The use of tablets by young children is increasing and more research is needed to understand how to evaluate and map the emergence of digital writing. To explore this, children (aged 2-5 years; N = 48) were asked to write on an iPad using a drawing app (1×10-minute session/week over 9 weeks). Traditional frameworks for early writing development…

This article discusses what resilience is and how to think about resilience from intersectional and neuroscience viewpoints. It provides practical resilience-building strategies that educators can apply in the classroom. Understanding resilience from different perspectives will help early childhood educators build resilience capacity in young…

The empirical data in this study are from a series of two lessons on measurement implemented in seven classes with 119 six-year-old students in Sweden. Both problem solving and problem posing were shown to be important in early mathematics when students in this study worked on one problem-solving task and one problem-posing task on measurement. As…

Problem solving is a critical component of academic and social emotional learning. It is a life-long skill. For young children, opportunities to make choices and problem solve lay the foundation for later development of self-determination (Palmer et al., 2012). However, young children may not have the experience or ability to resolve problems…

In primary-grade classrooms, young children are expected to participate in rich conversations as they build their speaking and listening skills. One way to support students' success with these types of conversations is to explicitly teach them academic conversation skills. Academic conversations are intentional, focused on school-related topics,…

Shared book reading is a common and effective way to support vocabulary knowledge. However, it is not the only pedagogy for supporting this learning goal. We propose a "toolbox" of activities that teachers can use to foster vocabulary acquisition in young children. We first discuss the science behind why these activities are effective…

This paper reports on insights gained from incorporating dance improvisation into a broader early years environmental education ethnographic research project. Findings are reported from a two-day workshop where a dancer was invited to work with young children to attune to the weather through their bodies. In these workshops, the practice of dance…

The traditional education system is designed around time rather than learning, with a one-size-fits-all curriculum and students moving on after a set amount of time regardless of what or how much they have learned. Educators must rethink how time plays a role in education and instead put attention on student mastery, ensuring each student gets the…

This article describes how kindergarten scientists at Caldwell Heights Elementary School in Round Rock, Texas created what they named a "Light Circle" using their classroom's south-facing window, its windowsill, and a small round mirror. The tilt of the Earth and the latitude of one's location combine to determine if the Sun ever shines…

Children with special needs may have less access to play due to the nature of their developmental delay or disability or their lack of experience with typically developing peers. Many preschools and kindergartens have reduced play in their daily schedules and elementary schools have reduced or eliminated recess (Jarrett et al., 2015; Zigler &…

This article seeks to empower teachers to create a literacy environment in which children begin to identify as writers: confident, willing to take risks, engaged, excited, persistent, resilient, resourceful, and self-starting. The teaching methods provided in the article are centered around the writer's workshop model, applied in a Kindergarten…

It is well documented that young children need social Interaction, self-determination, and play to learn. But in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, how does that translate to online learning? Psychologist and professor Wendy Ostroff suggests strategies and tips for engaging our youngest learners remotely.

Resilience has become a popular and important topic in classrooms around the world. Much of the existing research about resilience is focused on promoting this important life skill in young children. At the same time, more and more educators and researchers are emphasizing resilience as a tool to help teachers handle stress and avoid burnout.…

In engineering, teachers can push even the youngest learners to think critically and create something that reflects the function of the real thing. When children create, they often make a representation of something--a crayon-drawn stick-figure family or a butterfly life cycle represented with pasta--that is based on appearance. Their questions…

The authors describe their resources for raising awareness and encouraging positive water behaviours among young children. The DRY (Drought Risk and You) project brought together a multidisciplinary team to create a research-informed storybook and teachers' notes for 7- to 11-year-olds. This article takes a brief look at the book and reflects on…