An account of one school's home-involvement program and its benefits. (BRT)

Ideas are presented here in the hope that teachers will create a parent-space in their schools or classrooms, adapting and modifying these suggestions to meet the needs of their particular group of parents. (Author/CB)

Author writes two letters: the first in her role as a parent and the other is her own reaction to it as a teacher. (CB)

Discusses how bulletin boards can include children's own work as well as items placed there by teachers and can serve as evidence of the real learning, including literacy learning, that children are doing. (BB)

Reviews research about the stepfamily, stepfathers, stepmothers, and stepchildren; discusses complexities of blended families; and points out how teachers can effectively support stepchildren experiencing family-related stress, work with parents from blended families, and coordinate intervention with counselors. (RH)

Discusses the importance and applications of problem-solving skills, especially at the preschool and early childhood levels of education. (BB)

Describes three- and four-year-old children's reactions to the death of a class guinea pig. The teacher recorded children's comments about the death and included them in a note to parents. The guinea pig was buried by the children in the school playyard. (RJC)

Discusses how H. Heath's (1994) method for planning can be used by parents and teachers before disruptive classroom behavior occurs. Describes planning components, including describing the situation, brainstorming, deciding on options to implement, implementing options, and reflecting upon the result. Indicates that important contributors are…

Reports results of the Parent/Teacher Study, which examined: (1) predictors associated with a positive or negative relationship between parents and teachers in child care settings; (2) the impact of parents' jobs on children; and (3) predictors associated with mothers' satisfaction with child care. (BB)

Provides a rationale for use of the term "developmentalist" to refer to practitioners, teachers, and scholars. Defines being a "developmentalist" and suggests that this concept, which integrates educators' knowledge bases about preschool, child care, and early childhood education, contributes to a comprehensive view of child…

Offers an example of the Family Strengths Model, a new approach to providing family-focused child development programs. A classroom teacher, a program director, and a family services coordinator provide a summary of the skills and knowledge that are necessary for effective intervention on the part of each early childhood professional. (TJQ)

Discusses three major characteristics that are important for child care professionals: experience, knowledge, and special personal qualities. Among the special personal qualities discussed are those of anticipating and planning, protecting, listening, comforting, and caring for the whole family. (BB)

Highlights collaborative practices from fields of family therapy and educational psychology to facilitate conferences on children's behavior problems between parents and child caregivers and teachers. Illustrates stages of collaborative conversations: establishing trust; inviting parents to collaborate; discovering and stating mutual goals;…

This article describes one example of how teachers can create or modify family involvement strategies for parents from linguistically and culturally diverse groups, especially those who are English-language learners. Although such approaches may not work for every classroom or family, they provide a point of departure from traditional forms of…

Describes a Science Open House for adults and children given by the Vassar College Laboratory Nursery School, emphasizing the importance of parent-teacher cooperative planning and the influence of Rachel Carson's viewpoints. Learning experiences were designed to investigate nature and sensory exploration, physical science, and mathematics. (SDH)