Resource Books

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 Early Education, author Sarah Taylor Vanover dispels the myths and explains the opportunities of a mixed-delivery system. Discover the benefits and challenges of child-care partnerships such as Early Head Start with private and family child-care settings and private child-care programs with state-funded preschools. Explore how to address credentialing, professional development, and implementing IDEA, and learn the differences between mixed delivery and universal pre-K. 160 pages.

Young children are naturally interested in their world. With Social Studies and Me!, you can support children's curiosity by using storybooks to engage them in social studies and literacy learning. Each storybook exploration includes: Social studies standards and learning objectives, ways to link the book to children's experiences, ways to foster standards-based discussion about the book, ideas for extending, observing, and assessing the learning, and ways to connect with families.

With the 100 activities included in this resource, teachers can easily incorporate learning about animals into any curriculum. Each activity features learning objectives, vocabulary, related children's books, materials, preparation (if necessary), directions, and an assessment component.

Creating an inclusive early learning program can be a challenge for site leaders who lack knowledge about special-education laws, struggle to create policies and accommodations that meet the needs of all children, and find it difficult to support staff and collaborate with families and the community. With its step-by-step approach, real-life examples, and expert perspectives, "Including All Children: Transitioning to an Inclusive Early Learning Program" provides everything site leaders need to make their programs truly inclusive. You'll learn how to draft a powerful vision and mission statement, navigate the legal landscape of special education, and create policies and accommodations that meet the needs of children with disabilities and their families.

Whether you are a teacher looking for ways to strengthen the math learning in your early childhood classroom, an educator in a community of practice who wants to learn more about teaching math in developmentally appropriate ways, or a teacher-educator who wants to offer students an easy-to-use reference and guide for helping young children develop their math competencies and skills, this text will help you make math learning a fun and worthwhile activity in your setting. Filled with photographs of children engaged in real experiences that demonstrate specific math concepts, chapters follow a developmental order: One-to-one correspondence; Forming sets; Object counting; Patterning; Measurement; Two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes; Parts and wholes; and Computation. Paperback. 288 pages.

New technologies and digital communications channels are changing the way parents and caregivers discover child-care centers and decide where to enroll. In response, center administrators have to rethink the traditional paths to enrollment. The Basics of Growing a Child-Care Business offers information to help you stand out from the competition. This book offers clear strategies for growth. Charm: Grab the customer's attention. Create a solid foundation for your marketing strategy. Advise: Establish yourself as an expert and set your sales goals. Delight: Design your customer experience, and create an ongoing sales pipeline. Tracks: Gather Data, measure your results, and adjust your approach.

This book invites teachers to enhance children's educational environment in a beautiful way by emphasizing aesthetic environmental qualities such as nature, color, furnishings, textures, displays, lighting, and focal points. Step-by-step instructions and lush photographs take educators through the process of transforming ordinary classrooms into creative, beautiful learning spaces.

Sure, you know that children learn best through hands-on explorations. How does that work in a real classroom? With jam-packed days and mounting expectations, you're pressed for time and pushed to follow standards-based curricula. It's no wonder you struggle to incorporate STEAM activites each day. Provoking Curiosity brings new and easy-to-execute STEAM learning experiences that encourage children to think, explore, and wonder. Each exploration builds on core ideas in the STEAM disciplines, develops higher-level thinking skills, and uses readily available materials in early childhood classrooms. Paperback. 88 pages.

100 easy-to-do activities give children a peek into the lives of their creepy-crawler friends. Each activity features learning objectives, vocabulary, related children's books, materials, preparation (if necessary), directions, and an assessment component.

Preschoolers have a sense of wonder about so many aspects of their world. They enjoy demonstrating their knowledge to others, and they are challenged to use their brains in fascinating new ways every day. Whether they are making clay figures, rolling cars down ramps, experimenting with writing, or exploring nature, they are expanding their mental horizons constantly. This book will help you understand typical milestones children tend to reach during the preschool years as they develop their ability to think, understand, and solve problems. As you examine classroom scenarios, you will gain insight into various ways young children express their developing cognitive skills and some challenges that tend to occur. Paperback. 136 pages.

Young children with special needs often face physical, emotional, or social barriers to deep engagement with the natural world. These challenges need not prevent them from enjoying the many benefits nature has to offer. Nature is a necessity. Research tells us that we are happier, healthier, more socially engaged, and more creative when it is part of our daily lives. These benefits apply to people of all ages and abilities. In this inspiring book, Dr. Ruth Wilson explores the great potential of connecting young children with special needs to the natural world. Drawing on her knowledge of research and her decades of work with children in nature, she weaves together advice, real-life examples, and testimonies from educators and families on the healing, nurturing power of nature in the lives of young children with diverse abilities. Paperback. 192 pages.

Whether your child has received a diagnosis or they are exhibiting behaviors that worry you, Empowering Your Child to Fly: A Family's Guide to Early Childhood Inclusion can help. Discover advice for navigating the early intervention and special education system from an educator who has experienced these systems as a child, as a parent, and as a professional. Understand screening, evaluation, and assessment. Discover helpful resources. Explore your role as an advocate for your child. Learn how to work with your team of specialists and educators. Discover strategies to identify your child's strengths and consider a future vision for your child. Explore ideas for creating learning spaces at home and embedding learning into everyday routines. Discover how to do all of this while staying healthy and strong, with a sense of balance in your life.

