Our Monthly Newsletter
Get the big picture in early learning from Early Learning Nation magazine via insider access to groundbreaking research, policy and practices.
Early Learning Nation is an independent magazine devoted to early learning, reporting on groundbreaking research, early learning policy and best practices in the field. Join us as top journalists report on the latest in the science of the developing brain, breaking policy news, illuminating interviews and deep dives into Early Learning challenges and successes from across the U.S., and beyond.
Our monthly newsletter highlights the best of each month's content. Sign up to subscribe.
And if you've missed any newsletters, grab a coffee or cocktail and surf the archives.
July 2024
Mom’s Clean Air Force, Summer Brain-Building Tips, Benefits of Green Spaces
Is it hot in here or are these just smoking conversations?
June 2024
Military Child Care Waitlists, Summer Brain-Building, Upcoming Conversations
Even with summer in full swing with kids out of school, as we know, learning—and inspiration—never stops. In July, we’re over the moon to co-sponsor two dynamic conversations in the heat of summer, all designed to inspire.
May 2024
New Research, Author Interviews, Victories for Nurses, Unequal Access
Welcome to our May newsletter with lots of quick links to the top news in early learning, including new research and investigations, policy successes, author interviews and feature articles like Barbershop Books that’ll warm the cockles of your heart.
April 2024
When Private Equity Enters the Child Care Sector, Plus New Policy and Research
Over the past two years, more stories have focused on the growing role of investors, especially private equity firms, in child care. I eagerly agreed when Elliot Haspel approached me about doing a long-form look at investor-backed child care chains. Haspel is a well-regarded child care policy expert and author, as well as a freelance journalist and opinion writer who has published stories with The Atlantic, The New York Times and The Washington Post (among others), and he’s a longtime Early Learning Nation contributor and columnist. For this story, he employed investigative journalism techniques to provide a deep look into the workings and implications of growing investor and private equity influence. The resulting long-form, investigative article is eye-opening.
March 2024
The Lullaby Project, New Research, Reports, Conversations
This month, we invited our newsletter and Substack subscribers to complete our first-ever survey designed to help illuminate our readers’ interests and to measure our impact. Some top learnings? Our most popular topics are policy and brain science research, followed by local success stories. People find us through their professional settings where our articles are discussed in the workplace and shared among professional networks. Our readers are motivated to take actions that connect them with other people and organizations, including joining a webinar, writing a letter to the editor or a policymaker, reading a book, following new people on social media and signing up for a newsletter or Substack.
We are proud that 86% say our work is very or extremely valuable, and 95% find our work trustworthy. Note: To sweeten the response pot, participants who wanted, were entered to win a book bundle package of some of our favorite books. Applause, please, for Becky T from Birth to Five Illinois! Read more about the survey and the results.
February 2024
Au Pairs, Grandparents, Investing in New Parents, New Survey
Welcome to our February newsletter, filled with top news and features from the world of early learning. We've also just launched a survey to help us better understand your interests and our impact. Have a few minutes to take the survey? If so, you'll be entered to win a bundle of early learning books. The deadline to complete this brief survey is March 8th. Thanks for your time, and if you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@earlylearningnation.com.
January 2024
Following Baby’s Lead, Innovation for Child Care Compensation, Myths to Jettison
We said, “Winter is Coming.” And, well, it’s here. But even in the dead of winter, we’re covering stories of innovation and change for good, as well as the hard challenges faced by families in America. This month, we’ve covered the waterfront (Boston, Seattle, Louisiana), the Rockies (Colorado, Montana), the Lone Star State of Texas and Washington D.C., as well as national work. Jump in!
December 2023
Pregnancy in Shackles, Men of Early Learning, Research Roundup, 5 Trends for 2024
Welcome to the 42nd issue of our newsletter, the monthly roundup of independent journalism from, and for, the early learning field. Our journalists have unique access and insights to the challenges and successes of all-things-early-childhood, and we publish stories that support policymakers, researchers, scientists, advocates and families in creating equitable and groundbreaking work in their communities and lives.
With the shuttering of independent news providers over the last five years, and the loss of so many education and early childhood beats in the outlets that do remain, our communities are hungry for information—and connection. We illuminate the work in the field and meeting the moment of news deserts and the loss of local news. Read why this is vital work in contributor Rebecca Gale’s Quality Journalism Needed to Shift Attitudes on Child Care.
We’re glad you’re here, friends.
