Maren Petersen-DeGroff, Children's Program coordinator at Parenting Now!, writes how a few hours a week in an intentionally prepared environment with age-based peers can help build the skills that children need to be successful.
Petersen-DeGroff shares that most experts agree upon is that preschoolers learn best when they get plenty of unstructured play time.
Petersen-DeGroff also points out the type of play that is best for toddlers and preschoolers. According to Petersen-DeGroff, "guided, open-ended play, with well-trained adults, shows children how to work toward a shared goal, become sensitive to the needs of others, and communicate their needs and ideas."
Petersen-DeGroff advises that toddlers aren't ready for direct teaching of literacy, math and other knowledge content, but play-based learning materials help children make meaningful connections and understandings of their world. She adds that memory is strengthened through repeated experiences.
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
When Hannah Davis traveled to China to teach English, she noticed how Chinese workers and farmers were often sporting olive green army-style shoes. Those shoes served as her inspiration to create her own social enterprise, Bangs Shoes.