Looking a little deeper... zero to three

•  A specific section that really has stuck out for me is the mental health section under the behavior and development tab.  Currently, I have three students who are currently under evaluation for mental health issues.  It is something that I have not dealt with and I am trying to do my best to help them through their day.  It has proven to be challenging to help them each individually and to use strategies that are very beneficial for them.  They are all very different children, but they share the same common characteristic of violent outburst.  I would highly recommend looking through some of the articles. 

I read an article from the website called, getting ready for school begins at birth. The article gives great ideas on what to do with your child, but it does use the term "school readiness." I have grown not to love this term because all kids are ready for school, they may not have certain skill sets, but will be coming to school regardless if they are ready.  To me, the term feels like you have to be 'ready' in order to attend school.  However, besides the term the article offers great ideas for parents, one that would be very beneficial to handout to parents to help in all academic areas and social/emotional development.   I wonder if a different terminology would be more appropriate?

I searched for neuroscience on the website and I was linked to a podcast called, Early childhood development and public policy: closing the gap between what we know and what we do.  It talked about closing the achievement gap here in America and how research as proven time and time again that a early start helps children who at risk tremendously in the future. This issue I think is really important when we are considering issues and trends in early childhood.  We see it all the time the achievement gap when children are in elementary school and we see children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds being referred to special education services.  This falls into education reform and working from the bottom up, instead like Dr. Grace mentions this week working from the top down.  We must start with our youngest learners!

Link to podcast