A bipartisan moment for the Child Tax Credit: Kevin Mahnken on how proposals to expand the benefit are coming from every corner as the election (and a harsh 2025 deadline) looms. earlylearningnation.com/2024/09/long...

Care for all: Mark Swartz on key lessons for child advocates from the broader $648 billion care economy. earlylearningnation.com/2024/09/care...

New today from @brycecovert.bsky.social — The children’s agenda: What a Harris-Walz administration could mean for families. earlylearningnation.com/2024/09/the-...

New today from Kevin Mahnken: Long a stranger to the spotlight, the Child Tax Credit earns embrace of both parties. earlylearningnation.com?p=9871

☀️ Enjoy the rest of your summer! We'll see you in a couple weeks. ☀️

Happy Friday! Want to catch up this weekend with some great reads on federal family support and indigenous art education? We've got you: earlylearningnation.com

"All of these anti-family policies—no paid leave, costly health care, and lack of child care—have contributed to the unique stress of being a parent in America."

Programs for kids that elevate heritage-based strengths and traditions can work wonders for entire communities. Meet the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project: earlylearningnation.com/2024/08/art-...

Research? You want research? We've got research! From neuroscience to policy to social/emotional work, our Research Lab has you covered. earlylearningnation.com/category/res...

Play that's child-directed vs child-centered: What's the difference? "Shared agency," says Dr. Angela Pyle. Dig into these approaches in this conversation with Dr. Pyle and Mark Swartz: earlylearningnation.com/2024/08/agen...

Want to go hang out at the Music Zoo? We thought so! Preschoolers at the Jean Tyson Child Development Center get sweet introductions to music through music education students at the University of Arkansas/Fayetteville. earlylearningnation.com/2024/08/musi...

Preschoolers who can identify their emotions show lower levels of stress hormones, according to new research from Dr. Eleanor Brown. This age is critical for socio-emotional skills, but families struggling with poverty may have a harder time supporting their kids' development.

The child care movement needs a broad base of support in order to win an effective, publicly-funded system. Now, a new research paper is opening another door by showing how child care is impacting that most respected of American icons: farmers. earlylearningnation.com/2024/08/chil...

Raising a nation of readers and empowering our kids with the empathy and understanding to succeed in our diverse world requires social and human fluency gained from reading stories that offer multicultural, full-color perspectives.

You know in your bones the importance of children's books and reading for a myriad of reasons, but we think your mind will be blown and your heart will shine catching up with some of our favorites at the recent CGLR conversation we co-hosted.

When we ask if women can have it all, not only are we asking the wrong question, but we unfairly place the onus on individual women to singularly overcome all the structural barriers and odds to climb the ladder. @samhita.bsky.social

The AI genie isn't going back in the bottle. So what can educators, advocates, parents and researchers do? This superstar panel's recent conversation with Campaign for Grade-Level Reading covered a lot of ground! earlylearningnation.com/2024/07/5-to...

"Why?" The perennial question of young kids everywhere is the key to unlocking the magic of understanding the world around them. This new, researched-back curricula developed by The Next Generation Preschool Science team taps into kids' natural curiosity and playful learning:

Journalism is experiencing some of its deepest hardships structurally since its inception, and when we lose the news, it's harder to make good policy happen. Here's what several of our favorite #childcare journalists had to say about the current state of the industry, and where we go from here:

Unacceptable: Nearly HALF of families surveyed by the National Diaper Bank Network last year reported not having enough diapers. The impacts of diaper need ripple out through a family in devastating and unexpected ways--and no, simply switching to cloth diapers isn't the answer!

What's the strongest force in the universe? Moms, of course. And what happens when moms get mad about--and then organize against--climate change? Moms Clean Air Force. AND, what happens when Latina moms mobilize for Mother Earth? EcoMadres!

“We need each other more than we’re allowed to believe.” This and many other gems await you in our top takeaways from Child Trends' recent conversation about the future of Black leadership in advocating for family policy that supports and strengthens our communities.

Who's in the mood for actual ✨magic✨? We definitely are! Look no further than the work that Crystal Rountree, the new CEO of Jumpstart (and the first Black woman to lead the literacy tutoring nonprofit), is doing. earlylearningnation.com/2024/07/how-...

The mental health crises we're witnessing across many communities of young kids worries us all. And while we probably all assume the positive benefits of green space, two researchers have set out to quantify and dig deeper into those relationships.

Recently, columnist @mattyglesias.bsky.social argued that using workforce rhetoric to support #childcare policy no longer holds water for a variety of reasons, but @ehaspel.bsky.social thinks there's a larger framing issue when we talk about child care as a commercial good versus a national value.

The extreme segregation we see in early education settings is a direct result of our fractured systems, argue researchers Casey Stockstill and Halley Potter. But, we can change this! @kendrahurley.bsky.social reports: earlylearningnation.com/2024/07/earl...

