For the first time ever, the Sixpence Early Learning fund will fund collaborations between school districts and licensed child care providers. These new Child Care Partnership grants will give more of Nebraska’s most vulnerable babies and toddlers access to high-quality early…
Blog Archives
Day one of kindergarten: getting excited and prepared
As the first day of kindergarten approaches, your child may be nervous, excited, afraid or feeling all of these emotions. And that’s OK! Helping your child feel excited and prepared for kindergarten makes the first day easier for him and…
Real readiness: Social-emotional development and success in school
Social and emotional skills –not academic skills– are most predictive of success in kindergarten. When a 5-year-old enters kindergarten, she’ll be best positioned for success if she can sit and listen to the teacher, get along with other students, keep…
Tagged with: early childhood education, early childhood mental health, kindergarten, social emotional
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Choosing a high-quality preschool program in Nebraska
If your child is already in a care setting that has a preschool program that you like, that’s great news. For many Nebraska families, however, their 3- and 4-year-olds will be starting preschool after being in a home-based setting. For…
Preschool: Helping your child get the most out of schooling at ages 3-4
The purpose of preschool High-quality preschool programs are designed to help prepare children for kindergarten in several ways. Two of the most important areas are: Optimizing social-emotional skills by giving 3-4 year olds the opportunity to practice these skills in…
Smart Starts: School Readiness Begins at Birth
Building the brain from the beginning. By the time a child turns 3, his brain is 85% the volume of an adult brain. That means that nearly all of the neural connections that will ever form have already been set. These three…
Tagged with: ACEs, brain development, infant mental health, kindegarten, preschool, toxic stress
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Starting Kindergarten in Nebraska: What you need to know
All children who turn 5 on or before July 31 are eligible to start public kindergarten in the state of Nebraska. No matter what their abilities, academic skills or background, Nebraska schools will be ready to meet their needs. Even if a…
Sixpence Early Learning Fund awards 16 new grants
The Trustees of the Sixpence Early Learning Fund announced this week that 16 high-quality early childhood programs serving at-risk infants and toddlers across the state will receive grant awards totaling approximately $2 million, beginning July 1, 2015. Sixpence grants are intended…
Recharge for Resilience: A first-ever conference for home visitors
On October 30, nearly 375 home visitation professionals gathered in Kearney for a full day of education. On this day, they would recharge for resilience, and learn to better care for the families in their charge . . . and for…
FAST Success in the Panhandle
In the Panhandle, preschool families who will be transitioning to Kindergarten at Chadron Public Schools are receiving some extra support through a pilot of the FAST program (Families and School Together). On April 14, 2014, Chadron completed their second cycle…
Growing the Good Life 