Vygotsky’s Theory in Early Childhood Education and Research


Book Description

Drawing upon in-depth analyses of Lev Vygotsky’s theories of early childhood and investigating the ways in which his ideas are reflected in contemporary educational settings, this book brings into sharp relief the numerous opportunities for preschool learning and development afforded by Vygotskian approaches. Discussion of recent developments in the understanding and implementation of Vygotsky’s ideas in Western and Russian contexts facilitates comparison, and provides readers with fresh impetus to integrate elements into their own practice. Chapters are clearly structured and address the multitude of aspects touched upon by Vygotsky, including cognitive development, communication and interaction, play, literacy and the quality of preschool settings. Providing a comprehensive exploration of current stances on Vygotsky's ideas in diverse cultural-historical contexts, Vygotsky's Theory in Early Childhood Education and Research will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, educators and politicians involved in early years education.




The Invasion of the Imaginary Friends


Book Description

With Agent Dark and the Tancredi Group lying low, the Castle sisters are at a loss for clues to their nefarious plans and are facing an even greater threat: boredom. Fortunately, Gianna Madsen has a problem that only the Castle sisters can solve: Her imaginary friend is trying to kill her! And, even worse, he might not be the only imaginary friend with sinister intentions. It’s up to Faith and Summer to uncover the mystery and save the day before their world is invaded by people that are only supposed to exist in our imaginations!




The Snowman Maker


Book Description

Over the years, Ben and Ellie never had a problem communicating. So when Ben seems distant, Ellie's confused. Her instinct tells her it has something to do with the contents of an old cardboard box his father insisted Ben take before he passed away. With the children grown, Ben's evasiveness adds to Ellie wishing the holidays were over. But it's Christmas -- the season of hope and love rekindled -- especially when going back to a wondrous place on a winter's night in the old sleigh decorated in pine boughs and silver bells -- the very sleigh that carried a little boy and that cardboard box on a Christmas Eve journey so long ago. About the Author Barbara Briggs Ward is a writer who lives in Ogdensburg, New York. She is the author of the award-winning Christmas story, The Reindeer Keeper, represented by Bergman Entertainment, Los Angeles, for option of film rights and chosen by Yahoo's Christmas Book Club Group as their December, 2012 Book of the Month. Her short stories and articles have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book, Christmas Magic, the Chicken Soup for the Soul book, Family Caregivers, Ladies' Home Journal, The Crafts Report, Highlights for Children, and is a regular contributor to boomer-living.com. Her projects include creator of the Snarly Sally book series. She has been a featured author on Mountain Lake PBS in Plattsburgh, New York and at Target book festivals in Boston and New York City. Barbara invites you to visit www.barbarabriggsward.com. Suzanne Langelier-Lebeda is an award-winning graphic designer/illustrator. She earned national awards for art and publication design as a coordinator of publications at the State University of Potsdam. Her projects have included illustrations for the National Park Service Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitors Center, Georgia; Renee Fleming Benefit Concert Materials, New York City; Adirondack Life and Country Living Gardener magazines; St. Lawrence University; Clarkson University; and graphic design for the permanent exhibit on History and Traditions at SUNY Potsdam. She is a member of the Adirondack Artists' Guild in Saranac Lake, New York. In her fine artwork she primarily concentrates on contemplative nature studies that explore intimations in nature by integrating watercolor, drawing, writing, and digital photography. Suzanne invites you to visit www.suzannelebeda.com.




Summer's End


Book Description

One terrifying summer can stay with you forever. It’s the summer before high school and Jacob and his friends are determined to make it a memorable one. This may be the last couple of months they have together; once school starts, they’ll be going their separate ways. Ichiro’s family is moving to Japan. And while Jacob and the twins, Hayden and Hannah, are staying behind in Valeton, they’ll be going to different high schools. When they discover an old abandoned home on a remote island of their Muskoka community, things suddenly take an unexpected turn. The kids find themselves inexplicably drawn to the house that had once been a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis and learn that it has some haunting secrets to hide.




Summer's Hope


Book Description

About the Book In Summer's Hope, Summer is a little girl who has challenges in her life and has made a special bond with a horse. They grow up together and learn that obstacles can be overcome with patience, determination, and lots of support and love from family and friends. Their bond is so special like they were meant to find each other and be able to complete in anything they set out to accomplish. About the Author Maryann Martinez has been working as a registered nurse for the past thirty years. She loves her job, taking care of patients of all ages. She has four children and eight grandchildren, who are all very special in her life and give her inspiration. Like Summer, Maryann also has her own horse, Thor, whom she raised from the day he was born. He is her passion and she loves going for long rides after work to clear her mind and decompress. Maryann’s grandchildren also love riding him, and it is wonderful they get that experience, something they will always remember.




A Collection of (Mostly) Rather Eccentric Commentaries and The Night the Tet Offensive Began


Book Description

This book is a collection of some of the commentaries he wrote in his editorial-page column over the years. Most of his commentaries were about local matters, of specific interest to the community in which the newspaper was located, but all of these are of a more universal scope.




New Old-fashioned Ways


Book Description

Jack Santino's analysis encompasses everything from movies to romance novels, from television shows to comic books. One especially fascinating feature of this study is its examination of the packaged-foods industry and the manner in which soft drinks, beer, snack cakes, cookies, candy, and breakfast cereals are regularly repackaged to reflect particular holidays. In what becomes a central theme of the book, Santino shows how holidays give companies the opportunity to create an illusion of novelty for products that otherwise remain unchanged over time. For example, the holiday Chips Ahoy cookies or Halloween Oreos differ only in their appearance from the everyday products, but they assume a quality of uniqueness through their association with a special time of the year. Throughout the book, Santino examines the logic by which commercial culture and holidays are linked. Halloween, for instance, with its traditional symbolism of death, evil, and monsters, has served as a theme for heavy metal music and slasher films. This, in turn, has led to some interesting transmutations as one text borrows from another in the wake of a commercial success. When John Carpenter's pioneering 1978 slasher film Halloween became a box-office hit, it was perhaps inevitable that other holiday-based slasher films - New Year's Evil, April Fool's Day, and Silent Night, Deadly Night - would follow. Copiously illustrated, New Old-Fashioned Ways is at once entertaining and informative - a treat for general readers as well as an important work for scholars in a variety of fields, including communications, folklore, anthropology, sociology, and business.




New York Magazine


Book Description

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.




Beheadings over the Years and Other Commentaries


Book Description

This book is a collection of some of the commentaries he wrote in his editorial-page column over the years. Most of his commentaries were about local matters, of specific interest to the community in which the newspaper was located, but all of these are of a more universal scope.




A Thousand Summers


Book Description

Is it possible to reunite with people and places that we loved in previous lives? As a child, Massey Roberts spends her summers in Seaside, Oregon where she and Mama rent a small cottage each year. Here, the salty warm air gives them an appetite, browns their skin to a healthy glow, and all but carries the fearful echoes of winters out to sea. For three months each year, mother and daughter live a fantasy life free and safe from Massey's abusive father. Forty-three years later, Caroline Lang, wife of big attorney David Lang, lives in Chicago, Illinois. Struggling with her unfaithful husband and demanding, bitter father, she begins to have dreams of a small enchanting beach town on the Oregon Coast. Encouraged by her best friend, Caroline packs up her two daughters and sets out on an adventure in search of her paradise.