Provides early childhood teachers a framework for collaborating with children to create a dynamic, emergent curriculum.

Many curriculum books treat teaching as something teachers do to or for children. Deb Curtis and Margie Carter, best-selling authors in the early learning field, believe teaching is a collaborative process in which teachers reexamine their own philosophies and practices while facilitating children’s learning. Each chapter in this curriculum framework includes a conceptual overview followed by classroom stories and photographs to illustrate the concepts. The book helps teachers create materials and a classroom culture reflective of their values: Teach through observation, reflection, inquiry, and action, and encourage children to represent their learning in multiple ways, including songs, stories, and drama.

FAMILIES, SCHOOLS, AND COMMUNITIES: TOGETHER FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, 5E, International Edition emphasizes the role of families and communities in children's education, and is geared to meeting national standards in teacher preparation programs. Content reflects current research and best practices in education. Divided into two sections, this book helps you understand contemporary families and provides you with the skills that you will need to build relationships with families and the community. You'll find specific ideas and strategies for increasing family involvement in the community and schools, encouraging learning at home, working with military families, recognizing family strengths, diversity in the classroom, and many other topics. New content includes integration of current standards and a new video feature as well as expanded material on advocacy, technology, and strategies for dealing with parents.

Learning Stories and Teaching Inquiry Groups is a practical text focused on how ECE practitioners can establish teacher inquiry and reflection groups and integrate the use of learning stories to strengthen their assessment, teaching practices, and knowledge of child development. Drawing on relevant research and the authors' direct work with teachers, the book focuses on describing ways the authors have adapted the framework of the learning stories approach from New Zealand to specific US educational contexts via examples from several urban and rural ECE contexts. The book provides practical examples of novice through veteran early childhood teachers engaging and collaborating in onsite and cross-site inquiry and reflection with a focus on learning stories. This text will be useful for infant, toddler, and preschool teachers taking courses at the AA, BA, and MA levels, as well as teachers engaged in onsite professional development. This text will help early childhood educators learn to write learning stories as an observational and assessment approach to document young children's learning experiences and to deepen teachers' understanding of the role of narrative in linking child development knowledge with effective environmental design, high-quality curricular approaches, and socially and culturally inclusive relationship practices. The text will support early childhood educators' professional development through easily understood instructions and case study samples of inquiry work with learning stories through community of practice. Educators will learn how linking learning stories with regular, systematic forms of teacher inquiry, documentation, and reflection promotes a new image of children as holistic learners.

Explore STEM concepts through making and tinkering!

ART AND CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, International Edition, is a comprehensive, must-have resource for establishing and implementing a developmentally appropriate art program. Written for pre-service and in-service early childhood professionals in child care, preschool, or kindergarten through third grade settings, the text takes a child-centered approach to art education. The book blends theory and research with practical applications as it discusses important topics and issues related to creative experience, including art and the developing child, special needs and diversity, and children’s artistic development. Also discussed are planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating art along with strategies for integrating art across the curriculum. The updated Seventh Edition gives greater emphasis to communication with families, and includes such new topics as digital camerawork and the use of recycled materials in art.

Full of research backed advice, examples, and reflection questions throughout, this book is for fathers seeking to build their parenting identity while effectively supporting their child from conception to adulthood. Covering topics such as opportunities for fathers to connect to their children during each stage of development, occasions for men to grow and develop when they become fathers, advice for healthy and successful coparenting, as well as how to support a positive father-child relationship, this book provides important answers to questions that fathers frequently ask about parenting. Fathers and Children Together is a must read for fathers aspiring to create strong connections to their children, as well as all parents, practitioners, and students in disciplines such as psychology, human development and family studies, parent education, and social work.

This accessible, reader-friendly resource provides important information and helpful strategies for preschool and kindergarden teachers in inclusive environments who have little or no training in special education and assisting students with special needs.

This vital resource for early years and primary school trainees and practitioners explores a range of social and therapeutic strategies and interventions that will successfully support all children’s sense of belonging. A sense of belonging is vital to children’s physical, emotional, psychological, mental health and wellbeing. This book considers social and therapeutic strategies and interventions that support all children’s sense of belonging and can be adopted by practitioners. It addresses the interrelated factors that impact children’s sense of belonging such as race, gender, expression of sexual orientation, religion and disabilities. It will help develop practitioners’ awareness of current social and educational issues including LGBT+ topics, the changing family unit, relationships, misogyny and toxic masculinity, meditation and mindfulness as well as the importance of children connecting with nature and transformative activism. The chapters adopt a theoretical and practical approach, presenting case studies of good practice, which will create positive and inclusive outcomes, supporting individual growth and community wellbeing. An essential reading for practitioners, including teachers, teaching assistants (continuing professional development), lecturers and social workers, working in early years and primary educational setting, this book would also be suitable as a core and supportive text for students studying on a variety of undergraduate degree courses within the scope of education, pedagogy, mental health and wellbeing, social work and child development.