![Professor Tom Lowrie of the University of Canberra's STEM Education Research Centre plays with children from the ...](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/v/s/9/o/image.related.landscape.380x253.gsvslx.png/1480370538923.jpg)
Latest
![Dyslexia today affects a disturbingly high proportion of kids across the country — some estimates put this number as ...](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/d/4/b/g/image.related.landscape.300x200.gspmh7.png/1479249506379.jpg)
I conquered my dyslexia: every kid should have the same chance
My overworked primary school teachers concluded I was just not very bright. But I was lucky. I had a mother who would not accept such a bleak diagnosis for her son.
![Children with at least two years of preschool achieve much higher scores than those who attend no preschool or only one ...](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/f/2/g/l/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsf2d6.png/1477962400190.jpg)
Two years of preschool have more impact than one, research shows
Children with at least two years of preschool achieve much higher scores than those who attend no preschool or only one year.
![Nicholas Quaratiello at the school readiness centre](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/3/z/3/image.related.landscape.300x200.grmv0c.png/1474870253890.jpg)
Pre-kindy bootcamp 'a waste of parents' time and money'
It's 9am on Friday and four-year-old Nicholas has bowled up to class in Leichhardt's Italian Forum, he's sheepishly holding a piece of paper in his hand. It's his homework, he says, as he presents it to his "school readiness" teacher, Violeta Dimeska.
![Sufi, 5, fell on two concrete stairs and hit his head on a nearby pole.](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/k/g/6/o/image.related.landscape.300x200.grkfdl.png/1474412324597.jpg)
'We dropped him off at school, but he never came home'
Every morning as she opens her eyes, Hafsa Nimrah Qaseem sees her son Sufiyaan's smiling face.
![Learning to love all of what makes us unique.](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/k/8/r/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.grjz4v.png/1474341093228.jpg)
Teaching my preschooler (and myself) that it's okay to be different
My son has a large birthmark on his neck. It's chestnut-brown, and I like to describe it as the approximate shape of South America.
![Preschool funding: a priority for both parties in NSW.](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/z/y/0/e/f/image.related.landscape.300x200.grf8xk.png/1473815332645.jpg)
Baird makes dramatic changes to preschool fees
Mike Baird acts on preschool fees.
![Teach kids to tie their shoelaces with this mum's genius hack.](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/e/a/4/s/image.related.landscape.300x200.gre9s0.png/1473651607352.jpg)
Mum's genius hack for teaching kids to tie their shoelaces is going viral
A Canadian mother's genius hack for teaching kids how to tie their shoelaces is going viral.
![Imogen Lewis, 2015 HSC First in Legal Studies student, is about to sit the rest of her exams.](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/1/r/k/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.gp1rgk.png/1465959699701.jpg)
HSC High Achiever: Legal Studies
Imogen Lewis recommends you "worship" the syllabus to get great marks in Legal Studies.
![More funds for preschool places.](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/k/4/e/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.gp4bzp.png/1473856676537.jpg)
Is this why NSW childcare is the most expensive in the country?
The Auditor-General says the government has hoarded hundreds of millions in funding budgeted for the early childhood sector, while high fees keep many families from sending their kids to childcare or preschool.
!["Had I not nurtured their real-world creativity enough?"](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/w/y/5/8/image.related.landscape.300x200.gowwrm.png/1463455744721.jpg)
I need my kids to stop playing with me at the playground
Now, please understand that the bulk of the time, I do pay attention to these people.
![5cent campaign: a simple way to make a difference.](/web/20161209142656im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/d/l/8/image.related.landscape.300x200.goido4.png/1463376584586.jpg)
How donating five cents can make a big difference
Many consider the five cent coin irrelevant and useless. But the little coin is making a big difference.
Search pagination