`This original and fascinating approach to children′s movement development is highly recommended reading for tutors, practitioner and students alike′ - Under Five `Movement and Dance in Early Childhood offers a clear and accessible entry into the world of movement and dance and the possibilities that exist for children, their families and the wider educational community′ - Every Child `Eminently readable and accessible. Whether the reader is versed in movement understanding or a beginner, by the end of the book they should be a much better movement observer, teacher and handler′ - Marion North, Principal and Chief Executive, Laban Centre for Movement and Dance In this unique and innovative book on movement and dance development from birth to eight years, the author draws on her depth of knowledge and practical experience in helping children to become skilled, creative and imaginative in a wide range of movement-oriented activities. The book seeks to help early childhood educators and parents in very practical ways and provides guidance based on a sound theoretical understanding. Originally published as Helping Children Learn Through a Movement Perspective, this book has been updated in the light of recent research. The author extends her investigation of how young children learn in and through movement. There is an expanded chapter on dance, which suggests strategies for working with young children and examines ways in which young children take on the roles of dance-makers, performers and appreciators. An additional chapter shows ways in which the expressive and artistic aspects of children′s movement can be appropriately located and includes exemplars for dance at Key Stage 1 and the early phases of Key Stage 2.

The purpose of the book is to help teachers develop an understanding of dance in the preschool setting, sense when dance can be a natural extension of classroom activity, and develop skill in planning and leading meaningful dance experiences. The first chapter of this book discusses what dance in preschool education is about and its importance for young children. In the second chapter, the content of movement is presented; these elements are the building blocks from which dance activities are created and provide reference points for developing ideas into class activities. The third chapter discusses general preparation for dance activities, and chapter 4 offers a step-by-step description of the process of developing an idea into a class session. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss the reality of teaching a dance class, and the final two chapters give suggestions for adapting material to particular groups--the very young, the handicapped, and parent-child groups. The appendixes include resources and strategies for recorded music, ideas for use in lessons, children's literature, sample original stories, sample lesson on a specific movement theme: curved and angular lines, and suggested resources for further reading. (JD)

In the pedagogical landscape of early childhood, physical movement is central to the holistic development of young children. Yet, movement-related experiences and other bodily activities such as play and dance often present contradictions and conundrums for early childhood educators. As a mode of learning, movement has endured a questionable existence despite the evidence of supportive research and theory, which provides sound reasons for the inclusion of movement in early years curricula. Movement and Dance in Young Children's Lives looks at the place of movement in young children's lives and addresses how movement as a form of expression can become dance, thus displacing a reliance on linguistic modes of expression and honoring the agency of the body. It also discusses a variety of concerns and confusions that accompany dance in education, and interprets what this means to students and teachers in teacher education programs and early childhood settings.

Includes complete text complete with illustrations of 47 curriculum lessons for any adult to use while working with young children in the 3-5 year old demographic.

Recently, a new understanding of creative thought and creative performance has surfaced. It has also attracted the attention of early childhood professional organizations and researchers. Professional organizations have included it in their publications and conferences. While current creativity researchers have initiated a far more sophisticated understanding of young children’s creative thinking, ways to assess creativity, strategies to promote creativity, and research methodologies. The purpose of this volume is to present a wide range of different theories and areas in the study of creativity to help researchers and theorists work toward the development of different perspectives on creativity with young children. It focuses on critical analyses and reviews of the literature on topics related to creativity research, development, theories, and practices. It will serve as a reference for early childhood education researchers, scholars, academics, general educators, teacher educators, teachers, graduate students, and scientists to stimulate further “dialogue” on ways to enhance creativity. The chapters are of high quality and provide scholarly analyses of research studies that capture the full range of approaches to the study of creativity --- behavioral, clinical, cognitive, cross-cultural, developmental, educational, genetic, organizational, psychoanalytic, psychometric, and social. Interdisciplinary research is also included, as is research within specific domains such as art and science, as well as on critical issues (e.g., aesthetics, genius, imagery, imagination, insight, intuition, metaphor, play, problem finding and solving). Thus, it offers critical analyses on reviews of research in a form that are useful to early childhood researchers, scholars, educators, and graduate students. It also places the current research in its historical context. The volume is also of interest to the general readers who are interested in the young children’s creativity. The chapters are authored by established scholars in the field of young children’s creativity.

Everyday STEAM for the Early Childhood Classroom offers a rich, rewarding pathway for early childhood educators integrating the arts into STEM instruction across ages 0–8. Science, technology, engineering, and math are mainstays of early childhood curricula, but young learners can have even more engaging experiences in these subjects with the inclusion of the arts. In this comprehensive resource, early childhood educators will learn key principles for the effective teaching of STEAM in their classrooms and be guided to leverage their existing knowledge and strengths toward meaningful learning opportunities. Packed with hands-on resources, ready-to-use teaching tools, and developmentally appropriate practices, this book is ideal for in-service and pre-service educators ready to explore and experiment with STEAM.

Brenda McCutchen provides an integrated approach to dance education, using four cornerstones: dancing and performing, creating and composing, historical and cultural inquiry and analysing and critiquing. She also illustrates the main developmental aspects of dance.

This book is based on the power of stories to support children in all areas of their lives. It examines the role narratives can play in encouraging growth in contexts and domains such as personal and family identity, creative movement, memory and self-concept, social relationships, or developing a sense of humor. Each chapter describes innovative and research-based applications of narratives such as movement stories, visual narratives to develop historical thinking, multimodal storytelling, bibliotherapy, mathematics stories, family stories, and social narratives. The chapters elaborate on the strength of narratives in supporting the whole child in diverse contexts from young children on the autism spectrum improving their social skills at school, to four- and five-year-olds developing historical thinking, to children who are refugees or asylum-seekers dealing with uncertainty and loss. Written by accomplished teachers, researchers, specialists, teaching artists and teacher educators from several countries and backgrounds, the book fills a gap in the literature on narratives. “...this work delves into the topic of narratives in young children’s lives with a breadth of topics and depth of study not found elsewhere.” “Collectively, the insights of the contributors build a convincing case for emphasizing story across the various disciplines and developmental domains of the early childhood years.” “The writing style is scholarly, yet accessible. Authors used a wide array of visual material to make their points clearer and show the reader what meaningful uses of story “look like”.” Mary Renck Jalongo, Journal and Book Series Editor Springer Indiana, PA, USA

Now in a fully updated third edition, The Early Childhood Curriculum demonstrates how to confidently teach using inquiry-based methods that address the whole child while also meeting and exceeding academic standards. Based on current research showing the powerful advantages of integrating the curriculum while providing inquiry opportunities, this text explores how to make such an approach work for all children, preschool through the primary grades. Since each curricular subject has its own integrity, there is a chapter for each discipline, grounding the reader in the essentials of the subject in order to foster knowledgeable and effective integration. Filled with real-life vignettes and activities, this third edition provides comprehensive information on the most recent trends in national curriculum standards and classroom technology, alongside a new section exploring the outdoors as a welcome learning environment. Offering a foundation in early childhood theory, philosophy, research, and development, this unique textbook helps future teachers, as well as current educators, understand the "why" of curriculum in early childhood and invests them with the skills they need to move from simply following a script to knowledgeably creating curricula on their own.

The international team of contributors to this book explore the debates and disputes surrounding the policies and documents which set out aspirational outcomes and benefits for children, their families and wider society. They argue that if these issues are not explicitly acknowledged, understood, and critiqued, emerging policies may potentially lead to disadvantaging, marginalising and even pathologising certain childhoods.