense that children who are astutely aware their own differences could and would become interested in the well-being of others. It seems that preschool programs have been slow to recognize the value of service-learning to their students, but Freeman and King…

Fathers and paternal role models make a unique contribution to children's development. There is some research to suggest that the types of play males engage in with children is typically more active and thus offers unique possibilities for embedding activities for language and literacy development. In this article, we offer suggestions for how…

In October, 2011, Age of Learning, Inc., creator of ABCmouse.com "Early Learning Academy" conducted a nationwide survey of 500 kindergarten teachers on the subject of children's preparedness for kindergarten. The survey revealed that two-thirds of America's kindergarten teachers believe most young children are academically unprepared for school…

Literacy programs often target preschool children who are from minority groups, are from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and are second language learners, as they are deemed to be at risk for academic difficulties. The family literacy program described in this article is unique in that it focuses on families who have an additional risk…

Reading with Junior is a program that teams up a Grade 3 male elementary school pupil with reading difficulties--or with no motivation to read--with a parent (preferably a father) and a male student in a preschool and elementary school teaching program. The pupil's role was simply to participate in the project; the university student's role was to…