Two studies examined preschoolers' ability to produce facial expressions of emotions and the degree of physiological patterning in distinguishing among emotions. Face expressions of fear and sadness were more difficult for the children to produce than those for happiness, anger, and disgust. Children's heart rate increased more during expressions…

Forty-eight four-year-olds grouped in quartets of same-sex unfamiliar peers were observed during five play and activity tasks. Found that, although solitary-passive, solitary-active, and reticent behaviors were nonsignificantly intercorrelated, reticence was associated with demonstrations of anxiety and hovering near others; maternal ratings of…

Examined 67 preschool children's concepts of authority with regard to 3 factors: adult-peer status, social position, and type of command. Found that preschoolers have understandings of the social context in which authority relations are embedded, conceptualizing authorities not solely with respect to their adult status, but to their role within…

Reviews strategies to help children cope with fear. Notes a study in which children reported responses to fears different from what parents and teachers reported observing in them. Discusses six ways preschool teachers can empower children to deal with the frightening things in their lives. (ET)

Presents the Four E's curriculum model--Experience, Extension, Expression, Evaluation--which offers a framework for selecting and organizing appropriate curriculum for preschool and primary students. The model focuses on integrating curriculum but is also useful for planning a single unit, or whenever teachers want to evaluate the appropriateness…

This study of 2.5 and 3.5 year olds indicated that children of this age do not know many names for solid substances but can be taught names for them; that children represent the names as mass nouns and possibly adjectives; and that there is development of children's nonlinguistic knowledge of substances between the ages of 2.5 and 3 years. (TJQ)

Preschool children experienced two special events and were asked a set of questions about one of the events on four different occasions over a seven-week period. Findings suggest that adult questioning enhances memory for specific recall, but does not enhance general memory performance. Results raise issues regarding how much children tailor their…

This study examined initial preferences for verb interpretation by 15 5-year-old children with specific language impairment, 15 language-matched children, and 15 age-matched children. Children indicated preferred interpretations of novel verbs from videotapes of motion and change-of-state activity scenes. Findings suggested that children's verb…

Discusses the implementation and evaluation of a program designed to introduce student portfolios in place of formal assessments at a university preschool. Parents of an experimental group of 20 students who constructed portfolios had a better understanding of the preschool program's cognitive and academic components than parents of a control…

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)

Draws from personal experiences in teaching Montessori classes to three- to six-year olds to discuss specific strategies and techniques for effectively organizing, rotating, utilizing, and storing instructional materials. (ETB)

Directs attention of Montessori method advocates to the current 170 public school Montessori programs and the growing public awareness and interest in applying Montessori principles in broader educational settings. Points out the effects on Montessori leaders of public school programs in terms of training, effectiveness, evaluation, and…

Two experiments studied preschool children's ability to infer numerosity from correspondence between two sets. Found that children were able to make inferences as early as three years of age. However, differences between the two conditions suggest production deficiencies in young children's use of counting as a problem-solving strategy when they…

Obtained peer nominations and observed peer contacts for three-, four-, and five-year-old preschoolers from fall to spring. Found that children's sociometric ratings became increasingly negative, especially for cross-sex peers; the frequency of cross-sex contacts decreased; and four-year olds spent more time in large groups than three- and…

Describes a survey conducted in central Portugal to ascertain preschool teachers' opinions about early literacy and its place in preschool education. Finds that a majority of teachers regard preschool education as important for future literacy acquisition but do not think that early literacy activities should always be a part of the preschool…