Preschoolers and kindergartners represent one of the fastest-growing markets for after-school tutors. Parents think that if their kids learn to read before first grade, it will ultimately help them get into college and get good jobs. 36 moms and dads are no longer satisfied with traditional nursery school which focuses on learning through play. And of course, after years of Baby Einstein marketing, some parents have become 37 that the more math and reading skills their children master, the better. One mom began sending her daughter to after-school tutoring shortly before the child's third birthday. To the mom's 38 , after only a few weeks, the child was found not only counting the 14 dots on her homework work sheet but also writing the number 14 beside them. Because of such a quick effect, after-school tutoring services geared toward small children are popping up everywhere. This phenomenon may be intensified by a study published recently. Researchers who examined long-term data on 36,000 preschoolers found that the best 39 of success in later school years was in entering kindergarten with elementary math and reading skills, although experts did caution that these findings should not be taken as 40 of academic drills for preschoolers. According to the research, the kinds of skills that matter in affecting later learning are such basics as the knowledge of letters and the order of numbers. These are things parents can pretty easily convey to their children at home. There is really no need to expect too much too soon and hurt the child's ability to become lifelong learners.