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| Building a Secure Foundation for Learning | |
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| The Purpose of Curriculum | |
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| What Is the Purpose of Early Education? | |
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| What Should Curriculum for Young Children Include? | |
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| What Is Competence? | |
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| How Is Competence Acquired? | |
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| What Does Research on the Brain Reveal About the Value of Early Education? | |
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| Educational Philosophies | |
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| Philosophy of This Book | |
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| Putting It Into Practice | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: A Summary of Findings and Educational Implications Related to Recent Brain Research | |
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| Emergent Curriculum in Action: Toddlers' Investigation of Light and Shadow | |
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| Including Families in the Life of the School | |
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| Letting Families Know We Care About Them and Their Children | |
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| Accepting Help from Families to Enrich the Lives of Children at the Center | |
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| Offering Help to Families to Strengthen Family Life | |
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| Weaving All Three Strands Together | |
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| Helping Families in Nontraditional Settings | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: The Parent-Resource Strand in the Preprimary Schools of Reggio Emilia | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: The Parent-Resource Strand in the Parent-Child Workshops of Santa Barbara, California | |
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| Play: The Integrative Force in Learning | |
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| But What Is Play? | |
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| Practical Ways to Encourage Freely Chosen Pretend Play | |
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| Additional Benefits of Play | |
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| Helping Children with Disabilities Join in the Play | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: Surefire Pretend Play Activities | |
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| Planning for Total Learning | |
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| Designing the Supportive Environment | |
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| Some Yardstick Questions to Ask | |
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| Planning the Indoor Environment | |
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| Planning the Outdoor Environment | |
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| Maintaining the Total Environment in Good Order | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: Providing Comfortable Environments for the Emotional Self | |
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| Creating Supportive Curriculum Plans and Schedules | |
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| The Basic Ingredients: What Should Be Included in the Curriculum? | |
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| Planning What Will Happen: Devising the Curriculum Plan | |
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| Planning When It Will Happen: Devising the Daily Schedule | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: How a Potential Pathway Might Develop with 4-Year-Olds: Planning a Larger Pen for Funny Bunny | |
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| Getting to Know the Children by Keeping Track of What They're Learning | |
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| Is Keeping Systematic Track of the Children's Development Really Worth the Time and Effort It Requires? | |
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| Important Principles to Remember | |
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| Some Informal Ways to Keep Track of the Children's Development | |
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| Using More Formal Methods to Keep Track of the Children's Development | |
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| Putting the Collected Information to Good Use | |
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| Summary | |
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| Planning with Individual Children in Mind: Using Behavioral Objectives in the School | |
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| Pros and Cons of Using Behavioral Objectives | |
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| Definition of Formal Behavioral Objectives | |
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| Steps in Writing Behavioral Objectives | |
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| Creating Informal Objectives | |
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| Carrying the Objectives Through: Final Comments | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: Just What Is an IEP and Why Do Teachers Have to Care About It? | |
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| Helping Young Children Relish Life and Develop Healthy Bodies | |
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| Keeping Children Safe and Well Fed | |
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| Keeping Children Safe | |
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| Keeping Children Healthy | |
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| Feeding Children Well | |
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| Including Cooking in the Curriculum | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: MyPyramid for Kids | |
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| Developing Physical Competence | |
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| The Great Outdoors | |
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| Physical Activity Benefits All the Selves | |
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| Identifying Levels of Development | |
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| Equipment for Physical Development | |
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| Make a Plan for Comprehensive Physical Development | |
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| Recommendations for Presenting the Activities | |
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| Summary | |
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| Helping Children Understand and Value Life | |
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| Teaching Reverence for Life | |
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| Helping Children Learn to Cherish Their Bodies | |
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| Answering Questions About Reproduction | |
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| Answering Questions About Death | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: Helping Children Understand and Appreciate the Wonder of Animals | |
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| Emergent Curriculum in Action: How Does the Gosling Get in the Egg? | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: The Death of the Chief | |
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| Fostering Emotional Health in Young Children | |
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| Achieving Emotional Competence | |
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| Foster Basic Attitudes of Trust, Autonomy, Initiative, and Industry | |
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| Help the Child Learn to Separate from the Family | |
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| Help Children Learn to Control What They Do About Their Feelings | |
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| Help Children Use Play and Creative Materials to Resolve Emotional Problems | |