November 2023
Mississippi Miracle, Little Leaders in the Bronx, Improving Child Care in Puerto Rico
Every November, columnist Mark Swartz speaks with early learning experts and friends to ask: “What are you thankful for?” Always illuminating, always fun. Read the entire gratitude collection: Giving Thanks at the Kids Table.
October 2023
Promoting Marriage, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rural Child Care and More
We’ve been covering virtual #ECE events with our popular Top Takeaways column during the past three pandemic years. This month, we celebrated a return to live events by taking our Early Learning Nation Studio to Charlotte, N.C. for the gathering of the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI). It was as illuminating, exciting and fun as we had hoped it would be. We'll soon have interviews on our YouTube channel with the leaders, educators, researchers and early learning advocates in attendance.
September 2023
The Child Care Cliff, Getting Playful, Tribal Communities Receive Windfall
Media reports often offer a “we versus them” construct that may or not be real. In “Bipartisan Farm Bill Legislation Seeks to Boost Child Care Access and Affordability in Rural Areas,” Florence Becot from Marshfield Clinic Research Institute’s National Farm Medicine Center, spoke eloquently: “This is not a ‘they’ or ‘them’ problem, like farmworkers versus farmers, or even rural versus urban. This is a ‘we’ problem for all Americans.”
August 2023
Broadway Babies, Joy, New Model of Pregnancy Care
Let’s face it: August is a weird month. Vacation is over and the benefits of time off are waning way too quickly. The stress of finding summer activities for kids has been replaced with the stress of finding child care and getting kids settled in school. Parents may be transitioning from working from home to days back in the office. It’s still hot and humid, and many of us are yearning for sweater weather and leaves turning from green to gold, red and orange. Hold tight. Autumn is coming.
July 2023
Seasons of Play, Big Gains in Minnesota, Unsafe Formula Feeding, Diaper Need
As intense heat waves increase in frequency and intensity across the U.S., parents, educators and communities are grappling with ways to keep kids active, healthy and cool. Schools closed early on many days, summer camps are keeping activities indoors, and beaches and pools are closed or offering limited hours due to a lack of lifeguards. Communities are working to remake child-friendly public spaces in the time of climate change. Kendra Hurley wrote in an earlier piece, “As so many urban planners have noted, a city that works for small children works for just about everyone.”
June 2023
Tennessee Diaper Benefit, Vermont Makes History, Colorado $ Pilot
It’s getting hot out there and we’re sweatin’ over how rising temps bring dangers for the health of small children. In “New Study: Hot Days Impact Kids’ Activity Levels and Health,” reporter KC Compton speaks with Dr. Andrew Koepp, researcher with the University of Texas Department of Human Development and Family Sciences to learn more about the importance of activity levels for kids (for bone, muscle and heart health) and why hot summers have serious implications for children’s well-being in a warming world.
May 2023
Child Care for Shift Workers, Playful Learning Landscapes, A Better World for Moms
Along with spring flowers, May brought rich and compelling content to Early Learning Nation magazine. From Philadelphia’s Playful Learning Landscapes, and national policy, new research and interviews with leaders, to nonprofit successes and top challenges. Read on!
April 2023
Cradleboards, Black Maternity Health Crisis, Doula Services
It's been a wild month for Early Learning Nation magazine. Like you, we limited our travel during the worst of the pandemic, and after three years of Zoom meetings, elbow bumps and masks, we're gettin' mobile. We recently attended the Aspen Forum on Children and Families in Washington, D.C., where we chatted with Anne Mosle, Joan Lombardi, Phil Fisher, Joe Waters and lots more. And we met with the Better Life Lab and New America teams to discuss new ways to collaborate. Also, our fairly new Substack has brought fresh eyes to our pages and makes it easy to get the latest articles as soon as each is published. Give it a whirl! (It's free.)
March 2023
White Matter, Food, the Perils of Private-Equity Child Care Chains
This month’s content covers what we love most at Early Learning Nation magazine: brain science, policy, innovative programs, food (!) and the quest for high-quality universal child care. In advance of putting on the bathing suit for the first time this summer, let’s dive in.
February 2023
Congressional Dads, Book Reviews, Quicksand
Last Tuesday, Early Learning Nation magazine and the Bezos Family Foundation co-sponsored a “LearningTuesday” event with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. While the world of early learning can feel like The Hunger Games, this event focused on early learning successes and innovations, highlighting the work of stellar nonprofits we’ve featured in our magazine. It was smart, inspiring, dynamic and offered specific ways to share and replicate. Who doesn’t need a little feel-good right now? If you missed the live event, enjoy the recording here.
