One of the most important tasks in working with teachers is helping them develop their own abilities to create developmentally appropriate curriculum for young children. This paper reflects on, from two perspectives, the ongoing process of teachers developing an understanding of how children learn and how that process affects curriculum…

The camp community is plagued by various stereotypes, including that camps and their staff are excessively happy, of poor quality, focused on partying and debauchery, scary, or overly strict. These cliches are perpetuated by the mass media. Each stereotype is discussed, and strategies for countering them during staff training are presented. (TD)

Maintains that staff guidance in early childhood and child care programs can be optimized when it functions within the guidelines of developmentally appropriate practices in regards to staff age, stage appropriateness, and individual appropriateness. Differences in individual staff temperament and cognitive styles are considered. (BB)

Research has consistently shown that 3- and 4-year-olds who attend a high-quality preschool are more successful in kindergarten and beyond--both academically and socially. But the majority of preschool programs in the United States are not judged as good, with many rated far below that. Many of our most vulnerable children attend the lowest…