Families of young children today face a fast-paced world of consumerism and isolation. Many have lost touch with the traditions of their grandparents and the grounding rhythm of life connected to nature. To fill this void, the Steiner playgroup offers connection and meaning, supporting both the child starting out on a social life and the new parent creating a family life.Ebba Bodame's twenty years of experience in Rudolf Steiner early childhood education are distilled here in a treasury of insights-a must-have travel guide for anyone setting out on the journey of working with young children. Gathered together are all the ingredients of the playgroup morning, moving through the seasons of the year. Parents can harvest this wealth of stories, songs, games and activities to enrich the family's daily life. And sprinkled throughout are suggestions for the practical and spiritual roles of playgroup leading, homemaking and parenting.

Amik tells Moshoom about his wonderful school. Then his grandfather tells him about the residential school he went to, so different from Amik's school, so Amik has an idea... The Seven Teaching of the Anishinaabe -- love, wisdom, humility, courage, respect, honesty, and truth -- are revealed in these seven stories for children. Set in an urban landscape with Indigenous children as the central characters, these stories about home and family will look familiar to all young readers.

Much more than simply recording events, pedagogical documentation is a revolutionary educational approach that enables practitioners to capture and understand the ways in which children learn and think. Exploring the use of pedagogic documentation across five different cultures, this book offers a unique insight into the conditions and methods through which pedagogical documentation might become an effective means of connecting teaching and learning. By drawing on theory, research-based evidence and practice, Understanding Pedagogic Documentation in Early Childhood Education reveals pedagogic documentation as an instigator for critical reflection on practice, for the creation of new pedagogical approaches and improvements in quality. Observing and documenting the lived educational experience of children and practitioners is emphasised as a means of acknowledging their voice and rights, of revealing their knowledge, their competences, their attitudes and dispositions to learning. Offering contextualised approaches and considering the challenges involved in observing and documenting day-to-day practice in early childhood settings, chapters encourage professionals to reflect and recognise the value of documentation for children, staff members and the wider community. Making a crucial contribution to the debates on pedagogical documentation, Understanding Pedagogic Documentation in Early Childhood Education offers researchers, students, policy-makers and professionals a comprehensive, and multicultural perspective on pedagogical documentation.

For today’s early childhood educator, change is a non-negotiable reality. While the size, force, and direction of change can often seem overwhelming, this book shows the way toward overcoming these gigantic odds or “Goliaths.” The New Early Childhood Professional recounts some of the heroic stories and strategic approaches used by early childhood educators who participated in the CAYL Institute Fellowship programs. The authors share a specific framework with concrete steps to help educators become positive change makers in the field of early care and education. Complete with resources, tools, and questions for reflection, this handbook takes readers through four progressive paths toward becoming an architect of change: Analysis—When confronting seemingly insurmountable situations, instead of being overwhelmed, think and reflect about the situation and discover hidden insights. Advance—Better understand the nature of problems while also strengthening your vision and identity through planning and preparation. Act—Begin with everyday challenges and use what you know from every situation, in every interaction with a child, parent, peer, or administrator. Accelerate—Focus on what you want to change, gather allies, document, and communicate. “A talented leader is required to pull all the building blocks of quality together into a harmonious community. For this reason, The New Early Childhood Professional is a vital resource for both new and experienced early childhood leaders. . . . Readers, be prepared to be jolted out of your comfort zone. This book will challenge, inform, provoke, and inspire you.” —From the Foreword by Roger and Bonnie Neugebauer, publishers of Exchange Magazine “In this book, Washington, Gadson, and Amel lay out a proven, intentional, strategic, and clear approach to effect change collectively and individually. A definite must-read.” —Marta T. Rosa, Senior Executive Director, Department of Government and External Affairs, and Community Impact/Chief Diversity Officer “At a pivotal moment in early childhood education, the authors give us the tools to become agents of change on behalf of young children. This highly readable discussion leaves us with no more excuses.” —Jacqueline Jones, executive director of the Foundation for Child Development in New York

The second volume in this Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century: International Teaching, Family and Policy Perspectives miniseries focuses on teacher and family perspectives of early childhood education and care from 19 different countries around the world. The aim of this volume is to articulate the key components of teacher education and family practices that impact young children’s education and care. Each country featured in this volume presents its own unique perspective in relation to the cultural and societal constraints around teacher training and/or family practices and the thinking around those practices that are important for early childhood development. Offering a unique insight into how teachers and families work together in different countries, the book is essential reading for early childhood educators, researchers, early childhood organisations, policy makers and those interested to know more about early childhood within an international perspective.