Is it good when owners of small-scale child care centers are able to make a profit in their business? It's rare, but almost certainly worthy. Should the focus of child care be on extracting the most profits at the expense of quality, workers' needs and the actual care of children? Not so much.

Vikings! Tax credits! Military families! Summer care and advice! Did you miss any of our exclusive articles during the month? No worries, we've got you: check out our monthly roundup, and sign up to get it in your inbox here: earlylearningnation.com/newsletter-a...

"I realized that what frustrates me most about our child care search isn’t just the lack of numbers. It was the way this whole experience seemed to disregard the humanity of everyone involved."

It’s no secret that American society must make fundamental changes in how we support parents and children if we are to move forward in a functional, even sensible way. In Helen Russell's "How to Raise a Viking," resources abound that might help move that needle. K.C. Compton reviews:

Hiring and retaining child care workers: a nationwide crisis, now with national security implications. Military families have to factor in their ability to work outside the home when deciding whether or not to reenlist, and our armed forces may not be able to attain the readiness the country needs.

Gregg Behr, the co-author of "When You Wonder, You’re Learning," along with many of our other faves, contributed their thoughts on summer-long playful learning. What are your ideas? earlylearningnation.com/2024/06/summ...

What's your summer parenting/caregiver strategy to keep those young brains thriving? Read all our faves' contributions here: earlylearningnation.com/2024/06/summ...

We're asking our faves: what can parents do to keep the learning going during the summer, while centering play? Read them all here: earlylearningnation.com/2024/06/summ...

The biggest surprises we learned from the expansion of the Child Tax Credit during the pandemic? Dr. Olivia Golden reveals all in this interview with Mark Swartz about her new report with Dr. Vivian Tseng for the Foundation for Child Development: earlylearningnation.com/2024/06/new-...

Home-based #childcare providers often feel like they're on their own in so many ways. But programs like QUALITYstarsNY are building the bridges and sharing the knowledge that providers need to thrive: earlylearningnation.com/2024/06/qual...

79% of children would like to play more with their parents or caregiver. Today's your day to pledge more time to play (at any age!) with the UN's International Day of Play, and Mark Swartz collected some invaluable inspirations and resources for you to dive into:

Summer camp, aka, the middle-of-the-year #childcare that most parents need to be able to keep their lives going. How did we get here? @ehaspel.bsky.social joined the American Camp Association's podcast this week to discuss: apple.co/4aQSCP2

@ehaspel.bsky.social’s latest Provocation is here to bring the bereft and frustrated parents of summer into a powerful movement for all-ages care in America: earlylearningnation.com/2024/06/elli...

It may not seem like a 92-year-old photographer's work overlaps with early education much, but Duane Michals' embrace of "the pleasure of chaos" might just resonate with anyone working in a field that celebrates and preserves the joyful curiosity and wonder of childhood.

Jessica Calarco found a reason why women in this country feel that so much pressure rests on their shoulders, that if they don’t hold everything together Macgyver-like, their worlds could fall apart. The reason is because it’s true. earlylearningnation.com/2024/06/othe...

New research! New books! New victories! Our monthly newsletter catches you up on everything you might've missed--and boy, did May have a ton going on. mailchi.mp/earlylearnin...

We all know we're supposed to read aloud to kids. But do you know why? New research from Dr. Susan Neuman might just surprise you with some answers: earlylearningnation.com/2024/05/conn...

NEW: An investigation into special education in Indian Country has revealed a systemic breakdown in failing to provide services to Native American students with disabilities, most of whom come from some of the poorest, most remote and disadvantaged communities in the entire country.

Hitting all the sweet spots this week-- our writers have really come through with some groundbreaking reporting! We've got research, literacy & community, and cross partisan policy all right here for you: earlylearningnation.com

Finding common ground versus negotiating compromise: the secret sauce to creating truly cross-partisan family policy that people from all over the political spectrum can get behind. Check out this new release from Convergence:

Barbershops are not simply places where Black boys get a haircut a few times each month, but rather, places where they bond with and learn from Black men. So why not incorporate a love of reading into that mix?

NEW: Not only do babies’ brains “light up” when parents speak “parentese,” but the degree to which individual babies responded to social interactions predicted the child’s language growth beyond toddlerhood. K.C. Compton reports on new research from Dr. Patricia Kuhl et al at I-LABS.

Children don't have lobbyists in Washington, but private equity-owned #childcare chains sure do. Learn how they've shut down sound policy all over the country: earlylearningnation.com/2024/05/priv...

The CHIPS Act means that the US is ramping up semiconductor manufacturing and research--and that companies getting federal money for that ramp-up must provide #childcare. Historic! Jessica Kutz from @19thnews.bsky.social explores the many layers of impact coming to fruition now: