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I only trust a handful of people although I do have a big friend group it's nice knowing I can always count on my trust worthy friends to be there for me through anything. Having friends that can make you laugh at anything is something I cherish and I know they will always be there for me no matter what happens in my life.

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This is Stephanie she has been my bestfriend since 2 years old. She is currently working towards being a special education teacher. She is someone I can go to for anything even dealing with education because she is somewhat in the same boat as me. I am glad have a bestfriend who can tell me things straight up but is also the person I go to when i need a shoulder to cry on. She is like a third sister to me and without her I can truly say I have no idea where I would be.

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My ultimate goal is to become an Early Childhood Education teacher. This is something I have been interested in since I was a little girl. Me and the neighborhood kids would always play "school" in my basement and I of course always wanted to be the teacher. Mixing my love for children and teaching is something I would love to do. This article has to deal with Early Childhood Education and it's benefits.

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When children are young, they are learning sponges. Every new experience, every word they learn, every behavior they adopt, is an investment in a more fruitful future.

You can never have a greater impression on a person than when they are in their early childhood years.

Most parents have always inherently understood this and the Government is starting to catch up.

President Obama agreed in his 2013 State of the Union address. Study after study after study reaches the same conclusion: early childhood education has a tremendous impact on life outcomes. Yet only 51% of 3-and-4 year olds in the US are enrolled in full-day preprimary programs, with no improvement in the last 15 years.

Early childhood education is about honing and molding the holistic child, which will eventually form the basis of their lifelong journey.

From my professional experience of more than 35 years as a preschool teacher, I have identified 13 essential benefits of early childhood education:

Socialization with people other than the child's family in a safe environment is an essential foundational element to the below areas.

As parents, we intuitively understand that it's important to introduce our children to other children and support their transition into their own friendship groups.

The earlier we do this, the better, as it helps children overcome shyness and gain self-confidence. If we leave this too long, we actually hinder their social development.

2. Concept of Cooperation:

Learning how to share, cooperate, take turns and persevere within a safe learning environment, guided by professionals who have the children's best interests at heart.

This is especially important for the first child, who may not be used to sharing with their siblings at home - while it can be a difficult lesson, it's so crucial to learn it early.

3. Encouraging Holistic Development:

The approach taken to build a strong foundation for a child's emotional, social, physical and mental development, which will prepare them for a lifetime.

Early childhood educators are trained in identifying areas where support is needed for each child and building programs and activities around these. Their peers are also extremely important in this regard, as preschoolers are usually helpful, cooperative and inclusive.

4. Enthusiasm for Lifelong Learning:

Lessons should be given in a fun and exciting way that will encourage children to be effective learners. We need to inspire a thirst for learning with eagerness and enthusiasm.

Love of education- for reading, learning, discovery, nature- takes root in preschool.

5. Convey the Value of Education Through Experience:

Grasping the value of learning and education by setting an example as role models and by providing actual experiences.

While parents will always be the most important influence on a child's early life, introducing them to a preschool environment provides them with a new perspective on the importance of education that will remain with them throughout their schooling journey. It also demonstrates that you value their education highly.

Teaching the value of respect for others. This is not limited to people and belongings, but can also mean respect for their environment, both immediate and global.

There is no better place to learn this virtue than in a hectic preschool environment, where everything is shared and civility and manners are both taught and learned organically.

Demonstrating and instilling the importance of teamwork that can teach respect for the opinions of others, listening, cooperation and equality.

Many preschool activities are centered around teamwork for this very reason; a person who learns how to work in a team at an early age will ultimately be more socially attuned and more employable!

It's important that early childhood educators and parents work together to develop resilience in children as early as possible. By creating a consistent, secure and fair social environment, with clear expectations and predictable consequences, children can develop skills in managing themselves and their emotions.

It's a teacher's job to provide a challenging environment where children can learn through first hand experiences. They may experience bumps, bruises or losing a game from time-to-time, but this is the foundation for building coping strategies for greater challenges in life.

During preschool years, children explore at every opportunity to discover new experiences, new friends and new environments. Their minds are so lively and imaginative.

As early childhood educators we need to balance this zest with the ability to listen, follow directions, attend to tasks and participate in group activities to develop the critical life skill of concentration.

Every day as adults, we encounter situations where our patience is tested. Children need opportunities to be involved in an abundance of social experiences, where they can explore and practice the social skill of patience.

By teaching through examples, role modeling and social experiences, children are able to develop their patience and learn to wait for their turn. Examples from the preschool setting include sharing a teacher's attention, a toy, the playground or waiting in line for a game.

12. Confidence and Self-Esteem:

This is critical. A strong sense of wellbeing provides children with confidence, optimism and self-esteem which will encourage children to explore their talents, skills and interests.

Positive interactions with other children and teachers will promote a positive, healthy and secure view of themselves that will allow them to approach situations and problems confidently throughout their lives.

13. Exposure to Diversity:

Valuing difference and diversity are crucial to a child's early development. Early childhood education serves to guide children to appreciate and accept differences and become well-rounded contributors to society.

It is important that children understand that everyone is unique and special in their own way with their own culture, beliefs and ethnicity.

Preschool is so much more than playing. While the basic educational benefits of preschool (such as literacy and numeracy) are tangible, the advances children achieve towards becoming well-rounded individuals are truly invaluable.

