Chronicles and reflects on an attempt to implement the Reggio Emilia project approach in an all-day Head Start program. Uses the example of one child, "Jimmy," to discuss how the addition of small group time and project work to the program's curriculum taught children the value of relationships and collaboration. (EV)

Describes a kindergarten teacher's successful efforts to create more heterogeneous groupings and less animosity among students in her class. Discusses efforts to encourage after-school visiting among peers, classroom agreements about put-downs and exclusion during play, turn-taking, teacher-assigned grouping, conflict management, efforts to…

Describes how one kindergarten class in Illinois remembers class studies through students' artwork. Discusses the creation and benefits of a "Memory Wall," on which students' art helps make concrete the value of remembering, sharing discoveries, and revisiting prior knowledge. The Wall also offers another window into assessing and understanding…

Describes "community meetings" in early childhood classrooms, designed to create an intentional community devoted to learning to live with and consider the perspectives of others. Discusses how meetings work, community meeting and the topic of exclusion, students' learning about themselves, awareness as a kind of solution, airing a variety of…

Guided reading can change attitudes toward disabilities and exceptionalities. This article describes 10 children's books in which people with disabilities are portrayed in a respectful yet realistic manner: the first two inform about a disability; the remaining eight are examples of inclusionary literature in which a person with a disability is…

Contains four articles: (1) "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: Including Children Who Are Differently Abled in Typical Early Childhood Educational Settings"; (2) "On Teasing, Taunting, and 'I Can Do It by Myself'"; (3) "A Teacher's Responsibility--To Be Enthusiastic about Teaching Fast and Slow Learners Alike"; (4) "A Child with Severe Hearing…

Addresses the questions: How does the interaction--primarily as talk--that occurs among children who read together extend their understanding of language and learning to read? Are there productive gains in their emerging literacy skills because of the talk that occurs as children pore over books together? Concludes that children's interactions…

Presents strategies for using children's drawing as scaffolding for early writing: (1) paving the way with drawing (talking about drawing, asking the right questions, social context); and (2) getting stories into writing (supporting children just learning what letters look like, with a good mental image of some letters, who can write most letters,…

Constructed a child care subsidy tax investment model to investigate the contribution to families' self-sufficiency and to government cost-effectiveness of child care subsidies. Concluded that subsidies act both to keep families from ever needing welfare and to help move families from welfare to work, and that while reaching these goals, the…

This letter from the president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) addresses the departure from the organization of Marilyn Smith, Executive Directory, and J.D. Andrews, Chief Operations Officer. The letter includes information on NAEYC's search for replacements, including an official call for applications and…

Describes art as a symbolic language as implemented in Reggio Emilia, Italy, preschools and adapted in U.S. schools. Considers the beauty of the classroom environment, use of materials and tools, use of observation of the child as the source of the curriculum, child-centered planning, teacher-child interaction to guide development of graphic…

Describes the design and renovation of a center using a Play Street theme for the Massachusetts North Shore Community Action Programs' Head Start program. Notes lessons learned from creating a child-friendly center: (1) appreciate the importance of space; (2) find affordable good design; (3) get help; (4) cultivate a vision; and (5) learn new ways…

Examines substance addiction and how early childhood educators can support growth in children and recovering mothers. Discusses theories regarding addiction development, recovery as a developmental process, and the impact of addiction on mothers and their children. Describes developing positive therapeutic relationships, setting limits, and…

Describes how early childhood teachers can provide a developmentally appropriate environment that fosters therapeutic play for children of substance-abusing parents. Describes the impact of substance abuse on the parent-child relationship, and discusses the importance of providing daily routines, consistency, firm boundaries, open expression of…

Describes creative stress management techniques for early childhood practitioners. Presents a model whereby the caregiver identifies the problem; conducts a personal scan to identify symptoms and reactions that form behavior patterns; chooses from options to alleviate stress reactions related to the body, emotions, actions/behavior, or the mind;…