January 2023
Creativity, Coalitions, Child Care Saving the Construction Trade in Oregon
January brought barely enough flurries to tease us at ELN headquarters in NYC. But it brought exciting news about early learning innovations across the U.S., along with national policy victories. We covered the child care waterfronts of Boston and Oregon, the ECE workforce in Louisiana, WeeSubsidy in California, national landmark policy victories and lots more. We also explored two new scientific studies doing what we love most: getting the research from behind paywalls and into the hands of parents, practitioners and policymakers.
As education beats continue to disappear from print and broadcast outlets, Early Learning Nation magazine is the #ECE beat to follow. Let’s dance!
December 2022
Mobile Preschools, Transforming Pediatric Health Care, Neurons and Neighborhoods
Hope, wrote Emily Dickinson, is the thing with feathers. To which we would add glitter, glue, googly eyes and the whole arts and crafts drawer. We love contributor Mark Swartz’s annual year-end gathering of voices of early childhood. He asked them for their hopes for 2023. Here are their responses. Enjoy!
November 2022
Mother-Child Brain Synchrony, NM Makes History, Gratitude
A provocation, in early childhood education (ECE) lingo, is the field’s term for inviting someone to engage with an idea. Well, Elliot’s Provocation in November drew the attention of the superstars of early learning, who joined the discussion on social media and on LinkedIn, and they didn’t always agree. What’s all the ruckus about? As the #childcarecrisis continues to put enormous pressure on families and companies, employer-provided child care is being touted as a quick fix. But Elliot Haspel argues that it’ll set us back even further in the long run. Read all about it in “Employer-Sponsored Child Care is a Wrong Turn.”
October 2022
Hunger Returns, Dolly Parton, Dispatch from Ireland
It’s been an exciting month for the ELN team as we took deep dives into the child care crisis, the impact of Covid, policy, new research, Dolly Parton’s library, and explored what’s being done in other countries—beginning with Ireland with upcoming dispatches from Finland and the Czech Republic. Perhaps we should change our name to Early Learning Nations? Let’s dig in!
September 2022
Independent Journalism, Baby Formula Crisis Deep Dive and Montessori Myths
The elimination of entire newsrooms, and for those that remain, the loss of education beats, couldn’t have happened at a worse time - when the pandemic made already fragile early education and child care a national crisis.
August 2022
Anti-Stress Kits, Head Start and Obesity Prevention, Books, Top Takeaways
While some parents get teary-eyed about the return of kids to the classroom or college campus, lots of (more honest) parents are counting the days until drop off. But all parents and caretakers share a fair bit of trepidation: will my child be welcomed, accepted, make friends, thrive, stay healthy? The ELN team sends solace, strength and a good laugh to all, along with this reminder from Fred Rogers: “Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero.” That’s you, your family and friends, the teachers, child care business owners, bus drivers, lunch cooks and librarians. Heroes. You.
July 2022
Child Care: All the Ways to Make It Happen
Let’s keep this month’s newsletter brief as it’s just too damn hot. We’ll note, though, that we laughed when the weather people in NYC—home to ELN headquarters—called our 85-degree temperature “a cold front.” To be fair, after a couple weeks of 96-degree temps, it was a welcome relief. Speaking of weather, or specifically climate, we’re writing about the impact of climate change on our kids. And we’ll not stop banging the drum for child care as infrastructure.
July 2022 - Special Edition
Special sneak preview for our newsletter subscribers
We're thrilled to share with you that we've launched an Early Learning Nation Substack newsletter, in addition to our regular monthly newsletter here (and articles on earlylearningnation.com). We wanted you to be the first to know!
June 2022
Father’s Day Challenge, Chicken Hats, Innovations, Play
June was a difficult month in the history of our country. Reproductive rights and gun safety are intimately connected to the fate of American families, so outrage and exhaustion have been near constants lately. And yet while preparing to mobilize, march and vote, we remain focused on building equity in our communities. In every state, educators and advocates continue to improve the lives of children. These stories and the solutions they represent energize us and give us some much-needed hope.
May 2022
Bad-Ass Mothers, Child Care Subsidies, From Run-DMC to Noggin
Weeks like this one, as we read that 19 more children and two teachers were slaughtered in their school, make just about anything else feel irrelevant.
