Play is a magnificent activity that sustains life and promotes joy and hopefulness. Loose Parts for Children with Diverse Abilities addresses the importance of play while providing appropriate accommodation to support young children with diverse abilities. Award-winning author and educator Miriam Beloglovsky advocates for play for play sake and invites early childhood educators and families to see children with diverse abilities’ strengths, recognize them as capable, competent and creative, and listen to their powerful voices. With hundreds of illustrative full-color photographs and infused with real stories of children with diverse abilities engaged in loose parts play, the book also includes narrative comments from families and educators.

Use loose parts to spark children's creativity and innovation Loose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. Alluring and captivating, they capture children's curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and motivate learning. The hundreds of inspiring photographs showcase an array of loose parts in real early childhood settings. And the overviews of concepts children can learn when using loose parts provide the foundation for incorporating loose parts into your teaching to enhance play and empower children. The possibilities are truly endless.

Loose parts capture children's curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and encourage creativity. This form of play allows infants to be in control and recognize the power of their bodies and actions. A variety of new and innovative loose parts ideas are paired with beautiful photography to inspire safe loose parts play in your infant and toddler environments. Captivating classroom stories and proven science provide the context for how this style of play supports children's development and learning. This book is perect for Montessori and Reggio-inspired programs and educators.

"Award-winning author and educator Miriam Beloglovsky advocates for play for play sake and invites early childhood educators and families to see children with diverse abilities' strengths, recognize them as capable, competent and creative, and listen to their powerful voices. This book addresses the importance of play while providing appropriate accommodation to support young children with diverse abilities"--

Loose parts cross the boundaries of gender, age, abilities, and socioeconomic challenges. This book helps teachers make a conscious effort to create culturally sustainable environments that allow children to grow and to conquer a dynamic world.

Loose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials—acorns, hardware, stones, aluminum foil, fabric scraps, for example—that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. Loose parts capture children's curiosity, give free rein to their imagination, and encourage creativity. In the newest installment of the wildly popular, award-winning Loose Parts series, Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky focus on including families and competency building. With inspiring full-color photographs Loose Parts 4 is organized around competencies and life skills children need for success in the future: knowingness, engagement, risk, connections, leadership, innovative thinking, and creativity. Lisa and Miriam explain the value of loose parts, detail how to integrate loose parts into the environment and children’s play, and specifically focus on loose parts for children in family environments—helping educators engage families and extend learning beyond the classroom.

This new edition incorporates many insights and strategies the authors have learned while working extensively with teachers to implement the project approach. Since the popular first edition was published in 1989, the authors have continued to help teachers around the world understand the benefits of this approach. Katz and Chard discuss in great detail the philosophical, theoretical, and research bases of project work. The typical phases are presented and detailed suggestions for implementing each one are described. Using specific examples, this book clarifies and articulates the process and benefits of the project approach. These specific examples outline how children's intellectual development is enhanced. Years of working with teachers and young children from preschool to primary age provide the authors with first hand experience for employing the project approach. Helpful guidelines will aid teachers in working with this approach comfortably in order to gain the interset of children and in order for those to grow and florish mentally.

"In our current culture of pushed-down academics and accountability, early childhood professionals spend too much time justifying play for children. Until that justification is no longer necessary, this book will help those in early childhood education answer the question presented in the title: Why Play? Each chapter describes a different type of play, offering information educators can use to advocate for each. Every chapter also includes suggestions for putting practice into theory, helping to ensure play becomes a greater part of the children's education. Additionally, "Partnering with Parents" offers recommendations for language and information educators can use to help parents understand that play is not separate from learning! "Why Play?" highlights some of the most popular types of play, including dramatic and loose parts play, but it also covers those considered controversial: "risky;" rough-and-tumble; and war, gun, and superhero play. Whether used as a tool for advocacy or as a resource for information and ideas about play, "Why Play?" is a book for all ECE professionals who believe children should have the chance to be children, and that child development should guide all of our practices with them"--

Early childhood educators have the power to help all children learn to respect themselves and others. Creating Diversity-Rich Environments for Young Children is an easy-to-use guide that shows how early childhood professionals can create a positive and inclusive environment for children of all cultures. The newest addition in the Redleaf Press Quick Guide series includes elements of the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) developmentally appropriate practice and ethical standards, early childhood progress indicators, and best practices in adult learning. Guides for reflection and planning for educators and cross-cultural competence checklists will be included to further assist educators.

Anti-bias education begins with you! Become a skilled anti-bias teacher with this practical guidance to confronting and eliminating barriers.