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| Preface | |
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| The Power of the Environment and Its Impact on Children | |
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| Today's Children | |
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| The Goals of This Book | |
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| Questions to Be Examined in This Book | |
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| A Caring, Knowledgeable Teacher: A Critical Component | |
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| An Environment That Matches Young Children | |
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| Infants and Toddlers | |
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| Preschoolers' Development | |
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| Brain Development During the Early Years | |
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| Auditory Environment | |
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| Visual Environment | |
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| Integrated Environment | |
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| Emotional Environment | |
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| Independent Learners | |
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| Behaviors of Children | |
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| A Place to Begin: Adding Beauty to the Place | |
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| Contemporary Childcare Spaces | |
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| An Overview of Current Childcare Spaces | |
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| Another Way to Look at the Early Childhood Classroom | |
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| The Children in the Environment | |
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| Teachers and Staff in the Environment | |
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| Parents | |
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| Children, Parents, and Teachers | |
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| A Place to Begin: Teachers and Staff Display | |
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| The Teacher's New Role: Designer | |
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| An Introduction to Design Principles | |
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| Ground Rules for Well-Designed Spaces for Children | |
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| How to Begin Classroom Transformations | |
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| Goals | |
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| Collect Information | |
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| Furniture Notes | |
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| Sensory Notes | |
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| Discover Personal Preference | |
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| A Design Reference Collection | |
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| An Accessory Idea File | |
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| Topics for the Design Reference Collection and the | |
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| Accessory Idea File | |
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| A Place to Begin: Take a Designer's Look | |
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| Principles of Meaningful Environment | |
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| Meaningful Childcare Environments | |
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| Does It Matter? | |
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| Materials for Children | |
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| How to Recognize a Meaningful Environment | |
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| A Child's Sense of Space | |
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| Generating a Feeling of Home | |
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| A Plan of Action | |
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| Getting the Help of Parents | |
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| Differences in Play | |
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| Making Spaces Beautiful | |
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| Appealing to the Human Senses | |
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| Color | |
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| Light | |
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| Open and Transparent | |
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| Impact of Arrangement | |
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| Environmental Decoration | |
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| A Place to Pause | |
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| A Place to Rest | |
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| A Place for Communicating | |
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| A Place for Work and Play | |
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| Personal Things and Personal Places | |
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| A Case Study: The Reggio Emilia Approach | |
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| What Makes the Reggio Emilia Approach Unique? | |
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| A Place to Begin: The Art Studio | |
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| Aspects of Quality Environments for Children | |
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| Places and Spaces: The Materials Needed to Create Them | |
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| Quality vs. Quantity of Space | |
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| The Configuration and Evaluation of Space | |
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| Materials and Furnishings | |
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| Type and Quality | |
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| Safety | |
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| Cleanliness | |
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| Maintenance | |
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| Quality Standards | |
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| Inspecting the Environment | |
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| Aesthetics | |
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| A Place to Begin: Softening With Pillows | |
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| Assessing What You Have | |
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| Environmental Design Experiences | |
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| Examining Three Environments | |
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| The First Environment | |
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| The Second Environment | |
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| Another Environment | |
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| Travel Along a New Path--Personal, Environmental, and Team Inventories | |
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| Personal Inventory | |
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| Scanning the Environment | |
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| The Environment Scan | |
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| The Team Inventory | |
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| Ways to Review Existing Spaces | |
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| Learning to See | |
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| A Photographic Scan | |
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| Ways to Revisit Your Own Experiences | |
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| Visit Other Settings Designed for Children | |
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| Sketches of Materials and Environments | |
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| Awareness of Place | |
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| An Inventory of Environmental Tools | |
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| Professional Tools for Environmental Study | |
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| Informal Tools | |
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| A Place to Begin: Museum or Art Gallery | |
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| Making a Plan That Works for You | |
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| Designing Your Classroom Space | |
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| What Happens in This Place? | |
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| A Professional Look at the Classroom | |
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| A Drawing of the Classroom | |
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| Measuring the Room | |
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| The Classroom on Graph Paper | |
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| Drawing | |
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| Furniture and Movable Units | |
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| Taking Photographs of the Classroom | |
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| Evaluate the Current Environment | |
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| Placement of Activity Zones | |
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| Learning Centers | |
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| Bubble Drawings for the Activity Zones | |
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| Zone Placement | |
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| Traffic Pattern | |
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| How to Track Movement | |
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| Developing a Master Plan: Goals for the Environment | |
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| Priorities | |
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| Possible Helpers | |
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| A Place to Begin: Beautiful Fabrics | |
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| The Designer's Toolbox | |
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| How a Classroom Comes to Life | |
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| First Things First: Clutter Control | |
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| The Vision of Your Classroom | |
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| Where to Find Classroom Materials and Furnishings | |
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| In the Classroom | |
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| At Home | |
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| Other Sources and Resources | |
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| Innovative Ideas | |
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| Storage: A Constant Concern | |
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| Impact on the Program | |
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| Space and Activity Center Differences | |
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| Principles of Good Storage | |
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| Design File: Storage | |
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| Sufficient and Appropriate Storage | |
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| Safety | |
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| Types of Storage | |
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| Shelving Materials and Support | |
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| Attaching Shelves to Walls | |
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| Getting the Job Done | |
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| Posted Reminders | |
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| The Designer's Toolbox | |
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| Basic Tools | |
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| An Organizer Box | |
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| Additional Tools for the Collector | |
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| Purchasing Lumber | |
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| Lumber Sizes | |
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| Other Lumber Sources | |
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| Sanding | |
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| Gluing | |
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| Finding Help | |
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| Building Together | |
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| Seek Expert Help, But... | |
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| A Place to Begin: Simple Items to Construct | |
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| Piano Hinge Table | |
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| Art Carousel | |
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| Enriching the Environment | |
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| Visual Displays | |
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| Tools Needed for Creating Displays | |
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| Essential Tools | |
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| Photographs of Work: Documentation | |
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| Photographic Slides | |
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| Function of Displays | |
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| Two-Dimensional Children's Displays | |
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| Three-Dimensional Displays | |
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| Bookcases | |
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| Hanging Displays | |
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| Lighting | |
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| Working and Sitting Places | |
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| Carpet-Covered Risers | |
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| Lofts | |
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| Spool Tables | |
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| Mattress | |
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| Carpet and Rugs | |
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| Platform | |
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| Growing Plants in the Early Childhood Environment | |
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| Good Plant Possibilities | |
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| Plant Display | |
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| An Easy-to-Make Plant Rack | |
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| A Wonderful Indoor Window Box | |
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| Good Bulb Possibilities | |
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| Garden Plants That Come Inside | |
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| Avoid These Plants | |
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| A Place to Begin: Growing Plants | |
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| Extending Your Understanding | |
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| Classic Resources About Early Childhood Environments | |
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| References | |
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| Appendices | |
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| Inventory Form | |
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| Equipment Checklist | |
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| Environment Scan | |
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| Team Inventory | |
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| Space--Materials/Equipment--Activities Profile | |
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| Wall Fasteners, Support Systems, and Span Distances | |
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| Storage Ideas | |
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| Nails | |
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| Anthropometric Chart for a Child-Scaled Environment | |
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| Centers | |
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| Index | |