Noting that there are many criteria by which to determine whether pedagogical practices are appropriate for young children, this paper outlines a developmental approach to pedagogy for young children. Twenty-three principles of practice are outlined. The main suggestions are that a developmental approach is one that takes into account those aspects of teaching and learning that change with the child's age and experience, as well as the normative and dynamic dimensions of development. Accordingly, the appropriate curriculum must be decided on the basis of (1) what is best in the long term, (2) what strengthens young learners' disposition to study closely their environments, and (3) what knowledge is useful to them in the present. Young children should not be introduced to formal instruction too early, intensely, or abstractly, but should be given the opportunity to experience in-depth understandings through interactive, first-hand and active experiences with real objects and real environments. Learning should proceed from behavioral to representational knowledge, and young learners should have opportunities to apply in meaningful contexts the knowledge learned in the more formal parts of the curriculum. Young children should be engaged daily in worthwhile activities and work in which cooperation is functional and not phony. (AA)