About Us: Our Philosophy

Introduction | Our Philosophy | Interview with the Author

There is a void in the early education marketplace for materials that address social and emotional growth in an early literacy and pre-math context. Sparkle and Shine materials address this void with interrelated materials that are comprehensive, fun, and entertaining. Sparkle and Shine materials provide educators and caregivers the tools to teach the social and emotional readiness skills that will lead a child to success in school and throughout life.

Extensive research data repeatedly tell us that children must have a solid emotional foundation in order to truly succeed in school and throughout life. School readiness, therefore, includes much more than cognitive and language skills. Children who are grounded in fundamental social-emotional skills are physically healthier, have more friends, and perform better in school than children without this foundation. These fundamental skills include a sense of confidence and self-control over their bodies, their behavior, and their surroundings. Without these skills a child cannot listen and follow directions, finish what they start, communicate their needs, or have empathy for their peers. Their ability to succeed intellectually, then, is greatly limited.

Nobel laureate Dr. James J. Heckman of the University of Chicago has written, “An important lesson to draw from the entire literature on successful early interventions is that it is the social skills and motivation of the child that are more easily altered—not IQ. These social and emotional skills affect performance in school and in the workplace. We too often have a bias toward believing that only cognitive skills are of fundamental importance to success in life.” Sparkle and Shine materials enable educators and caregivers to nurture social and emotional development in children in a fun but structured way that lays the foundation for success for children for the rest of their lives.