The Huffington Post – Ellen Galinsky
“In the next few weeks, millions of children across the United States will begin kindergarten. From public school to home school, and everything in between, parents, teachers and caregivers will do all they can to ensure that this transition into a formal school setting is as successful as possible. There are many factors that help determine this success, but one stands out as foundational to all the rest: executive function. Imagine three kindergarten children working on a number activity. Mary is focusing and working through the activities together with Manuel, but the third child, Addy, is easily distracted, has a hard time remembering what to do, and keeps trying to interrupt Mary and Manuel. It is clear that Mary and Manuel will be more successful at learning from these activities than Addy, and the latest scientific research shows us that this can be directly tied to Addy’s “executive function” skills.”(more)