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Are you interested in quality materials on topics related to early childhood and early intervention? The Natural Resources listserv is one way to stay up-to-date with the latest free or low-cost booklets, CD-Roms, videos, Power Point presentations and other items. Subscribe to the Natural Resources listserv and receive weekly email announcements featuring a product that is available at no cost or very low cost. A short description combined with ordering information will give you the details you need to add another valuable resource to your own library. If you are
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The Fiscal Effects of Investing in High-Quality Preschool Programs The Brookings Institution has released a new report entitled The Fiscal Effects of Investing in High-Quality Preschool Programs (2009) by William T. Dickens and Charles Baschnagel. The authors look at the potential long-term effects of two model preschool programs on federal, state and local government budgets. They find that both programs would pay back in reduced costs and increased revenues in excess of three-fourths of their costs within a seventy-five year budget window. The report can be accessed online at http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2009/04_preschool_programs_dickens.aspx Making the Most of Playtime: New Resource from CSEFEL The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) has published a new resource for families entitled Making the Most of Playtime, which offers tips and strategies for families to consider when playing with their infant or toddler. It is part of the CSEFEL Family Tools Collection and can be accessed online at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/familytools/make_the_most_of_playtime2.pdf Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School New research shows that many kindergartens spend 2 to 3 hours per day instructing and testing children in literacy and math-with only 30 minutes per day or less for play. In some kindergartens there is no playtime at all. The same didactic, test-driven approach is entering preschools. But these methods, which are not well grounded in research, are not yielding long-term gains. Meanwhile, behavioral problems and preschool expulsion, especially for boys, are soaring. Read the Alliance's new report, Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School at http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/valueofplay/Kindergarten_8-page_summary.pdf New Video on Early Childhood Inclusion A new 12-minute video, Foundations of Inclusion Birth to Five, includes highlights from the recently released Joint Position Statement on Early Childhood Inclusion as well as bite-sized information on big ideas about inclusion. The video was produced by CONNECT, a US Department of Education-funded national center that is developing web-based resources and modules on effective and evidence-based practices to support professional development. New DEC/NAEYC Joint Position Statement on Early Childhood Inclusion The Division for Early Childhood and the National Association for the Education of Young Children have recently approved a joint position statement that underscores their commitment to quality early childhood inclusion. Early Childhood Inclusion: A Joint Position Statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) takes an historic step by providing a shared national definition of inclusion as “the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society.” The document, which was developed through a collaborative national process that the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) coordinated, represents the first time these two leading national organizations have partnered on a joint product that is expected to have a widespread impact on the early childhood field. Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 This report is intended to help ensure implementation of the improvements in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives. It was prepared by an informal coalition of 18 organizations, many of whom have been working individually and together for years to support children being raised by grandparents and other relatives. In this guide, the collaborating organizations have answered a number of questions posed to them by persons interested in implementing the new act. The Guide is intended to be useful to those charged with implementing the improvements for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives, as well as others who are advocating for the new improvements and assisting with implementation. Download at http://www.clasp.org/publications/NewHelpForChildrenRaisedByGrandparentsAndOtherRelatives.pdf CSEFEL Infant Toddler Training Modules Now Available in Spanish! The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) recently introduced a new Spanish version of the popular Promoting Social and Emotional Competence: Infant Toddler Training modules. These modules were designed based on input gathered during focus groups with program administrators, T/TA providers, early educators, and family members about the types and content of training that would be most useful in addressing the social-emotional needs of young children. Both the English and Spanish versions can be downloaded for FREE. Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide The Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide is a set of tools for taking action and improving public policies that impact the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families. It offers options and strategies to uses in efforts to affect policy change. Each section (e.g., good health, strong families, positive early learning experiences, systems) includes mini-policy briefs, practical tools, in-depth policy papers and more. Developed with the generous support of the A. L. Mailman Family Foundation and the Carol Berman Fund, the guide is available for download from the ZERO TO THREE website at www.zerotothree.org/policyguide. A limited number of print copies are available on a first-come, first-served basis. To request a single print copy of the complete Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide, please email policycenter@zerotothree.org. State of the World’s Mothers Report In commemoration of Mother’s Day, Save the Children has published its tenth annual State of the World’s Mothers report. Focusing on the critical importance of children’s experiences in their early years, this report suggests specific activities mothers and caregivers can do with their young children to help them reach their full potential in school. Supporting Early Childhood Opportunities with Stimulus Funds
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