Resource Books

What can jellyfish, a bunch of grapes, or dandelions possibly teach us about designing early childhood classrooms? As it turns out, quite a lot! Inspired by Nature: Designing Play Places for the Littlest Learners explores how nature offers valuable and important lessons about transforming classroom spaces into places where infants and toddlers can thrive. Discover what mushrooms can teach us about cozy hideaways. Learn what sea turtles can show us about wayfinding. Find out what lightning bugs can… More »

This informative book by Rachel Wagner, MSW, in partnership with the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, is designed to support all adults who interact with young children. It explains FLIP IT's four simple steps for transforming challenging behavior in young children: F - Feelings, L - Limits, I - Inquiries, P - Prompts. Teachers and parents can help children learn about their feelings and gain self-control by using that mnemonic. This strategy was created for use with children 3-8 years old.… More »

The Loose Parts set of books serve as inspiration with hundreds of beautiful full color photographs illustrating ways children enjoy using everyday items in their play, encouraging their curiosity, giving free reign to their play, and encouraging creativity. Books are available individually.

Uncover simple strategies that will help you bounce back from life's ups and downs! The book contains a 23-item reflective checklist designed to help you gain valuable insights about your personal strengths. As you reflect on your strengths, the journal will help you establish goals and uncover strategies that will strengthen your relationships, increase initiative, support internal beliefs, and maintain self-control. In today's world, we all face risk. Spend time offsetting that risk by reflecting… More »

Every child deserves a supportive, inclusive environment where they can thrive. Nurturing Neurodiversity: Creative Strategies for Engaging Young Learners is a must-have guide for early childhood educators looking to create classrooms that embrace neurodiversity and benefit all learners. Drawing on years of experience in early childhood education, Sarah Taylor Vanover, EdD, shares innovative ideas for using art and music, movement and dance, outdoor activities, calming and mindfulness, and sensory-friendly… More »

This expanded second edition offers a rich collection of 35 design challenges for children ages 3 - 8, featuring both updated favorites and brand new activities. It also includes a curated list of 140 picture books that inspire STEM-focused exploration while reflecting the diverse experiences, interests, and identities of young learners.  Educators will find enhanced foundational content, including clearer connections among tinkering, making, and engineering; updated terminology aligned with… More »

Young children need a strong foundation in understanding water's role in our world, especially as climate change impacts ecosystems, weather, and daily life. Gadzikowski provides educators with hands-on, inquiry-based activities that align with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Next Generation Science Standards. This resource builds vocabulary, supports scientific exploration, and fosters children's curiosity about the importance of water in natural and human-made systems. With… More »

Do children in your classroom have a hard time starting or completing activities? Do they struggle to remember directions? Are they easily distracted? Do they have a hard time making and keeping friends? Alert and Attentive offers practical strategies to help young children develop the attention skills they need to thrive. Learn how self-regulation and executive function skills work together to support attention and focus. Discover ways to create a calm and supportive learning environment that fosters… More »

Family engagement is one of the most powerful predictors of student achievement, and parent-teacher conferences are a key opportunity to build those important connections. Partnering for Success: Strategies for Effective Parent-Teacher Conferences equips early childhood educators with practical, research-based techniques to foster trust, collaboration, and communication with families. This essential guide provides step-by-step strategies for planning, conducting, and reflecting on conferences that… More »

Tired of keeping up with behavior charts and doling out rewards and punishments that never seem to work? Ready to ditch the "good job" stickers and the dreaded time-out spot? Thinking Outside the Prize Box offers a fresh, research-based approach to supporting children and fostering positive classroom behavior. Discover how to transform your classroom into a place where children thrive and here you can teach with joy nd confidence. With Adam Holland's trademark humor, hilarious real-world… More »

Remote control for the Obie and Illumination Station. This item ships with a USB dongle and remote control.

Remote control for the Beam Mobile.

As an early childhood professional, you play a key role in the early identification of maltreatment and unhealthy patterns of development. You are also the gateway to healing. In Reaching and Teaching Children Exposed to Trauma, you will find the tools and strategies to connect with harmed children and start them on the path to healing.

Every day, 250 children are suspended from school. Many are children of color, deprived of opportunities to experience learning at the same rate and quality as white children. Many families don't feel heard or respected in their child's schools. Don't Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms leads early childhood professionals to explore and address issues of bias, equity, low expectations, and family engagement to ensure culturally responsive experiences. Importantly, this book will challenge… More »

The GIANT Encyclopedia of Lesson Plans has more than 250 complete lesson plans covering topics from colors and numbers to seasons and nursery rhymes. Each lesson plan is complete with learning objectives, a circle or group time activity, book suggestions, snack ideas, five learning center activities, assessment strategies, and related songs, poems, and fingerplays. With easy-to-use lesson plans for more than an entire school year, this book belongs on every teacher's bookshelf! 574 pages.

Develop the fine motor skills your child needs for school success! Fine motor skills are a stepping-stone for school readiness, and Everyday Play gives you the tools you need to make developing those skills easy and fun! Organized by age, the dozens of activities in Everyday Play are inexpensive, require few or no materials, and are easy to do with your child. They give you and your child great ways to have fun while laying the foundation for important skills that they need for school. Activities… More »

This resource guide should be used with the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale®-revised edition. It explains why each item is important, what is needed to meet the requirements for all items, and how to score. Over 800 color photographs taken in child care settings are presented in this text of 465 pages. We have also developed a classroom list to correlate with ITERS-R™ (sold separately).

With new activities and explorations, tips and information to help you understand how to support the littlest learners, and research nuggets to enhance your own professional knowledge, the Encyclopedia of Infant and Toddler Activities, revised, will be your go-to resource! Activities will help you support curiosity, play, exploration, persistence, emerging foundations in literacy and math, problem solving, and so much more! Paperback. 288 pages.

Over 450 rhymes, songs, stories, and fingerplays with Spanish and English on each page to help build vocabulary and language skills. Organized by theme. 384 pages.

Engage children with meaningful constructive play! This book provides educators of young children with guidance in how to create early childhood environments that support children's natural need to play. It includes strategies for creating and scaffolding the block play experience, recommends children's books that support the learning, and outlines ways to match behaviors, content, and concepts to learning standards. Lesson plans include: Thanksgiving -- sharing and giving; our families and ourselves;… More »

Filled with developmental games based on the latest brain research. Divided into 4 chapters, each representing a 3 month period. Each chapter has a chart that helps anticipate the development milestone for those months. Games and activities reinforce the skills babies need to reach those milestones. Paperback.

A positive, strengths-based leadership system is the key to transforming the quality of early childhood programs. Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership lays out strategies designed to support program leaders in finding new ways to reduce the levels of stress on themselves and their staff, and move into a unified, engaging system for leading with passion, intention, and purpose. Author Susan MacDonald's goal is to take leaders past their challenges with a vision of new possibilities so they can ensure… More »

An ideal way to start children on an exciting, creative adventure towards global understanding! The fun, easy-to-do art activities in Global Art use collage, painting, drawing, printing, construction, and sculpture to help children appreciate people and cultures from all over the world. Each activity is explained in step-by-step detail and accompanied by geographic and cultural background to help you make the most of the teaching possibilities. Paperback. 190 pages.

Child care supports every industry in our nation, but it has an unstable infrastructure. Child-care businesses are failing, early childhood professionals are not paid living wages, and expenses are rising. The primary funding source is families, but families cannot afford the true cost of child care. Does this mean that all early childhood programs must fold into the public school system? Will private child care soon be extinct? In Bridging Gaps: Implementing Public-Private Partnerships to Strengthen… More »