Numerous studies corroborate what we know through observation and experience: children growing up in families with limited resources and supports are not always adequately prepared for kindergarten. They are less likely to be good readers by third grade, graduate from high school, stay out of the public assistance system, or avoid going to jail. But Read More
Media and Young Children Today
It wasn’t that long ago when “screen time” meant time spent watching television – parents were advised to set limits on how much time a child spent sitting in front of a TV and not to put a TV in a child’s bedroom. These days it’s far more complicated. TV is still a player, but Read More
Give Great Books to Kids on Your Holiday List
The holiday season is gift-giving time for many families with young children. While we often spend a lot of effort deciding which toy a special child might enjoy, books are also a wonderful gift for that child! Here are some ideas for you about matching books with children’s ages and a fabulous list of suggestions Read More
Talk is Cheap – and Priceless.
People say talk is cheap, but for babies, talk is priceless. Talking with babies has been shown to have an amazing impact on the growth of their brains and development of language, key to their future success in school and in life. And, unlike products that are advertised to parents as critical to making their Read More
Good News & Bad
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the Legislature has passed an operating budget that includes funding for early childhood — $320,000 for Best Beginnings, $500,000 for Parents as Teachers, and $2 million for PreK grants. A big Thank You! to all those concerned Alaskans who met with, called, and emailed Read More
Old and New Favorite Picture Books
See how engaged this little boy is in one of Mo Willems’ books? He’s on his way to becoming a good reader! I love children’s books, too, especially picture books. Some favorites of my crowd of 6-and-under grandchildren these days are books that delight and engage adult readers as well: Any of the Elephant and Read More
Science, Babies, and Families – a Winning Combination
You’ve probably heard people say babies are like blank slates, just waiting to be filled up with knowledge. I thought that, too, until our first baby was born. It became pretty obvious quite soon that this tiny creature was already making a big impact on her world. We were at her beck and call – Read More
Prevent and reduce effects of childhood trauma
It seems everywhere we turn these days, we see references to childhood trauma. Also called toxic stress, or adverse childhood experiences, it refers to the profound and long-lasting effects that traumatic experiences can have on children. What kind of experiences are we talking about? For starters, family dysfunction, an incarcerated family member, substance abuse, domestic Read More
The connection between early literacy and incarceration
The rumor was false but the connection was real. In our guest blog, educator Stan Lujan tackles the connection between Alaskans in prison and literacy. As Stan notes in his testimony to the House Finance Committee, prison planners do not look to reading scores to predict how many prison beds they’ll need. But the connection Read More
Where we are
As many Alaskans know, Best Beginnings took a major body blow with a 66 percent reduction in state funding for the fiscal year that began July 1. For the current year, Best Beginnings is receiving $320,000 from the state, down more than $600,000 from previous years. Best Beginnings is tackling the challenge in several ways, Read More
