Collective music making has been associated with the emergence of prosocial behaviors in children and adults. Yet, the associations between participation in early childhood music education programs and prosocial skills in young children remain elusive. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine how children with varied amounts of music…

To address the lack of research in early science learning and young children's informal science experiences, this exploratory case study investigated a 7-year-old girl's (Abigail) emergent science competencies and how they are related to her science experiences in everyday family contexts. Data sources included observations, interviews, parent…

The author grew up as an Illinois farm girl, born in 1922. Both her mother and her grandmother had been teachers trained in Froebelian progressive education methods, and both knew the value of building on children's interests. At about age 9, she became interested in butterflies and made her own museum, including rocks, butterflies, and insects…

This study investigated the home literacy environments (HLEs) of 4-year-old children attending an early childhood program prior to school entry and the association between the HLE and children's interests in and attitudes to literacy. One hundred and thirty-eight parents and 140 children participated in the study. Parents completed a questionnaire…