Do children in your class struggle with holding writing tools comfortably? Cutting with scissors accurately? Completing self-care tasks such as dressing and using eating utensils? This practical guide, written by a pediatric occupational therapist, equips you with the tools to empower children's fine motor development! Inside, you'll discover age-specific milestones, ready-to-use activities, differentiation strategies, classroom adaptations, and collaboration tips. Perfect for early childhood educators and special-education teachers, Fine Motor Foundations includes valuable resources for toy recommendations, skill-based activity lists, and downloadable materials to empower children, build their confidence, and develop their skills.

As an early childhood educator, you want every child to thrive, regardless of their abilities or learning style. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a framework for designing learning experiences that are inclusive and accessible to all children. In this guide, you'll learn how to apply UDL principles to your early childhood environment to create a welcoming, engaging, and effective learning environment for every child. From designing flexible learning spaces to using technology to support diverse learners, you'll discover practical strategies and tips for implementing UDL in your classroom. With real-world examples, this book shows you how to: create a classroom culture where children feel safe and comfortable, design and adapt materials for different learning styles and needs, collaborate with families and colleagues to support children's learning, use technology to enhance learning for all children, and incorporate UDL principles into your daily routines and activities.

What can you add to your early childhood classroom that will immerse children in rich learning, reduce challenging behaviors, and develop confidence as well as critical thinking and problem-solving skills? A makerspace! Filled with colorful photographs taken in real early childhood settings, this book will guide you step-by-step in making a makerspace that invites young children to boldly explore materials and create something only they can imagine. Discover how to: draft a plan and gather materials, set up your makerspace, garner administrator and parent buy-in, focus on goals and support specific skill development, and facilitate children's learning to deepen understanding. Paperback. 152 pages.

Based on census and population data, it is likely that one or more gender-expansive or LGBTQIA+ child is enrolled in every early education program in the country. Guidance for Supporting Gender Diversity in Early Childhood Education is a starting point--a primer--for early educators who are interested in learning more about working with and supporting young gender-diverse children and their families. With a focus on understanding children's gender development, this groundbreaking guide reflects the voices of those you are learning about and connects readers with useful resources to improve teaching and programs. Paperback.172 pages.

In today's world, it's crucial that we equip children with the tools they need to stay safe. Yet, many adults don't know where to begin. Written for educators and parents by a prevention education expert, Body Safety for Young Children is the comprehensive guide you need to navigate this complex and sensitive issue. Author Kimberly King takes the fear out of sexual-abuse prevention and makes it child-friendly and approachable, so you can confidently communicate with children and protect them from harm. Packed with extraordinary stories, prevention skills, talking points, and what-if scenarios, this compassionate resource book is the ultimate toolkit for educators and families looking to prevent child sexual abuse. The practical guide covers everything you need to know to keep children safe and informed. The tips, themes, shareable resources, and book suggestions in this guide will help you build a strong foundation of body-safety skills and provide simple safety strategies that work.

Do some children in your classroom have difficulty remembering the rules, gathering their materials independently, or completing activities? Do some find it hard to follow and remember instructions? These Children may be struggling with executive function. With stronger executive-function skills, children are better able to: Follow and remember a sequence of directions, Work on projects from start to finish, Develop problem-solving and organizational skills, and Self-monitor and regulate their emotions and behaviors. Organized and Engaged: Simple and Effective Strategies to Support Executive Function explains what executive function is, why it matters, and how it differs from self-regulation. Discover strategies, activities, and play-based ideas to support children's classroom success.

Children are expected to read, write, count, and sit still at younger and younger ages. As these unrealistic expectations mount, family members and teachers alike continue to believe that these activities will prepare young children for school. But there is a better way one that helps children build school readiness through developmentally appropriate activities. Best of all? The children can have fun! Building on Emergent Curriculum guides preschool teachers to tap into young children's natural inclination for play to build their skills, promote their development, and, ultimately, prepare them for elementary school. Paperback. 168 pages.

Dig In: Outdoor STEM Learning with Young Children provides strategies, ideas, real-life examples, and information to help you get children outside and learning, all while meeting required early learning standards and objectives. Explore the Learning Life Cycle and discover fresh ideas for engaging children in deeper explorations and experiences outdoors that will stick with them into kindergarten and beyond. Have more aha moments, seize learning opportunities, invite questions, and investigate answers while supporting rich STEM learning. Paperback. 140 pages.

Connecting with dual language learners (DLLs) is a growing reality among early childhood educators, who need to learn practical, proven strategies to reach these students. Grounded in research and strengthened by the author's personal experience as a student learning English, Connecting Right from the Start helps teachers understand the culturally and linguistically diverse children in their classroom, as well as those with disabilities. Some of the skills teachers will learn: ways to make DLLs feel more comfortable in the classroom, the stages of second-language acquisition, ways to challenge DLLs without overwhelming them, and ways to involve families in school activities.

Preschoolers tend to be social beings. Whether they are playing with dolls side by side, building block castles together, or rolling down hills with friends, most young children enjoy the company of others. Playing together comes naturally, but you can help them negotiate turn taking, learning how to mend hurt feelings, and practice communicating positively while they play. This book highlights the milestones children tend to reach during the preschool years as they develop socially. As a guide and facilitator, you can share strategies that will help preschoolers learn to be cooperative team members and kind friends while having fun together. Paperback. 96 pages.

You may know classroom environments are a complex interaction of physical elements, including sensory components, design and organization, aesthetics, nurturing attributes, and pedagogical resources. Did you know these elements are proven to work together to improve early learning, self-efficacy and higher order thinking skills, and ultimately to achieve better child outcomes? "Room to Learn" presents the Assessing the Pillars of the Physical Environment for Academic Learning (APPEAL) environmental rating scale, a valid and reliable tool developed by Pamela Evanshen, EdD and Janet Faulk, EdD, to show you how to get the most out of your classroom environment. Paperback. 232 pages.