But it isn’t. Our daily work must continue even as we educate ourselves and fight for a better world where all children—and their devoted teachers—don’t simply survive but thrive. What will it take for change to happen? How hard must each of us work to make that change happen?
April 2022
Latest Research, Interviews, Early Learning Successes
April was a big month for ELN. In addition to new articles delivered fresh each week, we co-sponsored an exciting event with the Alliance for Early Success and completed all the follow up to taking our Early Learning Nation Studio to Washington, D.C. for the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference. Visit our YouTube channel for all the interviews that explore what’s happening in early learning at the municipal and national levels.
March 2022
Wheels on the Bus, Altruistic Babies, ECE in the Cowboy State
‘You shall be loved.’ And loved I was. A recent New York Times obituary offered a celebration of the life of Vera Gissing, a Jewish girl only 11 years old when her parents put her on a Britain-bound train convoy out of Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II. Her life was saved by the Kindertransport while 13 of 16 relatives left behind, perished.
Her obituary’s final quotes will stay with us forever: The last child left waiting in London for a guardian, Vera was greeted by Mummy Rainford. “And as she saw me,” she recalled, “she started laughing and smiling and crying at the same time and she ran toward me, flung her arms around me, and she spoke some words I didn’t understand then, but they were, ‘You shall be loved.’ And loved I was. And, you know, those are the most important words any child in danger, any child in need, can hear.”
Let all of us find the child in need, in danger, and do what we can to provide assistance, comfort and real change: advocate, donate, organize, volunteer.
February 2022
Latinx Dads, Yamaguchi, Second that Emotion
Despite global tragedies and national uncertainties this month, the ELN team has kept our focus, pushed for clarity, and even enjoyed a few belly laughs. Topping the list: Moms, stop judging yourselves! Mark Swartz interviewed Kristi Yamaguchi for his Community Cultivator column. She’s a mom, an Olympic gold medalist, children’s book author, founder of the Always Dream early literacy foundation—and yes, her toddler broke her, too. Read all about it.
January 2022
Baby Steps, Breaking News, Brain Science
Despite the uncertainty of the pandemic world, the ELN team begins the new year with a fresh sense of promise. Magical thinking? Listen, we’re more ambitious and energized than ever, and getting even more creative as we look to the year ahead. If all goes well on the pandemic-front, we’ll take our Early Learning Nation Studio on the road to D.C. in March to capture the key lessons from the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference. Behind the scenes, we’re drinking coffee (or cocktails) while exploring ideas like an ELN Book Club and a new series of heavy-hitting debates focused on trending topics like “Should the U.S. invest substantial public funding in a universally-accessible child care system?”
December 2021
Hope, Humor, Falling Like a Baby
Well, we made it through 2021 and already, 2022 looks like a doozy. What to do? Anyone see that Sandra Bullock rehab film, 28 Days, where she’s forced to wear a sign around her neck that reads: “Confront me if I don't ask for help.” We’d suggest changing that wording to “Remind me to ask for help,” because everyone is in need of help these days and most are reluctant to ask. Even prior to the Hollywood treatment, Mr. Rogers advised people to “look for the helpers.”
November 2021
Gratitude, Provocations, Challenges, Solutions
Just as a golden brown turkey is the centerpiece for a Thanksgiving table, gratitude is the ELN centerpiece for November. Let us count the ways.
October 2021
The Child Care Crisis edition, plus paternity leave and more
We’ve been banging on about child care for two years, covering it from every angle, written by many of our country’s top journalists. Why? Because child care is the engine that fuels the economy. It’s the infrastructure that allows parents to go to work knowing their children are safe, nurtured and primed for learning. Child care may be the one bipartisan issue on which our divided legislature agrees. It’s a fierce battle we must win for the sake of kids in their most critical brain-building years, for the sake of parents who must return to work and for the sake of our national economy. This crisis isn’t new; the pandemic only exacerbated the need for quality, accessible and affordable child care. It’s also providing a prime opportunity to get it right. Let’s not waste it. Grab your drums and sticks, and bang on!
September 2021
Eastside Baby Corner, grandmothers, voices of child care workers
There were lots of tears of happiness and relief last week as parents walked kids to PS 187 near ELN headquarters in NYC. Watching as masked-up kids ran squealing—with arms outstretched—to hug much-missed friends was enough to make the worst cynic weep. What’s next as we face another “new normal”? Breathe, lower your shoulders, unclench, walk outdoors. And, of course, dive in to the most recent articles from ELN. Splash!
