Making the Children's Year


Book Description

Making the Children's Year, with colour illustrations and new projects that bring it up to date, it will appeal to a new generation of people keen to engage children in creative play, the seasons and the joy of handcrafting.




Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8


Book Description

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.




The Children's Year


Book Description

Simple, well-illustrated instructions demonstrate how to make children's clothing, toys and gifts using natural materials. Organised by seasons, the craft activities include knitted Easter chicks, spring flower fairies, summer leaf prints, cosy slippers and pumpkin lanterns, Christmas calendars and indoor 'dens'. Small toys such as a tooth fairy purse can be made in an hour or two, while bigger projects can be enjoyed over a weekend or longer.




Rise Up and Write It


Book Description




Mind in the Making


Book Description

“Ellen Galinsky—already the go-to person on interaction between families and the workplace—draws on fresh research to explain what we ought to be teaching our children. This is must-reading for everyone who cares about America’s fate in the 21st century.” — Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent for The PBS NewsHour Families and Work Institute President Ellen Galinsky (Ask the Children, The Six Stages of Parenthood) presents a book of groundbreaking advice based on the latest research on child development.




Be Kind


Book Description

A thoughtful picture book illustrating the power of small acts of kindness, from the award-winning author of Sophie's Squash.




Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves


Book Description

Anti-bias education begins with you! Become a skilled anti-bias teacher with this practical guidance to confronting and eliminating barriers.




The Most Important Year


Book Description

An eye-opening look inside pre-K in America and what it will take to give all children the best start in school possible. At the heart of this groundbreaking book are two urgent questions: What do our young children need in the earliest years of school, and how do we ensure that they all get it? Cutting-edge research has proven that early childhood education is crucial for all children to gain the academic and emotional skills they need to succeed later in life. Children who attend quality pre-K programs have a host of positive outcomes including better language, literacy, problem-solving and math skills down the line, and they have a leg up on what appears to be the most essential skill to develop at age four: strong self-control. But even with this overwhelming evidence, early childhood education is at a crossroads in America. We know that children can and do benefit, but we also know that too many of our littlest learners don’t get that chance—millions of parents can’t find spots for their children, or their preschoolers end up in poor quality programs. With engrossing storytelling, journalist Suzanne Bouffard takes us inside some of the country’s best pre-K classrooms to reveal the sometimes surprising ingredients that make them work—and to understand why some programs are doing the opposite of what is best for children. It also chronicles the stories of families and teachers from many backgrounds as they struggle to give their children a good start in school. This book is a call to arms when we are at a crucial moment, and perhaps on the verge of a missed opportunity: We now have the means and the will to have universal pre-kindergarten, but we are also in grave danger of not getting it right.




Working with Children in the Early Years


Book Description

Working with Children in the Early Years is an accessible introduction to early years theories, policy and practice, offering practitioners in a diverse range of settings the opportunity to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills for working with young children. This fully updated second edition builds on new government agendas and interests in supporting quality provision for young children and their families. Bringing together current research and thinking in a broad range of areas, it covers: the diversity of practitioner roles and multi-agency working working with families listening to children observing and assessing developing professional roles health and well being curriculum and pedagogy the importance of play and learning in the early years All contributions are strongly practical and underpinned by relevant theory, and will support students and practitioners studying in the field of early years and early childhood studies as well as those aiming to achieve Early Years Professional Status. The book will also appeal to training providers, equipping them with a valuable and unique source to support a range of early years courses.




Multicultural Children in the Early Years


Book Description

How do multicultural children and their parents experience the very beginning of their school careers? How do teachers mediate the demands of the educational system, and how do the children adapt? What kind of access to the National Curriculum is offered to multicultural children? Originally published in 1999, the authors answer these questions by drawing on two years’ intensive research in three multi-ethnic institutions. They explore teachers’ values and beliefs and how they attempt to put them into practice. They describe how, at times, teachers were constrained to get things done because of pressures operating on them, but at other times, taught creatively in a way particularly relevant to the children’s concerns and cultures. The authors studied the children’s experiences on their transition into school, and argue that they were inducted into not only a general pupil role, but also one based on an anglicised model of pupil. Opportunities for learning which children found most meaningful came notably from free play, but these became gradually more limited as they engaged with the National Curriculum. These young children were forming complex identities as they sought to respond to the varying influences operating them. Their parents saw a cultural divide opening up between home and school. Many suggestions for practice and policy are made in the course of the book and are still relevant today.