This past week South Sioux City Community Schools held our annual Cardinal Preschool Early Registration.  On Monday, February 9 and Tuesday, February 10, parents from across our district took an important step towards their child’s educational journey.  The research is very clear, and our data confirms, that children who attend an early childhood program significantly increase their social, emotional, and academic success.

First Five Nebraska, an organization that promotes early childhood education, states that “a significant number of Nebraska’s youngest children arrive at kindergarten unprepared to learn, due in part to a lack of high-quality developmental experiences during the infant and toddler years.”  First Five Nebraska claims 41 percent of Nebraska’s children, ages 0 – 5 or 63,000, are at risk of failing in school.  To prevent failure and reduce the chances of failing in school, First Five Nebraska also shares that, “High-quality early care and learning programs are known to offset the risk factors associated with low student performance and school dropout.”  They point to a long-term study cond……………. continues on Blair Enterprise Publishing

It is a notorious fact that it’s nigh on impossible to get young boys interested in reading.

But you can also add to that pretty much any other academic subject: maths, history, geography, etc etc. Or perhaps my two are just especially dumb!

My youngest son, aged seven, had a particular strong dose of Learning Aversion, preferring to mess about with his mates either in the park or on his computer, than knuckling down to anything that involved opening a book or lifting a pen.

But the World Cup in 2014 changed all that. And in a way that was truly revelatory.

For it engaged him in such a way that his mum and I have been able to apply his enthusiasm for football t……………. continues on Parentdish