The news is full of research about early learning today, with reports on lower preschool enrollment among Latino families living in Illinois and the benefits of sleep for kids and their parents.

About 35 percent of Latino 4-year-olds attended some type of preschool, while 66 percent of white children and 54 percent of African-American children enrolled, the findings show.

With preschool increasingly seen as the front door to the education system, the enrollment gaps could leave Latino children behind their peers even before the start of kindergarten.— ChicagoBreakingNews Center. 11/16/10.

Over at Early Ed Watch, researchers report that “Sleep Matters.”

A study found higher proportions of sleep at night were related to better performance on impulse control and other executive function tests, according to an abstract of the Child Development article.

Based on the journals and the test results, researchers reported several other interesting findings: How long 12-month-old infants slept at night was correlated to their executive functions at 26 months. How long 18-month-old infants slept at night was correlated to their working memory at 18 months and impulse control at 26 months. And in general, children with a higher percentage of sleep during the night were further along in the development of their executive functioning. – Early Ed Watch, 11/16/10.

Check out the entire story.