Please don't let your child miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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The 13 Key Benefits of Early Childhood Education: A Teacher's Perspective

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When children are young, they are learning sponges. Every new experience, every word they learn, every behavior they adopt, is an investment in a more fruitful future.

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Family to me is the most important thing in my life. Without my family I wouldn't be who I am today. No matter what life throws at me I will always have them to cheer me on or lift me back up. I have two older sisters and one younger brother. I truly do not know where I would be in life without them.

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I have been struggling with passing my ACT. This is something I have always struggled with but it is something I will not let get in my way. With education having option 1 and 2 if I do not pass my ACT I do have a back up plan from teaching which is to be an Child life specialist. Anything that has to do with working with children will honestly be a perfect fit for me. After looking into a child life specialist I realize it could be something I truly enjoy doing. This article just talks about the ACT and how many times too take it.

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When should you take the ACT exam for college admissions? Typically, college applicants attempting to get into selective colleges and universities take the exam twice: once in junior year, and again early in senior year. The following article discusses the best strategies for different situations.

As of 2017, the ACT is offered seven times in a year (see the ACT dates): September, October, December, February, April, June, and July.

My general advice to students applying to competitive colleges is to take the ACT once in the spring of junior year and once in the fall of senior year. For example, you might take the exam in June of your junior year. If your scores aren't ideal, you have the summer to beef up your test-taking skills and repeat the exam again in September or October of the fall.

However, the best time to take the ACT depends on a variety of factors: the schools to which you're applying, your application deadlines, your cash flow and your personality.

If you're a senior applying early action or early decision, you'll want the September exam. Scores from exams later in the fall may not reach colleges in time. If you're applying for regular admission, you still don't want to put off the exam for too long -- pushing the exam too close to the application deadline leaves you no room to try again should you fall ill on exam day or have some other problem.

To know if your scores are high enough so that you don't need to take the exam again, see how your ACT composite score measures up to matriculated students at your top choice colleges. These articles can help you figure out where you stand:

If your ACT scores are at the upper end of the typical range for your favorite colleges, there's not much to be gained by taking the exam a second time. If your composite score is near or below the 25th percentile number, you'd be wise to take some practice tests, improve your ACT skills, and retake the exam. Note that students who retake the exam without doing further preparation rarely improve their scores significantly.

If you're a junior you have several options. One is simply to wait until senior year -- there's no requirement to take the exam junior year, and taking the exam more than once doesn't always have a measurable benefit. If you're applying to one of the country's top universities or top colleges, it probably is a good idea to take the exam in the spring of junior year. Doing so allows you to get your scores, compare them to the score ranges in the college profiles, and see if taking the exam again in senior year makes sense. By testing junior year, you have the opportunity, if needed, to use the summer to take practice exams, work through an ACT preparation book or take an ACT prep course.

I've had many applicants ask me if it looks bad to colleges if applicants take the exam more than twice. The answer, as with many issues, is "it depends." When an applicant takes the ACT five times and the scores simply move up and down slightly without any measurable improvement, colleges will get the impression that the applicant is hoping to luck into a higher score and is not working hard to improve the score. A situation like this can send a negative signal to a college.

However, a college typically doesn't really care much if you choose to take the exam more than twice. Some applicants have a good reason for doing so, such as a selective summer program after sophomore year that uses the ACT or SAT as part of the application process. Also, most colleges want applicants to have the highest scores possible--when admitted students have strong ACT (or SAT) scores, the college looks more selective, a factor that often plays into national rankings.

The exam does cost money and take up a lot of weekend time, so be sure to plan your ACT strategy accordingly. In general, you may come off with more money in your pocket and higher scores if you take several full-length practice tests, evaluate your performance carefully, and then take the ACT just once or twice, rather than taking the ACT three or four times hoping the Fates improve your score.

With all the pressure and hype surrounding admission to highly selective colleges, some students are taking a trial run at the ACT sophomore or even freshman year. You'd do better putting your effort into taking challenging classes and earning good grades in school. If you're desperate to know early how you might perform on the ACT, grab a copy of an ACT study guide and take a practice exam under test-like conditions.

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When should you take the ACT exam for college admissions? Typically, college applicants attempting to get into selective colleges and universities take the exam twice: once in junior year, and again early in senior year. The following article discusses the best strategies for different situations.

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I choose this specific career because I love children and I think working in a classroom with younger children gives us the opportunity to change the way they look at education. I would love to be that teacher a child remembers for years and can always count on no matter what.

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This is my other bestfriend Jess. We grew up on the same block and although I have moved since then our friendship has not changed one bit. I am lucky enough to have a best friend that understands me to a T. We act like we are the same person and I know we can always relate to each other no matter what the situation.  Although we are a year apart in age it makes no difference to us. I am thankful to have a bestfriend who I know will always be there for me.

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Hi my name is Kiley Rolder and I am currently 20 years old. This is my first year at Governors State University. I transferred over from Moraine Valley Community College. I have always been that outgoing, happy, down for whatever type of person! I used to be a cheerleader so being In front of huge crowds and performing was the best! About three years ago I kind of shut down on myself when I was diagnosed with anxiety and border line ADHD. I have learned that these things don't define me but they are things I have to deal with on a daily basis. I am constantly looking for the positive in everything! I hope to be able to bring that positive energy into the lives of many young children someday!