Provides a historical and contemporary description of school-age child care and after-school programs. Focuses on funding, community initiatives, affordability and supply, program outcomes, program quality, and the role of community planning. (KB)

Maintains that the United States tolerates an ineffective system of early education and professional preparation. Notes challenges to the field, including insufficient teacher preparation, outdated teacher professional development approaches, ineffective use of research findings to improve early childhood programs, and failure to understand,…

Describes the growth of Early Head Start (EHS) programs, focusing on one EHS partnership with child care providers in Delaware to serve infants, toddlers, and their families. Includes discussion of partnership strategies that promote quality programming, ways the early care and education coordinator supports child development, strategies for…

Offers suggestions for using talk time with toddlers in an early care setting to promote communicative interaction. Discusses how talk time was introduced and its usefulness in promoting language development, and identifying and helping delayed talkers. Describes talk time themes and strategies, including a caution not to use the time to correct…

Outlines four aspects of a revamped child care system in the United States: (1) neighborhood early learning programs; (2) a community support system for quality care; (3) reinvented financial assistance; and (4) a career development system. (KB)

Presents plan for developing community support system for quality child care, based on the military's system. Examines the military system quality components and applicability of this model for the nation. Presents local steps toward the proposed "New American Child Care System." Asserts that a few key policy changes could bridge the quality gap…

Focuses on children's daily experiences as an important component of assessing the quality of child care programs. Discusses the importance of individual and group engagement to better understand the quality classroom environments and keep track of improvements over time. Presents the Engagement Check II as a measure of group engagement and…

Describes methods and findings of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Argues that media focused too heavily on one isolated finding relating quantity of day care to child aggression. Describes the conduct of a steering committee to coordinate study design. Advocates improving child care quality and examines ways to prevent aggressive behavior and…

Discusses how to use computers to facilitate learning with young children in early care and education settings. Includes discussion of software selection, website selection, connections of software and websites to the curriculum, and computer selection. Lists strategies for facilitating equitable access, improving computer availability, and…

Examines ways to enhance children's spiritual development in a broader sense than religious beliefs. Describes a quiet corner, a silence game, guided meditation, questions to evoke wonder, and other techniques for fostering spirituality. Asserts that teachers have a responsibility to help children broaden the spiritual aspect of their human…

Describes how problems with water drainage on the playground, and the resulting puddles, provided a wealth of learning opportunities, children's fun, family-school communication, and challenges for one early childhood program. (KB)

Describes components of high quality child care programs and the structural and social barriers to quality. Discusses how three early childhood practices have been detrimental to raising child care quality: voucher programs for child care, acceptance of license-exempt care, and the view that market economics will ultimately determine care quality.…

Project REACH is a specialized 2-year training program building on the strengths and addressing the limitations of rural Missouri child care providers. The mission of the project was to improve the quality of rural child care and children's cognitive and social development by providing child care providers with local training, support,…

Details how an unplanned activity involving spinning wool presented a teachable moment for children in a family child care setting. Notes how activities related to farming, spinning wool, and using wool cloth resulted from following the children's lead. Concludes that everyday activities provide opportunities to listen to children, learn about…

Discusses ways young children, families, and caregivers can work together in toilet learning. Describes signs of child readiness, and ways teachers can be supportive at this stage. Presents a classroom plan to facilitate toileting for 2- and 3- year-olds. Includes tips for parents and for caregivers related to toileting materials, toileting…