EXCERPTS

As three Canadian provinces prepare to roll out full-day kindergarten, The Globe and Mail is going into the classroom to look beyond the crayons and alphabets to examine why governments are investing billions in their youngest learners. The most ambitious program, which will see four- and five-year-olds going to school for a full day, is being introduced in Ontario. Reporter Kate Hammer and photographer Anne-Marie Jackson, in co-operation with an early learning expert from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education  at the University of Toronto, will follow four kindergarten pupils throughout the school year - three in full-day schooling and one in the traditional half-day program.

Through the eyes, words and artwork of Alfie, 3, Prathmesh, 4, Millie, 5, and Mekhi, 5, as well as through video, photography and interviews with teachers, principals and family, readers will get a firsthand look at play-based learning, self-regulation, the social interactions and tiny epiphanies that make kindergarten so important.

-reprinted from the Globe and Mail