Providing business management procedures for the early childhood industry, The A2Z of Early Childhood Management offers 26 proven management techniques that will put you and your staff on the road of success. Unlike other management guides this book is designed for all levels of childhood careers, which includes; students, early, middle, and seasoned professional levels. With fewer than 50 pages, this can be read from start to finish in an hour or less and is a great resource tool.

For the young child, art is a way of solving problems, conceptualizing the world, and creating new possibilities. In Everyday Artists, the author addresses the disconnect that exists between the teaching of art and the way young children actually experience art. In doing so, this book questions commonly held notions and opens up exciting new possibilities for art education in the early childhood classroom. A practicing teacher herself, Bentley uses vignettes of children’s everyday activities—from block building to clean-up to outdoor play—to help teachers identify and scaffold the genuine artistic practice of young children. Book Features: Tangible examples of everyday arts experiences told through lively classroom stories.An examination of the teacher’s role with suggestions of appropriate ways to support children’s artistic expression.Clear explanations of how inquiry and creativity contribute to the overall thinking and learning of the young child.A “Voice of the Teacher” section that offers teaching strategies for extending children’s thinking and learning.A wide-range of ideas for teachers who feel they do not know how to “do” art. Dana Frantz Bentley is a teacher researcher and preschool teacher at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She received a Doctorate of Education, Art, and Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. “Much has been written about the role of the arts in education, especially about the importance of the arts to early childhood learning. Dana Frantz Bentley endows the arts with an additional and central kind of significance rooted in a broad conception of cognition.” —From the Foreword by Judith M. Burton, Teachers College, Columbia University “Like the young children she describes, Dana Frantz Bentley is an ‘everyday artist,’ making something ‘beautiful’ of her informed and thoughtful pedagogy. There is much to learn from the artful reflection and generative inquiry of this inspired early childhood educator.” —Jessica Hoffmann Davis, author of Why Our Schools Need the Arts

The essential resource to the issues surrounding childhood care and education with contributions from noted experts The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Care and Education is a comprehensive resource that offers a review of the historical aspects, best practices, and the future directions of the field. With contributions from noted experts in the field, the book contains 30 interdisciplinary essays that explore in-depth the central issues of early childhood care and education. The handbook presents a benchmark reference to the basic knowledge, effective approaches to use with young children, curriculum design, professional development, current policies, and other critical information. The expert contributors address the myriad complex policy and practice issues that are most relevant today. The essays provide insight into topics such as child development and diversity, the sociocultural process of child development, the importance of the home environment in the lives of young children, early childhood special education, teaching and learning literacy, and much more. This important resource: Presents a comprehensive synopsis of the major components of the field of early childhood care and education Contains contributions from leading scholars, researchers, and experts in the field Offers the foundational knowledge and practices for working with young children Puts the focus on how early childhood works and presents an understanding of culture as a foundational component of both child development and early childhood education Written for academic scholars, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and students of early childhood care and education, The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Care and Education is a comprehensive resource to the major issues for dealing with childhood care and education with contributions from noted scholars in the field.

First Published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book provides a comprehensive and practical guide to using the project approach when teaching young children with special needs. While focusing on children's individual strengths, which include their interests, intelligences, and unique styles of learning, this resource demonstrates teaching strategies that address multiple areas of development. Using scenarios from their own practice, The authors examine the process of accessing children's strengths to facilitate social, emotional, cognitive, and motor development, including concepts and skills. The authors provide tools to determine, organize, and plan with children's strengths and demonstrate the use of documentation as an authentic assessment of children's skills and goals. Teachers will use this book to create learning environments that enrich learning for all children.