An encyclopedic how-to guide for the universal early childhood program problems. Practical Solutions to Practically Every Problem attempts to provide solutions to every possible problem faced by early childhood teachers—before teachers encounter them. This classic resource has been updated to focus on current issues faced by educators, including teaching twenty-first century life skills, technology, and cultural responsiveness. This easy-to-use guide gives you quick practical help, now! Educators will save time and energy with over eight hundred solutions to two hundred problems, including: Daily dilemmas and classroom issues Partnering with families to raise happy children Dealing with problematic behaviors from co-workers Learning to take care of yourself to prevent burn-out Steffen Saifer, EdD, a former early childhood teacher and Head Start director and trainer, is currently an international consultant and writer based in Spain. He has worked on projects for the Open Society Foundation, The World Bank, and UNICEF, in many countries including Bangladesh, Russia, and Zimbabwe. Dr. Saifer works with programs on culturally responsive curriculum development and implementation and with universities to develop graduate programs for ECD teachers, administrators, and leaders. When in the United States, Saifer resides in Portland, Oregon

Offers a quick and easy way to find solutions for the tricky problems, questions, and concerns that are part of every early childhood professional's day.

Too many teaching and learning activities require students to use only lower-order thinking (LOT), and many of the attempts educators make to promote higher-order thinking (HOT) are misconstrued. Higher-order thinking makes teaching and learning more engaging and intentional, adds intellectual rigor to any curriculum, and aids in the development of some important life skills among young learners Even preschoolers are capable of a great deal of higher-order thinking. Infusing a play-based curriculum with activities and interactions that promote higher-order thinking creates the type of play that fosters cognitive, language, physical, and social development. It is important to start developing students’ higher-order thinking skills when they are young, and this book provides numerous strategies for doing so. Most of the activities are in the form of open-ended interactive games that can be easily modified to be responsive to variety of cultures and to meet a range of learning abilities, styles, and intelligences.

To be truly educated today, students need more than knowledge; they need higher-order thinking skills. Critical and creative thinking is required to recognize and counter disinformation, to overcome thinking errors, and to be successful in school and life. To effectively teach these skills, we must start early, when young minds are still forming. While K–3 students are capable of higher-order thinking, most lessons engage only their lower-order thinking. In this comprehensive book based on sound science, Dr. Saifer offers many practical and engaging ways to develop students’ logical, critical, and creative thinking skills within nearly every lesson, in all subject areas, and throughout the day. Teaching Higher-Order Thinking to Young Learners, K–3: How to Develop Sharp Minds for the Disinformation Age is key reading for any early childhood teacher, leader, or parent.

Early Childhood Education: Becoming a Professional is an inspiring introduction to the world of early childhood education, preparing the teachers of tomorrow to reach their full potential in their schools and communities. Written by a diverse and experienced author team (Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle, Ana Garcia-Nevarez, Wanda J. Roundtree-Henderson, and Alicia Valero-Kerrick), this text engages readers to connect contemporary educational and developmental theory and research to developmentally appropriate practices and applications that are easily implemented in the classroom. In response to today's ever-changing educational environment, the text focuses on both the importance of taking personal and professional responsibility, as well as today's issues in diversity—from supporting children with exceptionalities to supporting children and families in broader cultural contexts.

Early intervention is vital in addressing and redirecting play challenges in young children. Each of five common play challenges—children who roam playrooms, play repetitiously, appear anxious, are detached, or are rejected by peers—are highlighted. Also included are sensory integration ideas and activities to promote positive and productive play.

The Journal of Evidence-Based Practices for Schools is a leader in publishing research-to-practice articles for educators and school psychologists. The mission of this journal is to positively influence the daily practice of school-based professionals through studies demonstrating successful research-based practices in educational settings. As a result, the editors are committed to publishing articles with an eye toward improving student performance and outcomes by advancing psychological and educational practices in the schools. They seek articles using non-technical language that (1) outline an evidence-based practice, (2) describe the literature supporting the effectiveness and theoretical underpinnings of the practice, (3) describe the findings of a study in which the practice was implemented in an educational setting, and (4) provide readers with information they need to implement the practice in their own schools in a section entitled Implementation Guidelines. The Journal of Evidence-Based Practices for Schools differs from other scholarly journals in that it features articles that demonstrate empirically-based procedures for readers to apply the practice in their setting.

Community service and learning experiences are booming as we enter the 21st century. This practical guide assists college students and other constituents as they psychologically prepare for volunteering, service-learning, practicums, fieldwork assignments, and internships in a diverse and ever-changing world. Though created with the novice community worker in mind, this book will also assist professors, teachers, administrators, and agency personnel in understanding and preparing workers for community service and learning in schools, child care centers, soup kitchens, and shelters for the homeless. Written in a practical, conversational style, this book offers the voices, issues, concerns, and resources of more than 200 previous community workers. This book includes their struggles with the initial adjustment process, as well as ongoing gender, race, and class issues encountered in various service learning environments. Topics range from choosing a community service site to appropriate methods of bringing closure to the experience when it is time to say good-bye. This book in essence, provides hundreds of role models, scenarios, and worker perspectives that will help less-inexperienced workers prepare for the real-life, hands-on experiences of community engagement.

This second edition of Parent-Friendly Early Learning brings to life real scenarios that care providers face in today's world. We know parent engagement is important for a child's success, but how do you turn parent-provider relationships into partnerships? Learn how to improve parent-teacher communication, deal with family issues and special complications, and how to work with the modern family. Julie Powers has worked with children, families, educators, and communities for over forty years. She started preschool programs at the Dodge Nature Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, an inclusion-based program for Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson, Arizona, and was a consultant for the Air Force Child Development Centers. She has taught at colleges across the country and is currently an associate professor of early childhood education at University of Hawaii Maui College.