Add up the money in a wallet full of yen and follow a maze through the sights of Kyoto. These and dozens of other activities offer a fun-filled introduction to Japanese culture.

Kindergarten has changed. Many believe that it no longer reflects a nurturing environment but, instead, has become a race for children to learn skills so they are ready for the academic achievement tests that they will take continuously throughout their time in school. Resisting the Kinder-Race examines how the race came about, why it must change, and how all stakeholders in the early childhood and elementary school communities must take part in the reform process. The author draws on his own research to consider how the Kinder-Race might be reimagined through more democratic principles of schooling. Brown offers both practical and political strategies that can alter the day-to-day practices of the kindergarten classroom and the policies that currently define PreK–12 education in the United States. This resource will help readers see kindergarten as an educational environment that expands the learning of every child. Book Features: Provides an in-depth glimpse into a typical day in the Kinder-Race.Examines how kindergarten devolved from a garden that nurtures children into a race that dashes them from skill to skill.Brings together what are often siloed conversations among stakeholder groups.Highlights how kindergarten is now primarily defined through an economic lens and how this framing of learning, earning, and consuming might be rethought. Employs varied conceptual frameworks to investigate how stakeholders across different levels of public education make sense of the changed kindergarten.Illuminates the complexity of what is occurring in today’s kindergarten and puts forward practical and achievable ideas for change.

Prepare opportunities for purposeful play with students in grades PK–K using Let's Learn and Play! This 160-page book is a comprehensive resource for creating purposeful play centers that help students solve problems, experiment, navigate social situations, and prepare for learning. These well-designed, modifiable center ideas allow teachers to put a personal stamp on the classroom. The book supports NAEYC standards.

Activities on making friends, sharing, good manners, following rules and giving.

This "How To" guide provides everything you need to start a preschool: lesson plans, science plans, craft ideas and scripts for spring programs.

How do we teach with rigor to our youngest learners? How do we implement standards that spell out quite clearly what students must know, but do not give us either the methods or materials that help our students achieve such skills? This professional resource provides practical routines and developmentally appropriate activities that foster an environment where our youngest learners can thrive in mastering core kindergarten content along with the Common Core standards. The routines and activities in this book have been thoroughly classroom tested and aligned with best practices. The authors show you how to create a magical kindergarten environment that creates a community of confident learners full of excitement and enthusiasm