In an age when play is often seen as frivolous or unproductive, this book explains the importance of play in early childhood education. Each chapter focuses on a specific type of play, includes suggestions for putting theory into practice, and offers recommendations for language and information educators can use to help parents understand that…

"Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum" emphasizes the how, what and why of curriculum development to help you create the most effective programs for young children ages 3 through 8. It's an all-in-one guide that brings together everything pre-service teachers need to implement an integrated, developmental approach to curriculum-based…

This comprehensive text gives pre-service early childhood educators a balanced, accessible introduction to early childhood education that also covers the content areas. It shows readers how to teach and care for children by identifying and focusing on five essential elements: understanding child development, play, guidance, working with families,…

Young Children and the Arts: Nurturing Imagination and Creativity examines the place of the arts in the experiences of young and very young children at home and in out-of-home settings at school and in the community. There is great need for development of resources in the arts specifically designed to introduce babies and toddlers to participatory…

Because sensorimotor and environmental factors have a profound effect on children's learning, every teacher should know how to weave strategies from occupational therapy (OT) into their everyday instruction. This is the guidebook K-3 teachers need to "think like an OT"--and form effective partnerships with OTs in their schools--so all students can…

"Empirically Based Play Interventions for Children" is a compilation of innovative, well-designed play interventions, presented for the first time in one text. Play therapy is the oldest and most popular form of child therapy in clinical practice and is widely considered by practitioners to be uniquely responsive to children's developmental needs.…

Combining developmentally appropriate early childhood practice with current views of emergent literacy and whole language instruction, this book is designed to help pre-service and in-service teachers incorporate new views of literacy into their classrooms. The book includes extensive examples from actual classrooms to assist readers in…

Written for the wide range of practitioners working with young children, this book offers guidance on both the theory and the practical management of drama in the early years. The book emphasizes the relationship between pretend play and the cognitive and affective development of young children, and highlights children's need to experience quality…

This book provides a constructivist interpretation of developmentally appropriate preschool and kindergarten curriculum, incorporating descriptions of how activities are transformed over time and how children's reasoning is transformed, and placing the interpretation in the context of the play-oriented approach advocated by the National…

Students will benefit from this unique preschool framework that integrates individually appropriate practices, literacy activities, play, and explicit instruction into content area lessons. Included are chapters on Oral language development; Phonological awareness; Early reading and writing; Print concepts; Instruction in content areas; and…

This book explores how young children, within their cultural imperatives, struggle to discover who they are as cultural "members" interacting with others, as "makers" trying out and creating, and as "interpreters" making meaning and making new connections. Chapters in Part 1 emphasize the significance of a…

This book for caregivers and parents provides over 300 activities based on the developmental needs of infants, toddlers, and 2-year-olds. The book describes key developmental stages to assist caregivers in identifying developmentally appropriate activities. Following an introductory chapter, the book is organized by developmental domains. Each…

Noting that play is an essential aspect of learning for young children, this book presents a collection of articles on children's play in Australia. Part 1, "Play, Development, and Learning," contains the following chapters: (1) "The Role of Play in Development and Learning" (Ann Glover); (2) "Stop, Look, and Listen:…

The purpose of this book is to combine theory and research knowledge on a number of relevant topics in the literature on children's play and to draw out implications for practical application in early childhood education. The role of the adult in children's play is a major theme of the text and is informed by developmentally appropriate practice.…

This book aims to provide a series of starting points which will help readers to understand more about many key topics in early childhood education and care. In the rapidly changing field of early childhood education and care, it is becoming increasingly important for students and practitioners to have an awareness of the many topics that relate…