Nearly 20 years ago, before e-mails, listservs, and blogs, the author had participated in an intense discussion with a group of early childhood education and care (ECEC) program directors about the pros and cons of publicly funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K). They debated about how universal pre-K (UPK) might impact the cost of infant and toddler…

Riding toys and push-pull toys are traditionally part of every early childhood program. Young children can develop a wide variety of skills and get numerous health benefits from riding toys if one is careful and thoughtful in setting up the riding-toy area. This article describes various types of riding toys and activity ideas to enhance…

Strength and coordination are two areas of physical development that seem almost to "take care of themselves"--which may be the reason why they are often overlooked when curriculum planning is under way in many early childhood settings. After all, children are going to get stronger as they grow older, thus, they will also become more coordinated…

This article features activities for children to explore the concepts of "over" and "under." Using boxes and blocks, children explore positional relationships and develop physical skills. Here, the author offers activities for every age level.