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From Ready At Five's Executive Director Steven Hicks
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste
In the first years of life, more than
1 million neural connections form in the brain every second, building the brain's architecture and providing the foundation for all future learning, behavior, and health. When a child is provided the opportunity to attend high-quality preschool, developmental barriers such as poverty, caregiver mental illness or child maltreatment can be overcome. Yet, less than half of 4-year-olds in Maryland who entered kindergarten last year, attended publicly-funded prekindergarten, and just over one-third attended full-day programs. Stop and think about that for a minute. Just 16% of Maryland's 4-year-olds - the majority of whom are from low-income families - were given the opportunity of a strong start needed for success in school and success in life. With such a massive inequity in prekindergarten access, is anyone surprised to see a 19-point achievement gap along income lines?
Read more here.
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October is ADHD Awareness Month. In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the percentage of children in the United States who have ever been diagnosed with ADHD is now 9.5%. Boys are diagnosed two to three times as often as girls.
ADHD is NOT caused by moral failure, poor parenting, family problems, poor teachers or schools, too much TV, food allergies, or excess sugar. Instead, research shows that ADHD is both highly genetic (with the majority of ADHD cases having a genetic component), and a brain-based disorder (with the symptoms of ADHD linked to many specific brain areas). For more information on ADHD please visit www.adhdawarenessmonth.org.
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Jumpstart is celebrating the 12th anniversary of its Read for the Record campaign, which gathers over 2 million people together around the world to read the same book on the same day, binging much needed attention to inequities in early childhood education, inspiring adults to read with children, spurring policymakers and organizations to take action towards transformative change in early education, and putting books in the hands of children across the country.
Click here to register and get access to this year's campaign book, Quackers by Liz Wong, free on-line in both English and Spanish.
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Featured Resources
Domain Of Learning Card: Help Your Child Learn To Talk, Listen
Easy-to-read card for parents/families and early childhood professionals that provides information on language and literacy that promotes school readiness.
Download here for free
or
purchase here
.
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Registration is Now Open for our School Readiness Symposium
Our School Readiness Symposium "Equity in Literacy Must Start Early" featuring Dr. Nell K. Duke, Ed.D. will take place on December 14, 2017 at Turf Valley. Dr. Duke will speak on the critical need to provide rich language and literacy experiences for children, beginning with infants and toddlers and extending through the early years, to ensure equitable opportunities later in school and in life. Visit our website to register.
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Program Update
We were thrilled to offer a new Parent Leadership Learning Party Facilitator Training with over 30 participants! This Learning Party, developed in collaboration with experts at EPIC (Every Person Influences Children), provides parents and families with important leadership and advocacy skills to promote civic engagement in the familiar and comfortable Learning Party format. The Parent Leadership Learning Party is part of a larger effort to create and sustain local parent leadership efforts through the Early Childhood Advisory Councils, Judy Centers, and public school systems. The Parent Leadership Learning Party is designed to support parents/family members as they take an active role in their child's education and in schools, early learning programs, and local communities. There are opportunities for every jurisdiction in Maryland to receive training in Parent Leadership Learning Parties - please contact
Robin Hopkins
if you are interested.
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Reading Fun with ReadyRosie!
When a child participates in reading the words with you, he is discovering how books work and developing his confidence as a reader. Invite your child to "chime in" on the repeating text in books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar as you point to the words.
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#GivingTuesday is Coming!
#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (November 28, 2017).
We ask you to consider
donating
to Ready At Five to help us achieve our vision that all Maryland children will have the foundational skills needed for success in school, career and life! You don't have to wait until November 28th - you can even start giving today!
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