Best Practices Archives - Early Learning Nation

WHO’s First-Ever Guidelines Reinforce Need to Reduce Screen Time for Youngest Children

Tom Kertscher·Aug 20, 2019·3 min read

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its first-ever guidelines on screen time for children younger than 5, recommending no...

Good Learning Needs Good Nutrition: A Fundamental Value for the Educare Learning Network

K.C. Compton·Mar 21, 2023·6 min read

When you’re not sure what to eat, But you want to make a healthy treat, A delicious meal so tasty...

For Young Children, a RAPID Response to the Pandemic

Mark Swartz·Jun 4, 2020·4 min read

The Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development, or RAPID project, gathers essential information on unmet needs and health-promoting behaviors for...

An illustration of two children playing with blocks together

Synchronized Movement: The Story Behind a Prizewinning Video on Preschool Behavior

Mark Swartz·Oct 1, 2019·4 min read

Did you hear the one about the marine biologist who walked into a neuroscience lab? The University of Washington’s Institute...

To the Stars and Beyond from a Tower of Blocks

K.C. Compton·Jan 30, 2020·7 min read

The building block has been such a fact of American childhood for so long, it’s easy to dismiss the humble...

How to Make Mother’s Day 2023 One for the Ages

Mark Swartz and Art Hondros (Illustrator)·May 10, 2023·6 min read

Early Learning Nation magazine asked some of our favorite people, What’s one thing our readers can do to make the...

Erikson Institute’s New, Fully Funded Master’s Program for Educators of Color in Chicago

Applications Due April 21 for Educator Impact Grants

Mark Swartz·Mar 30, 2023·4 min read

Erikson Institute’s new Master of Science in Early Childhood Education (MSECE) licensure program is designed to prepare teachers to teach...

Our Child Care Facilities Are in Crisis But There Are Solutions

Business, Nonprofits, Chambers of Commerce Build Coalitions

Mark Swartz·Oct 8, 2020·3 min read

In the morning, as children dash into their preschools and home-based care sites, hanging coats and finding favorite toys or...

The Quality Trap: The Movement to Reconsider QRIS

Mark Swartz·Jun 3, 2022·5 min read

Developed in the 1990s, Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) aim to increase the availability of high-quality early education programs,...

A woman reads a book outdoors with a small boy who has paint and dirt on his face.

Tiny Trees Preschoolers Get to Know Their World, Rain or Shine

K.C. Compton·Aug 30, 2019·3 min read

The children attending Tiny Trees Preschool classrooms in Seattle and King County parks may look like they’re “just playing,” but those little boots are actually marching, climbing, stomping and squishing their way to a well-rounded preschool education.