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| Help Children Learn to Face Reality | |
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| Help Children Cope with Crisis Situations | |
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| Help Children Build Empathy for Other People | |
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| Summary | |
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| Emergent Curriculum in Action: The World Trade Center Memorial Park for Children | |
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| Developing Social Competence and Healthy Self-Identities | |
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| Getting Along Together: Achieving Competence in Interpersonal Relations | |
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| Help Children Learn Impulse Control | |
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| Short-Term Methods for Controlling Undesirable Behaviors and Building Inner Controls in Children | |
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| Longer-Term Methods of Building Inner Controls: Using Prevention Rather than Cure | |
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| Teach Children Socially Acceptable Ways of Getting What They Want | |
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| Help Children Make Friends | |
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| Increase the Child's Ability to Function Successfully as Part of a Group | |
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| Encourage Children to Be Kind to Each Other, Help Each Other, and Help the Group | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: What's Wrong with Time Out? | |
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| Who Am I? Who Are You?: Coming to Terms with Multicultural, Gender, and Disability Issues | |
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| How Do Young Children See Themselves? | |
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| How Do Children Develop a Sense of Self? | |
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| Practical Ways to Enhance Children's Feelings of Self-Esteem | |
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| Strengthen Children's Positive Body Images | |
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| Cultivate Positive Feelings About Sexual Identities, Ethnic and Racial Heritages, and Children with Disabilities | |
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| Foster Positive Attitudes Toward Racial and Cultural Backgrounds | |
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| Foster Positive Attitudes Toward Gender Roles | |
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| Foster Acceptance and Understanding of Children Who Have Disabilities | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: You Mean You're Black All Over? A Student Teacher's Lab Experiences with "Isabella" | |
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| Encouraging Children to Be Creative | |
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| Freeing Children to Be Creative | |
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| What Is Creativity? | |
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| Some General Principles for Fostering Creativity | |
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| Some New Ideas About Creativity from Reggio Emilia | |
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| Using Pretend Play to Foster Creativity | |
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| Using Blocks to Express Creative Ideas | |
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| Using Self-Expressive Materials to Foster Creativity | |
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| Summary | |
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| Fostering the Use of Language | |
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| Developing Verbal Competence | |
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| How Do Children Learn to Talk? | |
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| Practical Ways to Encourage Children to Use Their Expressive Language Skills | |
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| Practical Ways to Encourage Children to Use Their Receptive Listening Skills | |
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| Black English and Bilingualism | |
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| The Child Who Is Not Fluent in Any Language | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: Language and the Brain | |
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| Taking the First Steps on the Road to Literacy | |
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| Three Important Principles About Literacy | |
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| What Kinds of Literacy-Related Behaviors Can Reasonably Be Expected from Young Children? | |
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| Practical Ways to Enhance Emergent Literacy Skills | |
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| Using Group Time to Develop Literacy Skills | |
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| Some Additional Suggestions for Enhancing Literacy with Primary School Children | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: Why Do Some Children Dislike Group Time So Much? | |
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| Emergent Curriculum in Action: Our Birds | |
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| Supporting Children's Cognitive Development | |
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| Helping Children Learn to Think for Themselves: Using the Emergent Approach | |
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| Three Approaches to Fostering Mental Abilities | |
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| Contributions of Lev Vygotsky | |
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| Using the Emergent Approach: An Example from Reggio Emilia | |
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| Using the Emergent Approach in U.S. Schools: Some Recommendations | |
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| Summary | |
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| Helping Children Develop Mental Abilities and Academic Competence: Using the Conventional Approach | |
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| Contributions of Jean Piaget | |
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| A Brief Comparison of Piaget's and Vygotsky's Points of View | |
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| Which Mental Abilities Are Particularly Important? | |
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| Fostering Mental Abilities to Develop Children's Literacy, Mathematical Understanding, and Scientific Inquiry Skills | |
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| Activities That Provide Practice for General Mental Abilities | |
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| Opportunities to Learn Mathematical Skills | |
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| Practical Ways to Include Mental Abilities in the Everyday Curriculum | |
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| Summary | |
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| Chapter Spotlight: An Example of How Mid-Level Mental Abilities Could Be Included in the Topic of Gardening for a Group of 4-Year-Olds | |
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| Chart of Normal Development: Infancy to 6 Years of Age | |
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| What Are Some Good Toys and Play Materials for Young Children? | |
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| Summary of Communicable Diseases | |
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| 10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism | |
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| Educational Organizations, Journals, and Newsletters Associated with Early Childhood Education | |
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| References | |
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| Acknowledgments for Chapter-Opening Quotes | |
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| Name Index | |
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| Subject Index | |