The State of Preschool 2009 has a lot of important findings, including states that are leading in quality early learning – Oklahoma’s universal access to pre-kindergarten makes it number one - and those that are trailing far behind.

After Oklahoma, Arkansas, West Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Louisiana and Tennessee rounded out the top ten, according to the report from the National Institute for Early Education Research.

California, Texas, and Florida didn’t rank nearly as well – failing to achieve most of the quality benchmarks set out in the report. This is a problem because these three states are among the four with the largest number of children, according to the report.

Washington did well – its 33rd ranking for access to pre-k for four-year-old children was the state’s major flaw – and was among only nine states to meet nine of the report’s ten quality standards, according to Washington’s Department of Early Learning.

Even though Washington’s state spending per child dropped slightly to $6,890, it was the fourth highest level in the last eight years, which isn’t bad given the deep recession. (The dollar figures are adjusted for inflation.)

Find Work-Life Rhythm Not Balance: Parents are busy these days, but I recommend moms and dads take five minutes to read the new column on The Juggle, Living a Full Life By Embracing the Chaos.

I have maintained work-life balance is a crock, and that instead young families should try to strike a rhythm in their daily lives, which are defined by the spikes that stomach bugs, sports teams and work deadlines always bring.

“I am juggling family, a job and a personally fulfilling but time-demanding side project. Which is to say, I am doing what my mom asked of me. I am living a full life.” – Wall Street Journal, 5/5/10.

Check it out.