EC Resources for Schools, Care Providers

News from First Five Nebraska

December 2015

Our vision is that all Nebraska children begin kindergarten with the experience they need to become successful students and productive citizens.

Quick Links

Congratulations to the research team at UNL's College of Youth, Families, and Schools (CYFS) on being awarded a $2.5 million grant to improve developmental outcomes, specifically language and social-emotional skills, for Nebraska infants and toddlers. The five-year project was one of four national studies funded by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Read More

A new animated video from the Erikson Institute shows parents the critical importance of children's healthy brain development: All It Takes is H.E.A.R.T.(Hug, Engage, Ask, Read, Talk).

Children's self-esteem is set by age 5 and tends to remain relatively stable across one's lifetime, under-scoring the importance of the earliest years as a foundation for life success, say researchers following a study at the University of Washington.
Researchers will follow the children in the study through later childhood to determine whether self-esteem in preschool predicts school and health outcomes. Read More

Action Alerts and other news from

First Five Nebraska

FirstFiveNebraska.org

The 104th

Nebraska Legislature,

2nd Session,

will convene Wednesday,

January 6, 2016.

Resources to Help Nebraska Schools and Private Child Care Providers Create Strong Early Childhood Programs

Consistent high-quality interactions with adults promote healthy brain development in young children that sets them on a path to academic and life success.

Nebraska schools are looking to build strong early learning childhood programs that can help close the achievement gap for our youngest at-risk learners, and as we move toward increasing the number of quality care and preschool programs in the state, it's clear that private child care providers have a role to play in preparing children to arrive at kindergarten ready to learn.

Numerous funding and other resources are available to schools and providers interested in creating quality early childhood programs.

Resources for Nebraska Schools

Resources for Nebraska Private Child Care Providers

Play is essential to babies, toddlers, preschool and school-age children. They need plenty of opportunities to play with a variety of good toys and materials and use their imagination. NAEYC talked to an expert about the value of toys and what to think about before buying one for a child.