Early childhood professionals are familiar with finding and appreciating daily moments of joy. Teachers smile inside and out when toddlers are able to pull up their own pants, preschoolers write their names for the first time, or kindergarteners figure out how to make complicated patterns with blocks. Working with young children can also be very…

The United States is becoming increasingly diverse, so early childhood educators are often among the first to work with families whose primary languages are other than English. Many parents, guardians, and family members do speak English but not fluently enough to feel comfortable communicating with teachers or administrators. When educators and…

Most educators, especially elementary principals, know from experience and common sense that attending school regularly during the early elementary years is essential. Young children need enough time in the classroom to gain the basic social and academic skills that will equip them to succeed long term in school. What many educators might not…

Transitions--from hospital to home, early intervention to preschool, child care to school--are times of major change for children and families. The resources presented in this article can be used to build the capacity of family members, professionals, and administrators to understand and support transition practices that are thoughtful,…

Today an ever-increasing number of infants and young children with and without disabilities play, develop, and learn together in a variety of places--homes, early childhood programs, neighborhoods, and other community-based settings. The notion that young children with disabilities and their families are full members of the community reflects…

Describes how one first-grade classroom dealt with the tragedy of the Challenger explosion. (MD)

These suggestions for children's programs in a rural community library are based on the experiences of the Pittsfield (Illinois) Public Library. The importance of good public relations with the children, the community, and the schools is stressed. A preschool story hour and summer session activities for preschool through grade 4 children are…

Administration of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory and a Work Satisfaction Questionnaire to 228 day care employees at 40 centers found an inverse relationship between child abuse potential and both clarity of job expectations and overall job satisfaction. Employees generally rated "high" had lower abuse scores than employees rated…

Many families of children with challenging behaviors have experienced multiple changes in child care because of their child's behavior. While this is disruptive for families, it has even more serious consequences for children. For these children, consistency and continuity is critical to their long term outcomes. In order to build the capacity of…

Summarizes 15 years of National Assessment of Educational Progress data on reading and writing in elementary schools. While reading performance has improved over the 1971-1984 period for black and Hispanic 9- and 13-year-olds and for younger disadvantaged children, writing results are less encouraging. Effective writing instruction may require…

To assess consistency between maternal and professional assessment of child performance, 31 mothers of disabled children (6-36 months old) participating in an intervention program completed measures of infant development, behavior, and characteristics. Maternal and staff assessments were found to be highly similar. Implications for programs are…

Long term studies of students who participated in preschool education programs show that the differences and effects are not in test scores but in children's ability to meet teachers' expectations and to avoid being labeled failures.(MD)

Discusses New Lanark, the nineteenth-century utopian community organized in Scotland by David Dale and Robert Owen. Underscores the centrality of child care, housing, health care, and ongoing education within the community. Recommends applying New Lanark principles in addressing the great disparities of the 1990s, particularly as they affect young…

The Success in Reading and Writing Program at a K-2 school in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, teaches children of varied races and abilities to read and write using newspapers, dictionaries, library books, magazines, and telephone directories. These materials help students develop language skills in a failure-free atmosphere. Includes two…

Health educators can play a significant role in reducing public misconceptions about safety belts and child restraints. Ten articles deal with federal education efforts to promote occupant protection, safety belt education resources, and attitudes of rural areas toward restraints and loan programs. Various safety programs are described. (DF)