In an era of increasing division and conflict, education innovations that focus on building compassion and understanding hold a promise for true transformative power. Using a new tool called Empatico, these educators paired up with a partner classroom somewhere else in the world to begin their journey as "Kindness Champions" who made…

Mentoring, including peer mentoring, is a key element of teacher education programs and subsequent teaching practice. In order to share the benefits of mindfulness practices, a faculty member in a state university in the Midwestern United States promoted the practice of mindfulness by teacher candidates enrolled in her courses. As members of a…

Early childhood experiences have a great effect on the course of a child's life. Preschool education can offer benefits for children, particularly those who do not have advantages at home, including benefits related to academic skills, social-emotional development, and communication. Thus, preschool experiences are a potential key to improving…

This article presents picture books that are considered as a sample of children's literature selections on war, terrorism, and natural disasters for pre-K to 3rd-grade children which were chosen with both young children and their teachers and parents in mind. The authors recommend these books to be used as read-alouds, so that caring adults who…

Several years ago, the state of South Carolina turned to experts in early childhood education to address the school readiness issue for its K-2 schools. Rather than asking, "Is this child ready for school?," the state created a program assessment system that reframed the question of school readiness by asking, "Is this school ready…

The adversities that today's families face are well-documented and staggering. Even in the midst of tough times, however, many families are able to display resilience. Family resilience refers to the coping mechanisms the family uses as a functional unit to recover from life's setbacks. In this article, the authors present guidelines for creating…

Major obstacles threaten the future of Ethiopia. Global publicity regarding the drought of 1986 has left the world with images of starving and orphaned Ethiopian children. Such conditions do still exist in parts of this nation, in which 45 percent of the population falls below the national poverty line (The World Factbook, 2003). In a nation of…

Describes procedures found to be effective for eliciting children's creative dramatic play in the classroom. A second-grade classroom scenario provides an example of the way key components of play training techniques can be implemented by the teacher and indicates the decision-making processes to be addressed.

Addresses issues concerning (computer) keyboarding instruction in an attempt to determine if the teaching of such skills to kindergarten and primary grade students should be considered a "must" in the early childhood curriculum or if such practices might have some drawbacks. (BB)

Argues that structured reading programs, workbook pages, and drills do not alone provide an adequate basis for beginning reading instruction and suggests that experiences, knowledge, and other environmental factors ensure success in reading. (HOD)

Shares the experiences of a teacher educator who, upon teaching language arts every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for a year, observed numerous reading and writing language experiences. (HOD)

Describes how three schools applied "Writing to Read," a computerized writing and reading program, in kindergarten and first grade. (HOD)

Contrasts a child not ready for school with a child who is developmentally prepared to enter school and argues that if all school systems could administer and interpret the results of a developmental examination, the number of unhappy children, special needs children, and grade overplaced children would be greatly reduced. (HOD)

A teacher of children with multiple handicaps and the mother of a child in the class describe changes made as they worked together to create a more open and child-centered classroom. (RH)

Discusses four concepts considered vital to the development of children's ability to read and understand maps: representation, symbolization, perspective, and scale. Guidelines are offered for map construction activities aligned on a developmental continuum ranging from concrete to abstract and intended for children up to third grade. (RH)