Combining the language experience approach and phonics instruction, this guide provides parents and early childhood teachers a comprehensive resource for developing a strong foundation for pre-readers. The guide offers over 1,000 activities, games, fingerplays, songs, tongue-twisters, poems, and stories for the letters of the alphabet to develop a…

The Creative Curriculum for early childhood education is a teaching framework that addresses children's emotional, cognitive, and physical development. This supplement to the Creative Curriculum is designed to enhance teachers' effectiveness in understanding how content is linked to teaching and learning in a developmentally appropriate curriculum…

Although support for using portfolios in student assessment is widespread, few educators agree on what portfolios are and what their purposes should be. This book details a step-by-step process to help preschool and elementary educators get started in the use of portfolios for student assessment or gain new insights or strategies in their use.…

This book describes 7 successful foreign language programs that start in preschool or the elementary grades and continue through high school, including both foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) and immersion programs. Written in clear and nontechnical language, this book is designed to be of use to anyone developing an early foreign…

This booklet is a compilation of articles from a column in the "Warner Center News" written by an experienced early childhood educator on various topics related to child care. The brief articles describe the problems and pleasures that preschool children bring to child care centers, homes, markets, and malls. The articles are grouped…

Developed as a companion volume to "The Play's the Thing," this book defines and analyzes the concept of master player based on videotaped observations of preschool children at play. An in-depth discussion reveals the multi-faceted nature of play, individual differences in both teachers' and children's styles, and the complexity of…

The learning that parents accomplish through informal involvement in running preschool learning groups was examined through a survey of adults who were actively involved in a Pre-School Learning Alliance program in 1 of 10 locations throughout England. Of the 632 adults contacted, 311 (nearly 50%) completed questionnaires. Approximately 60…

This book discusses ways that blocks can be used with young children to help them develop different intellectual, motor, and social skills. The book is divided into four sections organized by block type: (1) unit blocks; (2) hollow blocks; (3) table blocks; and (4) homemade blocks. Each section describes the block type, gives reasons for using the…

Drawing from the core idea that infant and toddler care should be based on building relationships, this trainer's guide is intended for program directors, staff, and instructors who are using "The Creative Curriculum for Infants & Toddlers." Part one of the guide provides background information about "The Creative…

This guide addresses how to make small-group time with young children a meaningful, active, and engaging learning experience for both children and adults. The guide's introductory chapter outlines guiding principles for successful small groups, discusses the mechanical aspects of small-group times, explains how adults find and develop ideas for…

This source book provides songs, activities, ideas, and hints on how to use folksongs with children. The book contains 30 folksongs and over 140 accompanying activities. The simplest activities work well for preschool children with the most complicated design for 10- or 11-year-old children. Each activity utilizes one of the 30 songs and supports…

This workbook provides practice in helping children acquire pre-reading skills. The activities within the workbook are presented in sequence of difficulty, and directions precede each activity. Since language development is an important part of reading readiness, some pages of the workbook require presenting the child with a series of questions or…

This booklet, presenting a discussion of five experimental preschool programs, resulted from an international forum sponsored by the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) for the leaders of these programs. The forum developed from a concern for the long range effectiveness of preschool education or intervention. The five programs…

This book is a compilation of practical suggestions for mothers on caring for children from birth through age 6. Everyday problems are discussed in an easy-to-read anecdotal style. The first section of the book deals with family life, including discussions of birth, breast feeding, basic child care (e.g., how to diaper a squirming baby),…

Described is a preschool program providing early intervention and diagnostic planning for 26 3-and 4-year-old learning disabled children. Common problems with the children are discussed; and mothers' attitudes, roles, and benefits are recounted in their own words. The team approach to learning is examined with the role of each staff member…