Presents two studies documenting the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) for 31 preschool children with severe disabilities. Initial findings indicated the children could learn to use PECS quickly and efficiently. The second study, which included 18 participants, found that PECS use generalized to untrained settings. (Author/CR)

A study assessed the cross-cultural psychometric characteristics and validity of a multiple-gating screening procedure used by the Early Screening Project (ESP) to screen and identify 126 children at risk for behavioral problems in Head Start centers. Results indicate that the ESP was effective in identifying children exhibiting serious behavioral…

Presents early findings of an ongoing project to learn preschool and kindergarten children's understanding and expression of spirituality. Categorizes children's responses and discusses them in the context of theories that spirituality may be an innate feature of human consciousness. (JPB)

Examines the link between movement experiences--and their consequences during infancy--and cognitive development. Explains how movement stimulates cognitive development, the role of aerobic activity, and the importance of skill development. Offers suggestions for enhancing preschool motor learning experiences, practicing movement fundamentals,…

This commentary addresses the effectiveness of different intervention approaches for young children with autism. It lists reasons why one approach is not better than another, discusses the tenets of practices that must be addressed in intervention approaches for young children with autism, and describes contributions and limitations of different…

In this article, the authors discuss how children develop their motor skills at different age levels. Newborn's movements are jerky and uncoordinated. Spending lots of floor time with a baby lying on her back or stomach helps her develop coordination, balance, and muscle strength during her earliest months. As locomotion enters a baby's life, she…

In the past, early childhood programs provided either full day care for young children whose parents were employed, or part day enrichment experiences for families who did not need care for their children while they worked. Gradually these two strands (care and education) began to merge into the field which is now called childhood education and…

Although some studies indicate that primary children lose their momentum in reading and language arts during summer vacation, this article describes several fun activities that can help to minimize skill loss. Many of these ideas involve parent participation, which makes them even more desirable.

Continued efforts to change the face of special education have resulted in an increased rate of referrals for the specialized programs of the Blind Childrens Center in 2005-2006. Parents are an integral part of training. Brothers, sisters and other sighted students are included in classes and activities. This is consistent with best practices,…

Two key concepts in the Vygotskian perspective, social interaction and scaffolding, have implications for emergent literacy. Children develop literacy as a result of trying to communicate with others in the environment. Vygotsky focused on literacy as purely social, influenced by a community of learners, including children, peers, and adults.…

Proceedings of the 1984 Music in Early Childhood Conference held at Brigham Young University are presented in this document. Part I contains keynote addresses; Parts II through IV, respectively, consist of reports by research teams, synopses of workshops, and abstracts of research sessions. Keynote speakers addressed a broad scope of issues…

This study explored what children talk about when they watch television as a means of learning more about how and why children verbally encode information. Preschool and third-grade children watched four animated television programs that varied in amount of dialog (one high-dialog, two moderate, and one no-dialog). Their comments while viewing…

This book includes information on licensing, regulations, zoning, equipment and toys, daily schedules, meals and nutrition, naps and rest periods, parental relationships, problem children, advertising and promotion, and financing and bookkeeping. A bibliography on aspects of child care is included, as well as a list of the addresses of all state…

This bibliography provides listings of books, pamphlets and reprints dealing with preschool children, early childhood, early childhood education, and various aspects of child development. A list of the addresses of the publishers of the pamphlets and reprints is also provided. (KM)

The selected bibliography on preschool and early childhood contains approximately 91 abstracts with indexing information explained to be drawn from the computer file of abstracts representing the Council for Exceptional Children Information Center's complete holdings as of August, 1972. Abstracts are said to be chosen using the criteria of…