August 2021
Fatherhood, designing kid-friendly cities, YMCAs build communities
Is anyone else feeling like time is simultaneously standing still while speeding by? An entire summer has flashed by just like that and friends on social media are already posting pics of the harbinger leaves turning to autumn in their neighborhoods. Our late-summer harvest of stories provides deeply satisfying examples of how committed individuals are building brains and cultivating community nationally and right where they live: urban and rural alike. Grab your fave sweater, wrap up and read on!
July 2021
Gen Z Parenting, Baby Bonds, Caring Arizona, PopUp Storywalk
When the young graduates at PS 187 in Washington Heights, NYC, marched outside of their school wearing caps and gowns at the academic year’s end, parents and neighbors clapped, cheered and yelled: “You made it!” The sentiments—and tears— were as much a celebration of the work of educators, families and caretakers as they were for the students. Although the upcoming school year offers new uncertainties, for now, we’ve made it to summer. Let’s savor it.
June 2021
Babies are scientists; parentese; how best to praise kids
Summer’s back, with sunshine and light brightening those dark corners we’ve encountered during our pandemic year in captivity. As we move toward normalcy, many of us are planning a return to the office (Raise your hand if your “hard pants” still fit!). Kids are longing for more playtime with friends and some splashing in the nearest body of water. As temps rise across the nation, our ELN team is staying cool and focused on the latest in brain building and community building. There was so much terrific content in June. Let’s dive in.
May 2021
What mothers deserve, the science of babies’ laughter, universal child care!
May charged in like a lion with hard rains, wind and, in many areas, snow, as frosty low temps whiplashed into sweaty days in the 90s. Nobody seemed to care: We had our attention on the lifting of mask mandates, good news on vaccination rates and news of in-person public school come September—plus the glorious scents of lilacs and peonies! Keep reading to explore the rich rewards of ELN in May.
April 2021
The great diaper debate, rural libraries, policy analysis
Our stellar content in April placed a laser focus through many lenses on the great and urgent needs of families: diapers, rural libraries, the child care crisis, policy and brain development. Let’s just dive in.
March 2021
Child care teacher exodus, American Rescue Plan, park classrooms
March roared in like a lion with the massive American Rescue Plan, with major implications for our Early Learning Nation. That investment in our families isn’t the only thing that has our hearts feeling lighter. Springtime is, indeed, coming in. Take your brain building outdoors while offering a fond hello to trees in bloom and daffodils nodding in our direction.
February 2021
Brain building, our undervalued child care workforce, fighting for kids
You can almost feel it in the air: Springtime is coming! As March brings lighter, longer days, we’re ready to say farewell to winter and a fond hello to trees in bloom. Not a day too soon.
January 2021
Lullabies, pester power, universal child care and more
Anyone else feeling hopeful these days? A new administration has proposed a robust plan to give families more options for quality, affordable and home-based care, and to create an adequately compensated professional workforce of caregivers. Vaccine distribution is ramping up and a new year has begun. There’s so much work yet to be done, but it feels as though we’re moving in a good direction. Read on.
December 2020
Winning for kids; mindfulness skeptics; holiday tips
The world has faced profound losses this year, a great many of which have fallen, as always, on our most essential and vulnerable: health care professionals, educators, families and children. Even as we mourn our losses, we’ll use them to propel us with greater urgency to strengthen our commitment to #EarlyLearning, brain building and community building.
The new year holds great promise. In this beautiful TED Talk video, designer Debbie Millman, explores what she holds dear. What do you hold dear? Join us! There’s strength in unity and it’ll be much more fun to explore together in 2021.
November 2020
Parenting brain; astronauts; winning preK-for-all
Phew! We’ve made it through the election. Now, take some deep, deep breaths and enjoy new reading about #EarlyLearning successes.
October 2020
In your state; free tools; new videos
Yes, we get it: lives upended; the reimagining of work, family and education; the loss of day care; and navigating the social isolation from family, friends and our circles of love. Early Learning Nation offers science-based original content about these topics – and lots more. We even find levity whenever we can in these decidedly unfunny times. Read on.
September 2020
The latest in early learning: COVID, mindfulness, #brainbuilding and more
Looking for science-based early learning resources for the COVID-19 pandemic? We’ve got you.
ELN leads with science! Recent articles explore:
