Best Practice In The Early Years

A must-have guide for everyone working in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Bestselling author Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg is known for his original and creative ideas and witty and accessible writing style. This book does not disappoint! It is filled with brilliant ideas and practical approaches to use as an Early Years practitioner, including advice for planning sessions, setting up an engaging environment matched to children's interests and encouraging and developing outdoor learning. With a focus on child-led learning, wellbeing and creating the best environment for all young learners, Best Practice in the Early Years is the perfect tool to evaluate, refine and improve provision in your setting. Packed with detailed explanations, thought-provoking questions and inspiring new approaches, this book is a must for all Early Years practitioners eager to ensure their practice is the best it can be for every child in their care.

The long-awaited new edition of NAEYC's book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs is here, fully revised and updated! Since the first edition in 1987, it has been an essential resource for the early childhood education field. Early childhood educators have a professional responsibility to plan and implement intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that promote the social and emotional development, physical development and health, cognitive development, and general learning competencies of each child served. But what is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)? DAP is a framework designed to promote young children's optimal learning and development through a strengths-based approach to joyful, engaged learning. As educators make decisions to support each child's learning and development, they consider what they know about (1) commonality in children's development and learning, (2) each child as an individual (within the context of their family and community), and (3) everything discernible about the social and cultural contexts for each child, each educator, and the program as a whole. This latest edition of the book is fully revised to underscore the critical role social and cultural contexts play in child development and learning, including new research about implicit bias and teachers' own context and consideration of advances in neuroscience. Educators implement developmentally appropriate practice by recognizing the many assets all young children bring to the early learning program as individuals and as members of families and communities. They also develop an awareness of their own context. Building on each child's strengths, educators design and implement learning settings to help each child achieve their full potential across all domains of development and across all content areas.

Bringing together prominent scholars, this book shows how 21st-century research and theory can inform everyday instructional practices in early childhood classrooms (PreK-3). Coverage includes foundational topics such as alphabet learning, phonological awareness, oral language development, and learning to write, as well as cutting-edge topics such as digital literacy, informational texts, and response to intervention. Every chapter features guiding questions; an overview of ideas and findings on the topic at hand; specific suggestions for improving instruction, assessment, and/or the classroom environment; and an engrossing example of the practices in action.

Popular author Ann Lewin-Benham draws on her experience with the Reggio Approach to present 12 "best practices" inspired not only by Reggio, but also by play-based and Montessori approaches to early childhood education. These practices are demonstrated, one per chapter, with scenarios from classrooms, dialogues of children and teachers, and work samples showing the outcome of using each practice. This resource includes a self-assessment tool to assist you in examining your practices and those of your school.

Currently in the United States, 20% of children ages 6 years or younger live in poverty. Poor children have fewer opportunities than their peers to resources that are important for child development. At the same time, the prevalence of developmental disabilities has increased to 1 in every 6 children. Early identification of developmental delays is critical, and more than half of all American parents do not know the warning signs. Occupational therapy professionals in early intervention and preschool practice can provide the necessary services to support children's health in early childhood. This Practice Guideline explains the occupational therapy process for young children--and their families, caregivers, and teachers--which includes evaluation, intervention, and outcomes planning to enhance a child's occupational performance, adaptation, health and wellness, community participation, role competence, and self-advocacy. Topics include social-emotional development; feeding, eating, and swallowing; cognitive and motor development; service delivery; autism; obesity, cerebral palsy; and parent training. This work can help occupational therapy practitioners, as well as those who manage, reimburse, or set policy regarding occupational therapy services, understand the contribution of occupational therapy in evaluating and serving young children. This guideline can also serve as a resource for parents, school administrators, educators, and other early childhood staff.

A must-have guide for everyone working in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Bestselling author Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg is known for his original and creative ideas and witty and accessible writing style. This book does not disappoint! It is filled with brilliant ideas and practical approaches to use as an Early Years practitioner, including advice for planning sessions, setting up an engaging environment matched to children's interests and encouraging and developing outdoor learning. With a focus on child-led learning, wellbeing and creating the best environment for all young learners, Best Practice in the Early Years is the perfect tool to evaluate, refine and improve provision in your setting. Packed with detailed explanations, thought-provoking questions and inspiring new approaches, this book is a must for all Early Years practitioners eager to ensure their practice is the best it can be for every child in their care.

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.

Note: This is the bound book only and does not include access to the Enhanced Pearson eText. To order the Enhanced Pearson eText packaged with a bound book, use ISBN 0133830977. Helps students create the best programs for young children ages three through eight. The authors’ goal in writing Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum: Best Practices in Early Childhood Education was to bring together the best information currently available for developing an integrated approach to curriculum and instruction in the early years. The Sixth Edition addresses all aspects of classroom life, including the roles of children and adults, the physical and social environments, and teaching and learning within multiple domains for children age three to eight. It provides a comprehensive, cohesive approach to curriculum development, which results in greater continuity for children and practitioners in group settings in childcare, preschool, and the early elementary grades. Concentrating as much on the “how” of curriculum development as on the “what and why,” the authors provide practical, research-based guidelines for translating theory into best practice that accommodates age-appropriateness, individual differences, and social and cultural diversity. Students learn how to conceptualize, plan, implement, and evaluate curriculum through detailed application opportunities in each chapter. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded video, licensure examination preparation exercises, and assessments Improve mastery and retention with the Enhanced Pearson eText* The Enhanced Pearson eText provides a rich, interactive learning environment designed to improve student mastery of content. The Enhanced Pearson eText is: Engaging. The new interactive, multimedia learning features were developed by the authors and other subject-matter experts to deepen and enrich the learning experience. Convenient. Enjoy instant online access from your computer or download the Pearson eText App to read on or offline on your iPad® and Android® tablet.* Affordable. The Enhanced Pearson eText may be purchased stand-alone or with a loose-leaf version of the text for 40-65% less than a print bound book. *The Enhanced eText features are only available in the Pearson eText format. They are not available in third-party eTexts or downloads. *The Pearson eText App is available on Google Play and in the App Store. It requires Android OS 3.1-4, a 7” or 10” tablet, or iPad iOS 5.0 or later.

This is a practical, accessible guide to early years practice. The author examines current theories about how children learn best and focuses on how we can support and extend the learning of young children. This fully revised edition discusses Birth to Three Matters, the new Childcare Bill and the development of children's centres, and has additional focus on the Foundation Stage Profile Packed full with case studies, the book offers: practical advice on how to successfully involve parents as equal partners in the education of their children guidance to ensure that the activities and support offered to young children will promote learning across a broad and balanced Early Years curriculum a focus on special needs, multiculturalism and multilingualism, play and culture, and the importance of interactions with adults and with peers. Essential reading for students on Early Years courses, this book is also invaluable for practitioners, who can use this text as the starting point for developing their own methods within the frameworks of statutory documents relating to Early Years education.

Available in packs of 5, these are the 40-page forms needed to conduct the complete ICP(TM) assessment. How well is your early childhood program implementing quality inclusive practices? Now therea (TM)s a comprehensive, field-tested observational tool that uncovers the answers. A one-of-a-kind tool for classrooms serving children ages 2-5, the Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) assesses 12 key practices with the strongest research base for supporting the education and development of young children in inclusive programs: Adaptations of Space, Materials, and Equipment Adult Involvement in Peer Interactions Adults' Guidance of Childrena (TM)s Free-Choice Activities and Play Conflict Resolution Membership Relationships between Adults and Children Support for Communication Adaptation of Group Activities Transitions between Activities Feedback Family-Professional Partnerships Monitoring Children's Learning Benefits The in-depth ICP evaluation process gives you the rich information and insights you need to: assess your programa (TM)s current inclusive practices establish a baseline for measuring future progress apply recommended inclusive practices for young children guide quality improvement efforts by linking assessment data with instructional decision-making tailor professional development to teachers' specific needs The ICP is an observation rating scale designed to assess the quality of daily classroom practices that support the developmental needs of children with disabilities in early childhood settings. Comprehensive assessment with ICP takes about 31/2 hours, plus 20 minutes to score. The ICP Manual gives guidance on how to understand, implement, and score the ICP. Learn more about ICP here. See how this product helps strengthen Head Start program quality and school readiness. View our recorded webinar: Introduction to the Inclusive Classroom Profile presented by Elena Soukakou, Ph.D.