iPads, iPhones, Notebooks, X-Boxes, PlayStations, Televisions, Computers. They've found their way into every corner of our lives. Add to that, the pressures of the modern education with standardized tests and crowded classrooms, and it seems that our children have lost the simplicity of childhood. Are our children losing their imagination, too?…

"Be a CHANGEMASTER" is a practical guide for school and district leaders that provides 12 strategies for overcoming resistance to change. Unlike more theoretical books, this text shows how to adopt a coaching style of leadership as a systemic change strategy. Numerous examples demonstrate how the strategies used in this book have led to…

The "Everyday Learning" series has been developed to focus attention on the everyday ways in which children can be supported in their growth and development. It is for all those who are involved in children's development and learning, including people caring for young children in their own or others' homes, such as parents, grandparents…

This resource book contains over 300 exercises and games for individual and group work in creative writing. Though the book's exercises are intended for group work with adults, teachers of children will encounter many new ideas for the classroom, and individuals working alone will have no difficulty adapting the exercises to their needs. The…

Noting that parents need to recognize that fears are a normal part of a child's development and that a child must be helped to deal with them, this book provides a very practical approach to fear reduction in a user-friendly form. The first part of the book, for parents, discusses: (1) definitions of fear and fear symptoms in children; (2) the…

Written from both a personal and a professional perspective, this book discusses how parents can help their children learn by learning along with them. Part One, "The Learning-Teaching Parent," encourages parents to participate in the learning process with their child. Chapters in this section are: (1) "The Learning Child"; (2) "The Roots of…

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…

Intended to encourage children to develop their imaginations naturally, with only a small amount of help from adults, this book presents over 125 activities for creative and pretend play for young children. The book's introduction describes the importance and benefits of pretend play, the adult's role, and needed materials and space. The…

The traditional role for teachers in children's play was to structure it, setting rules and interrupting if things got "out of hand." However, for children ages 3 to 5, sociodramatic play is a way to invent and make familiar the rhythms and actions of everyday life. This book describes why play is a fundamentally important part of…

This book is an effort to introduce early childhood educators to Vygotsky's perspective, research on young children that has been stimulated by this perspective, and current educational practices emanating from it. The discussion is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of Vygotsky's life, the social conditions in which his…

Parents and teachers may often have wondered how preschoolers learn, or why certain things, events, or people are more interesting to them than others? This book provides information on how young children learn, and offers activities to encourage emerging literacy, promote creativity and imagination, and enhance knowledge and development in music,…

Noting that children s first words are exciting for parents to hear, this book describes how babies can "talk" before they learn to say actual words and shows ways parents can help babies learn language. The book addresses a neglected area in child development--how to help low literacy parents and parents for whom English is a Second…