An expansive view of care is vital to understanding children's sense-making of their care experiences in early childhood education. Yet, scant literature explores how toddlers enact and express understandings of care in their play with objects and others. This article identifies play situations where toddlers enact and express understandings, and…

A growing number of 2 year olds are now attending early childhood education (ECE) services nationally and internationally. However, New Zealand has been slow to address the specialist provision and needs for high quality ECE for 2 year olds. The current survey of 248 New Zealand ECE services examined the effect of this lacuna on practice and…

Ethnographic methods are used to investigate infant--toddlers relationships in an early childhood setting. The metaphorical and emotionally based concepts of holding [Winnicott, D. W. (1960). "The theory of the parent-infant relationship." "International Journal of Psychoanalysis," 41, 585-595.] and container: contained [Bion,…

This project/report partnered researchers with teachers from two centres to explore and theorise understandings of children's inquiries and working theories. This project investigated the following questions: (1) What is the nature and content of infants', toddlers' and young children's inquiries and working theories in relation to their everyday…

Attachment theory is presented in this article as involving embodied relational processes within complex relational systems. Two narrative-like "events" are represented to illustrate very young children playfully relating -- connecting and communicating inter- and intrasubjectively. The ethnographic-inspired research methods included…

This article reports a recent case study providing evidence that toddlers explore mathematical concepts in their outdoor play. The play experiences the toddlers engaged in gave rise to seven mathematical categories. In each of these categories examples are given of some of the ways the toddlers displayed their mathematical knowledge and skill.

This pilot study investigated methods for meeting the needs of children under 2.5 years of age who attend play centers with older children. Also studied were the effects of the toddlers' presence on the other children, parent helpers, and supervisors. Advisors at each of 27 play centers in New Zealand completed a questionnaire with the help of…