Every toddler should have the opportunity to attend preschool. This should not be based on parents ability to pay or zip code, but rather our will as a state to equitably educate every child. The research is clear that those who enter kindergarten without preschool experiences start at a disadvantage that in many cases continues to widen.

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What the research says

“Humans are wired to want to understand the world around them. We come out of the box that way,” said Elizabeth Rood, co-author of the report and director of the center, which is based at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. “Even kids who are pre-verbal have pretty sophisticated reasoning skills. The sooner parents and teachers introduce scientific vocabulary and concepts, the more likely kids will have the tools to help them succeed in science later on.”

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Science education for most children in California begins in elementary school, but it should start much sooner — in infancy, even — for children to achieve their full potential as young scientists, according to a new report by the Center for Childhood Creativity.

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The 44-page report, “The Roots of STEM Success: Changing early learning experiences to build lifelong thinking skills,” is based on a review of 150 studies on the education, cognitive development and developmental psychology of children age 10 and under. It found that even though very young children may lack the ability to sift through information and express themselves, they can grasp complex scientific concepts, test theories and draw conclusions.

EdSource March 8, 2018