NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 09/06/12 -- According to The Huffington Post, a new study demonstrates a link between a child's early education, learning habits, and future educational success. One aspect of learning behaviors, called "attention span persistence," seems to act as a reliable indicator as to whether or not that child will graduate college by age 25. Researchers have defined attention-span persistence as "the ability to focus, attend to relevant information, and persist on task." Slava Volman, who is an educator and daycare center owner, believes that this study further emphasizes the importance of early childhood education in terms of lifelong learning and future educational success.

The article states, "This finding, in and of itself, should become headline news for families, educators and policy makers, because it shows that the early years set the stage for learning..." The author goes on to quote a blog commenter, who writes, "Simple, unstructured playtime is the most underrated educational tool, not just for preschoolers but for older kids as well."

Another commenter agrees with the article's main points. She adds, "Kids need time to imagine. They need unfettered time in nature."

Slava Volman says, "This study makes it even more apparent that daycare and early childhood education programs have the ability to shape the entire course of a child's life. What and how you learn as a young kid becomes a pattern for what and how you learn as an adult. That stuff sticks with you throughout elementary and middle school, all the way up through high school and college. Even things that don't actually seem 'educational,' such as playing imagination games, are important activities for the development of young minds."

The study wraps up by suggesting that teachers and family members offer children "fun and engaging" activities that encourage the kids to pay attention and try new, more difficult tasks. Lead researcher Megan McClelland explains, "Play is one of the most cognitively stimulating things a kid can do."

Slava Volman has based his daycare program around providing kids with activities that are both fun and intellectually stimulating at the same time. He echoes McClelland's statement by saying, "While children obviously enjoy themselves as they play, they're also learning and growing. Their minds are expanding and they're developing important patterns that will help them as they continue learning later in life. They're figuring out how to reason and memorize and solve problems on their own without the help of a parent or teacher. This is crucial stuff."

ABOUT:

Slava Volman is the owner and founder of Shooting Stars Daycare, which currently serves about thirty boys and girls of varying ages. Prior to opening his own daycare service, Slava spent years as a Kindergarten teacher and afterschool childcare program supervisor.