Washington, DC, April 30, 2007 -- Teaching Strategies, Inc. today announced the acquisition of MindNurture, a North Carolina publisher of research-validated educational materials. MindNurture's premiere product, LearningGames^®, is a set of early learning activities first used in the highly effective Abecedarian Project. "The Abecedarian model is one of the most successful early childhood interventions ever implemented in the United States," explained Diane Trister Dodge, President of Teaching Strategies. "When our classroom-based curricula are used in conjunction with MindNurture's home-based educational activities, the benefits to children and families will be far-reaching."

Teaching Strategies is best known for its curriculum materials, including The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool and The Creative Curriculum^® for Infants, Toddlers & Twos, two of the most widely used early childhood curricula in the country. The acquisition will promote a coordinated set of research-based practices for use in the two most important learning environments for young children: the home and the classroom. "Teaching Strategies' curriculum materials take a very similar approach to that used in the Abecedarian classrooms," said Joseph Sparling, PhD., co-founder of MindNurture and lead author of LearningGames. "Our materials are a perfect fit, so I think this partnership will result in the advancement of the early childhood field."

MindNurture products focus primarily on improving the home learning environment during the crucial developmental period from birth to 5 years of age. They can also be used to enrich child care centers and family child care homes. The materials cover all domains of development with a special emphasis on language, and they promote parental understanding of children's development, increased parental participation in early education, and stronger parent-child relationships. These elements were a key part of the Abecedarian Project, which The Brookings Institution recently highlighted as an intervention by which to model future early childhood educational efforts (http://www3.brookings.edu/views/papers/200702ludwig-sawhill_pb.pdf).

Dr. Sparling will join Teaching Strategies as Senior Advisor on Curriculum and Research. Kimberly Sparling will remain President of MindNurture. She has co-authored several early childhood education products and has provided early childhood consulting and training services to numerous organizations and schools.

Teaching Strategies is a woman-owned company committed to making a difference in the lives of young children by providing scientifically based educational materials to preschool and infant-toddler programs nationwide. The company's mission is to enhance the quality of early childhood programs by offering practical, innovative, and developmentally appropriate curriculum materials; professional development services and materials; and parenting resources. Teaching Strategies' materials are used in thousands of Head Start, public pre-K, and early childhood programs throughout the country, including programs run by all branches of the military and Department of Defense schools worldwide.