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The critical role of the early years is highlighted in an article, “Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America’s future workforce,” by Eric Knudsen, James Heckman, Judy Cameron, and Jack Shonkoff in the July 5, 2006 issue of PNAS magazine (www.pnas.org/content/vol103/issue27/). In the conclusion the authors observe ...

“The implications of this rapidly evolving science for human capital formation are striking. The workplace of the 21st century will favor individuals with intellectual flexibility, strong problem-solving skills, emotional resilience, and the capacity to work well with others in a continuously changing and highly competitive economic environment. In this context, the personal and societal burdens of diminished capacity will be formidable, and the need to maximize human potential will be greater than ever before.

“The evidence presented in this paper indicates that the most cost-effective strategy for strengthening the future American workforce is to invest greater human and financial resources in the social and cognitive environments of children who are disadvantaged, beginning as early as possible. The greatest return derives from investing in disadvantaged children because their home environments are impoverished. Therefore, for them, the difference between the stimulating intervention environment and the environment they would otherwise experience is extremely large....

“The cognitively stimulating experiences in early childhood that are most important for the promotion of healthy development are provided through attentive, nurturing, and stable relationships with invested adults. When development is jeopardized by impaired relationships or other sources of environmental disadvantage, the biological and financial costs increase with age. Thus, although adaptation generally remains possible well into adult life, the decreasing plasticity of the maturing brain indicates that early intervention to mitigate the effects of disadvantaged environments is more efficient (in both energy costs to the nervous system and program costs to society) than later remediation for individuals with limited skills and problematic behavior. Stated simply, skills beget skills, success breeds success, and the provision of positive experiences early in life is considerably less expensive and more effective than the cost and effectiveness of corrective intervention at a later age....”

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As early childhood professionals we know that a critical component of beneficial early years is play. To assist programs in promoting play, we have bundled together a variety of practical resources on play and are selling them at a discounted package price. Our Play Tool Kit contains the following items:

• Play �" A Beginnings Workshop Book
• The Power of Play: How spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children by David Elkind
• Exchange Article Collection #8 �" Play
• Plus three Out of the Box Training Kits…
  �" "Play and the Outdoors"
  �" "But They’re Only Playing"
  �" "Supporting Constructive Play in the Wild"
  

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