This book is filled with essential parenting advice for understanding the challenging middle years of childhood, during which children master the skills and habits that determine future health and well-being. 100+ two-color illustrations.

The activities promote fun and learning in the areas of fine arts, language arts, math, movement, science, and social studies.

What are the components of high-quality care for school-age children? How can we tell the quality of care that is being provided on a daily basis? These are the challenges facing caregivers and parents as increasing numbers of school-age children are enrolled in before- and after-school programs. SACERS provides an easy to use resource for defining high-quality care and assessing levels of quality in child care programs offered by schools and other organizations. It consists of 49 items, organized under seven categories: Space and Furnishings; Health and Safety; Activities; Interactions; Program Structure; Staff Development: and Supplementary Items (for children with special needs). Full instructions for using the scale, a training guide, and notes clarifying selected items are included. In addition, one blank score sheet is provided in the center of each book. Packages of 30 score sheets may be ordered separately.

Confident Parents, Confident Kids lays out an approach for helping parents—and the kids they love—hone their emotional intelligence so that they can make wise choices, connect and communicate well with others (even when patience is thin), and become socially conscious and confident human beings. How do we raise a happy, confident kid? And how can we be confident that our parenting is preparing our child for success? Our confidence develops from understanding and having a mastery over our emotions (aka emotional intelligence)—and helping our children do the same. Like learning to play a musical instrument, we can fine-tune our ability to skillfully react to those crazy, wonderful, big feelings that naturally arise from our child’s constant growth and changes, moving from chaos to harmony. We want our children to trust that they can conquer any challenge with hard work and persistence; that they can love boundlessly; that they will find their unique sense of purpose; and they will act wisely in a complex world. This book shows you how. With author and educator Jennifer Miller as your supportive guide, you'll learn: the lies we’ve been told about emotions, how they shape our choices, and how we can reshape our parenting decisions in better alignment with our deepest values. how to identify the temperaments your child was born with so you can support those tendencies rather than fight them. how to align your biggest hopes and dreams for your kids with specific skills that can be practiced, along with new research to support those powerful connections. about each age and stage your child goes through and the range of learning opportunities available. how to identify and manage those big emotions (that only the parenting process can bring out in us!) and how to model emotional intelligence for your children. how to deal with the emotions and influences of your choir—the many outside individuals and communities who directly impact your child’s life, including school, the digital world, extended family, neighbors, and friends. Raising confident, centered, happy kids—while feeling the same way about yourself—is possible with Confident Parents, Confident Kids.

Since publication of the fourth edition of this highly successful book, there have been a number of Government initiatives, reports and policies on how the health of children can best be protected and promoted. This revised fourth edition incorporates recent material on the National Service Framework, 'Every Child Matters', the public health report 'Choosing Health', and the Children Act. It has also been informed by new research on a variety of topics including Sure Start, obesity, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and language acquisition. Health for all Children 4/e (revised) continues the themes of previous editions, in particular highlighting the growing evidence that behavioural problems and educational failure are not inevitable, and can be prevented. Thus the role of screening for developmental problems, while not ignored, is set in the context of what can be done to promote language development, reading, and enthusiasm for learning. Changes made to the fourth edition, and continued in this revised edition, include dealing with the health care needs of children of school age as well as pre-school children. It also outlines the needs of special groups of children, including those who are vulnerable or disabled and those living in unusual circumstances. The legislative framework is outlined and hallmarks of good practice described. Promoting children's health is a key focus, with updated information on nutrition and injury prevention, and emphasis on the importance of parent education and support, language, and literacy skills, with a review of behavioural management programmes for parents. It also describes the duties laid on PCTs with regard to education and social services support. This established and successful book continues to be essential reading for all health professionals who work with children, whether in the community or at the receiving end of referrals. It will also provide vital background knowledge for those charged with the responsibility of planning, commissioning and monitoring. This revised fourth edition provides the most up to date evidence in a rapidly changing field.

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

The "Caring for Preschool Children" program was designed as a personalized training program to help adults working with preschool children acquire the skills and knowledge needed to provide a high quality preschool program. This two-volume training manual is comprised of 13 modules corresponding to the areas of the Child Development Associate Competency Standards, each containing an overview, self-assessments, learning activities, answer sheets, and a glossary. The modules are: (1) "Safe," preventing, and responding to accidents and injuries; (2) "Healthy," including promoting wellness and reducing the spread of disease, and helping children develop habits that promote good hygiene and nutrition; (3) "Learning Environment," encouraging play and exploration, and planning and implementing schedules, routines, and transitions that meet children's needs; (4) "Physical," providing materials, equipment, and opportunities for gross and fine motor development and encouraging physical fitness; (5) "Cognitive," encouraging children to explore and construct knowledge about their world, and helping children to develop confidence in their ability to think and solve problems; (6) "Communication," helping children use language meaningfully and providing materials and experiences that support emerging literacy skills; (7) "Creative," encouraging exploration and experimentation, offering materials and activities, and showing respect for children's ideas; (8) "Self," developing positive relationships with children and helping them accept and appreciate themselves and others; (9) "Social," helping children develop social skills, get along with others, and express their feelings; (10) "Guidance," encouraging self-discipline and using positive methods to guide children; (11) "Families," sharing information with parents about their child's experiences and development, supporting families, and offering several options for parent participation; (12) "Program Management," learning about each child, following policies and procedures, and teaming; and (13) "Professionalism," assessing one's performance and applying professional ethics. The trainer's guide provides a detailed description of the trainer's role in guiding teachers through the learning activities and includes suggestions for providing feedback and encouraging teachers to extend their learning. Answer sheets and observation forms for assessment, and tracking forms to record each teacher's progress are included. Chapter 1 of the guide discusses the need for an organized system for staff development, the components of a professional development system, and the importance of linking training to professional development and program improvement. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the training materials, content, and approach. Chapter 3 presents suggestions for managing the training programs, including completing an orientation and providing feedback. Chapter 4 discusses strategies for effective group training sessions. Section 5 presents information on assessing teachers' progress through the modules. Appendices contain forms for the trainers' use. (KDFB)