Describes Improvised Musical Play (IMP), a teaching strategy that uses simple rhythms, chanting, and singing to make participation in social play with nondelayed peers easier for developmentally delayed children. (BB)

Discusses the ambivalence felt by early-childhood teachers about young children's sexual behaviors. Focuses on the importance of context in understanding normal sexual development in young children and specific behaviors that might signal an underlying problem. Presents a continuum of young children's sexual behaviors, ranging from normal to…

Discusses the need for universities to better meet the needs of the early intervention and special education community. Describes the Concentration in Infants and Young Children within the M.Ed. in Special Education program at Arizona State University West. Features include an Individualized Student Learning Plan to guide student progress,…

Draws on examples from Australia to illustrate ways early childhood professionals can contribute to meeting the challenges of resettling young refugee children. Describes a repatriation program to help rebuild nations, a program establishing play centers inside refugee centers, and using preschools/child care centers to support refugee families…

Describes the enthusiastic support of parents and early childhood educators for including computer activities in programs for young children in Hong Kong. Describes the current status of computer environments in Hong Kong kindergartens, noting the lack of curriculum guidelines for integrating computers into classrooms, the lack of resources to…

In Gainesville, Florida, Project CIRCLE (Cooperatively Involved Resources for Children in Low Income Environments), a model preschool center, developed an inservice training program for early childhood teachers in the school system, and involved parents and community consultants in the education of preschoolers. (CS)

Notes that educators' expectations of parents originate from various sources, including their personal backgrounds and experiences, professional literature, other educators, the media, and children. Suggests teachers may examine assumptions and biases about parents and find ways to broaden the definition of parent involvement. Presents suggestions…

Summarizes 10 recent ERIC documents about accountability, standards, and professionalism in the area of young children's education and care. Each document is briefly annotated, and information for ordering the complete document is provided. (CB)

Discusses the role of power in effective teaching. Describes how power is used on, for, and with children. Explores how the use of teacher power can support family involvement, contribute to professional development, communicate the importance high expectations for all students, contribute to the profession of teaching, and convey excellence to…

Mapped existing literacy practices in early childhood classrooms and explored the understanding and perceptions of staff and families. Rated classrooms and staff. Identified five staff concerns for providing environmental support for early literacy development and noted staff belief/practice differences between low- and high-ranking classrooms.…

Advocates use of documentation panels in early childhood classrooms to communicate with families regarding their children's activities and learning, and the teacher's educational philosophy. Discusses steps for constructing documentation panels and the types of information the panel can communicate. Asserts that documentation panels communicate…

Discusses activities of emergent preschool writers and editors involved in the Writing Table Project at the Child and Family Center of the University of Nevada at Reno. (BB)

Describes ways in which the inclusion of literacy materials in kindergarten classroom dramatic play centers encourages young children to incorporate literacy activities into their play. (BB)

Examines how one Korean kindergarten used picture books to facilitate children's creativity. Describes students' responses to literature-based science activities related to a picture book. Concludes that good picture books can unleash children's minds from conventional science activities and that the development of the children's ideas depended on…

Details a partnership between the University of Michigan and a rural Head Start grantee to facilitate teacher dialogue and shared activities. Examines characteristics of effective school-university partnerships. Describes how a group of Head Start teachers became a community of learners through teacher visits, consultations, and presentations…