Preschoolers' reasons for ranking the beauty of 30 children's book illustrations were investigated through individual interviews. Most frequent response criteria for beauty were associated with familiar objects or surroundings, action, color, clothing or accessories, water or ice, body features, and babies or small things. Children's book…

The Early Childhood profession would benefit from a systematic inquiry into "calendar math." The authors offer an organized framework for this work. After a description of calendar math practices, the authors examine problematic aspects of its implementation, based on developmental theory. The essay concludes with a call for more reflective…

The aim of this study was to investigate, identify and describe different ways that female and male preschool teachers conceive, understand and experience play. The research questions addressed are: What perspectives do female and male preschool teachers have on play? Are there differences in play experiences related to gender? The interview study…

One of the central concepts in Vygotsky's theory of child development is the Zone of Proximal Development. This article identifies how Jack moves through the Zone of Proximal Development in two areas of his musical development, vocal improvisation and song acquisition, from the ages of 24 to 36 months, with scaffolding provided by me, his father.…

Conflict is a very real part of relationships that occur on global, national, and local scales, as well as in daily interpersonal relationships. This article details the relevance of peace studies for children in the primary grades, both in terms of current events and in classroom applications. Suggestions are presented for addressing this topic…

Promoting caring in children is a powerful venue to prevent violence in our society. This article reviews the roots of violence, explores the various contexts of violence, and then describes how caring can be used to prevent violence. In particular, the role that families and schools can play in helping children develop caring is discussed.

This article describes a learning context in which the first grade classroom teacher creates a learning community where she uses different teaching strategies to encourage children's second language use and learning. The first graders share, discuss, and learn both the second language (German) and content.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) states that "Communication is an essential part of mathematics and mathematics education" (2000, p. 60). In fact, communication is one of the five process standards emphasized by NCTM. The communication standard highlights the importance of young children communicating their mathematical…

This article examines the life of Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten movement and his first 10 "gifts to children." The author suggests that Froebel's philosophy of German Romanticism caused the waning use of his methods. He continues to state that Froebel's development of instructional material and structured play-based curricula…

Prematurity and low birth weight (LBW) are two major biological factors that put infants and young children at high risk for developmental delays or disabilities. While survival rates for premature and LBW children have improved, incidence figures have changed little over the past 20 years; in fact, the incidence of LBW has increased. Although the…

The development of oral language in classrooms has been an incidental occurrence historically. The amount of oral language that children have is an indicator of their success or struggle in school. To meet the needs of these children, teachers can make oral language development a primary focus for instruction. This article examines ways that…

Parents of children with special needs face many challenges. One of the challenges is the placement of their children in inclusive early childhood education settings. This article explores these challenges and offers practical suggestions regarding the involvement and support of parents of children with special needs in the placement of their…

Educators and policy makers in many countries have been expressing concern about how to improve students' achievement in reading and math. This article explores and proposes a solution: introduce or increase foreign language study in the elementary schools. Research has shown that foreign language study in the early elementary years improves…

Computers are changing young children's world in profound ways. Research shows that when computer technology is used appropriately in early years of life, it enhances virtually every aspect of development, i.e., cognitive, social, emotional, language and fine motor skills. Thus a very critical issue in today's technologically advanced world is…

In this interpretive study of children's social interactions in a family child care setting, children were seen to spend a significant portion of their time playing, watching others play, and distracted by video games. When children were focused on video games, their interactions with one another were disjointed, rushed, and ineffective. Because…