Best Practices Archives - Early Learning Nation

More Bad News for Child Care: The Importance of Not Looking Away

Our Broken Child Care System and How to Fix It, Part 2

The Editors·May 20, 2020·8 min read

In this three-part series, Dr. Laura Justice—executive director of the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at The...

Brain Matters Documentary Attracts Global Interest

Behind the Scenes with Director Carlota Nelson

Mark Swartz·Feb 25, 2020·3 min read

Prioritizing early childhood development, says documentary filmmaker Carlota Nelson, “Is a no-brainer,” before adding, “No pun intended.” Born in Tokyo...

Megan McClelland: The Skills & Tools of Self-Regulation

The Editors·Apr 29, 2019·4 min read

Self control. Attention. Focus. These foundational skills make up a key area of early childhood development: Self-regulation. So what can teachers, parents, caregivers –even children themselves – do to help those skills grow? Oregon State University Professor Megan McClelland explains the science and the practical things we all can do. Filmed for Early Learning Nation’s Mobile Studio at the Society for Research in Child Development’s biennial meeting in Baltimore, MD, on March 22, 2019. #SRCD19

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...

Asking Big Questions in Kansas to Guide Decision-Making for Early-Learning Communities, Providers and Parents

Mark Swartz·Jan 8, 2021·5 min read

Jackie Counts, director of Kansas University’s Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR), likens the early childhood continuum to the...

Transition to Fatherhood: A Profound Passage that Should Be Protected

K.C. Compton·Aug 20, 2021·7 min read

Women come of age steeped in conversations about reproduction. Different cultures interact with women’s bodily changes in various ways, but...

Coaching as Mutual Learning: How First Up Supports Philadelphia’s Child Care Workforce

Mark Swartz·Oct 9, 2024·4 min read

Stephanie Simon, program manager of First Up, was on her way to a site visit when her phone rang. “If...

Playful Learning in Pittsburgh: The Park as Classroom

Mark Swartz·Mar 24, 2021·3 min read

“Have a belief in yourself that is bigger than anyone’s disbelief,” said August Wilson, playwright of the great “Pittsburgh Cycle.”...

Mindfulness and Young Children: Six Resources for Beginners and Skeptics

Mark Swartz·Nov 19, 2020·3 min read

Sometimes a term gets repeated so often that the meaning becomes obscure. While it might seem like we’re all talking...

Families-learn-to-use-new-materials-together.-Photo_-Front-Room-Photography

Museums Are for Kids: Busting Myths at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Emily Sullivan·May 3, 2019·5 min read

The days of shushing kids in museums are long gone. Now, museums large and small, which once earned reputations for strict enforcement of “no talking,” “no touching” and “no fun” rules for kids, actively court families and kids with free days, family memberships, activities, tours and programs, all designed to celebrate and discover art and the creative spirit.