The age of child care building on a wide scale really began in the 1970s. Before that, there had been a history of day nurseries going back to the turn of the century and Lanham Act centers during World War II to provide care for "Rosie the Riveter" mothers in the work force. The "purpose built" child care center was an economical box with almost…

"Dialogic Reading" is an interactive shared picture book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult who functions as an active listener and…

This exploratory study examined the impacts of New York's Universal Pre-kindergarten (UPK) program as perceived by directors at child care centers and preschools not receiving state funds. Although only partially implemented, UPK's mixed-delivery system grants monies to a substantial number of qualifying community-based early care and education…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

State pre kindergarten programs have grown dramatically in the last two decades, and much more attention is being paid to the school readiness of children. Six states, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin have policies in place or a goal to move toward universal access to pre kindergarten, and other state leaders…

This report presents selected data on the nonparental care arrangements and educational programs of preschool children, consisting of care by relatives, care by persons to whom they were not related, and participation in day care centers and preschool programs including Head Start or Early Head Start. It focuses on children under age 6 who have…

Helping staff get along with each other can sometimes be more challenging than helping young children get along. A director can feel like a referee instead of a leader of professionals when staff bicker with each other. Many directors find that efforts made to strengthen everyone's skills in giving and responding to feedback help a great deal.…

More children than ever are in care centers, and child care experiences of infants and toddlers are believed to have a powerful and lasting impact on children's well-being. A team of researchers from the FPG Child Development Institute created a study to examine the effects that transitions have on children's behavior and observable stress when…

Closing is one of the most neglected or mistreated techniques in enrollment building. Yet those directors who close well consistently convert more calls to visits and visits to enrollments than those who educate their prospects well, but who do not ASK them to take action. A good closing question asks the prospect for a decision that is based upon…

This study investigated preschool science environments in 20 preschool classrooms (N=20) in 13 midwestern child care centers. By operationalizing Neuman's concept of "sciencing," this study used The Preschool Classroom Science Materials/Equipment Checklist, the Preschool Classroom Science Activities Checklist, and the Preschool Teacher…

Children behave differently when they spend the day in child care and knowing their ideas about care is vital to understanding their happiness, continued development and learning. In this article, the authors share their methods and acquired wisdom about surveying young children, as well as the results of their study--what children think about…

This policy brief examines who is taking care of preschoolers of employed mothers in rural America. While most rural families choose home-based child care (such as relatives or informal nonrelated care providers), formal care (such as in day care centers) has positive benefits to a child's development. The brief recommends that programs are needed…

Excessive exposure to sunlight during early childhood increases the risk of developing skin cancer. Self-administered questionnaires exploring sun-protection knowledge, practices and policy were mailed to the directors/co-ordinators/senior teachers of all known early childhood services in Queensland, Australia, in 2002 (n = 1383; 56.5% response).…

For increasing numbers of Australian children, childcare is part of their everyday experiences. The marketisation and corporatisation of education have been under discussion for some time, particularly in relation to schooling. There has been comparatively little public scrutiny of how this trend might impact on, and shape Early Childhood…

Early childhood program directors must juggle many responsibilities while averting one crisis after another. Although directors have to be experts in multitasking, most often they assume their many responsibilities with little or no specialized training. This article describes how the authors created the Directors of the Midlands Development and…