Mrs. Keenan, a preschool teacher, observed her 3-year-old granddaughter Riley pull, tug, and stack piles of holiday boxes on the floor. She remembered that her child care director had suggested using boxes as a curriculum theme, but she hadn't given much thought about the idea until now. She said to herself, "I wonder if my children would be as…

Brain research has confirmed what many early care and education professionals have known all along--warm, nurturing relationships among babies, toddlers, and their caregivers support children's development. The nurturing adult-child interaction that supports children's development is called "responsive care". Responsive care is supported by small…

Public school systems have recently become major players in providing services for children in their early years. In addition, a number of other services are available to young children including child care, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs. The link between program quality and professional development of early care and education…

Early childhood teachers face a daunting task when trying to incorporate so many important ideas into curriculum planning. Fortunately, standards are not prescriptive in how they are to be implemented. Teachers who are well versed in standards and developmentally appropriate practices "can" provide meaningful experiences for children. How can…

All children have their own unique ways of interacting with their environments, connecting with people around them, and learning about their world. Babies take in information from their senses and use this information to respond to people and events. Children's daily experiences facilitate integration of their senses. These early sensory…

Dramatic improvements have been made in the lives of children over the last century. Even so, many health and safety challenges remain unresolved. For example, unintentional injuries claim the lives of more children each year than any other cause of death. In addition, a panel of pediatricians reported that the incidence of childhood obesity…

Teachers know the value of reading aloud to support children's learning and to foster a love of books (Glazer & Giorgis, 2005). In fact, many teachers have dozens, if not hundreds, of books on a vast number of topics. However, for reasons that range from lack of time to curriculum constraints, teachers may not always carefully examine what they…

The flood of early child development research in the past decade has blossomed into enormous public interest in the importance of the first years of children's lives. It is critical for policymakers and professionals to acknowledge and honor the crucial role that early care and education (ECE) providers have in the developmental health and…

Increasingly, infants and toddlers in the United States are being cared for outside of the home and/or by extended family (Capizzano & Adams, 2000). This social and demographic change has placed an unprecedented level of responsibility on people other than family--caregivers--to provide a nurturing, stimulating, and safe environment that will meet…

Caring adults may be unaware of how deeply healing their love for a child can be. A gentle smile, warming cuddle, or soothing lullaby can uplift a baby or toddler. Infants, who appear healthy on the outside, can suffer deeply within from "invisible wounds." "Young children are the most vulnerable to being abused or neglected. Statistically, the…

From the first moments of life, infants begin the exciting journey to gain control of their bodies. These beginning movements are an essential way of playing and learning for infants. During their first year, infants learn more motor skills than at any other time in their lives. Brain research has revealed that the motor area of an infant's brain…

Through the years, educational systems in the United States have experienced great change. The one-room schoolhouse is now uncommon, but in years past it was the norm. Changes in society have brought about demands for early care and education systems that were not needed or provided as recently as 100 or even 20 years ago. Families today need and…

Explores the visual arts as a means to develop skills and abilities across the curriculum and nurture aesthetic development. Considers benefits of art for socioemotional, psychomotor, and cognitive development; integration of art into the curriculum; and the role of adults, children's books, and the classroom for encouraging art appreciation.…

Describes a bilingual prekindergarten teacher's approach to oral language development with children who are Spanish-language dominant, considering the links between her approach and constructivist learning theory. Describes how children in the classroom interact socially with adults and peers to develop oral language skills. (JPB)

Discusses the design of playgrounds to maximize play value and minimize risk. Considers four major risk factors--lack of supervision, inappropriate design for children's ages, falls to hard surfaces, and poor equipment maintenance--and discusses ways to design the playground to minimize these risks. (JPB)