This article describes the experiences of frequently-traveling parents Balick and Jepson, and their 2-year daughter Coco. As owners of two businesses (an event-planning business and a Montessori aterials company) the travel between 7 days and 3 months at a time--for trade shows, conferences, school visits, and working events. How does one manage…

How to help babies and young children right from birth to become competent in talking as well as emergent literacy is illustrated by research findings as well as with specific clinical stories. Both kinds of knowledge can serve to galvanize parents and teachers to increase awareness of infant and preschool language development and the crucial role…

Why is play important in the lives of children? What crucial aspects of learning are being neglected in the current near-elimination of recess time in public schools? "Playing for Keeps", co-authored by the well-known writer and educational leader Deborah Meier, and two colleagues with equally long experience in schools, explores these…

Reports on the 1987 Drexel University/Free Library of Philadelphia Conference on Children's Literature. The edited text of the keynote address by Alvin Schwartz, "Children, Humor and Folklore," and the acceptance speech by Deborah Kogan Ray, recipient of the 1987 Drexel Citation, are included. Observations on humor from workshop sessions are…

Interpreters who understand differing reasoning abilities of children can more effectively use humor with children, as in the case of getting a school group comfortable with a stranger (the interpreter) in a strange environment (the woods). Humor can also enhance learning and information retention and increase attention span. Development of humor…

Resiliency is not a fixed attribute. Rather it is a set of protective mechanisms that modify a person's response to risk situations. This article focuses on the child's resiliency development. The author identifies and describes four factors of resiliency development through heightened sensory awareness; high, positive expectations; a clear…

This article discusses the importance of humor and how it helps to understand children's thinking from birth to 6 years. The article presents three sections describing how a young child's sense of humor reveals much about the way he thinks. The first section is entitled "Giggles!" written by Carla Poole. Intended for babies from birth to 2, Poole…

Parenting a gifted child may not be what Mom and Dad expected when they read parenting books and first saw that innocent infant face. A gifted child is a joy and a challenge--rarely predictable, sometimes frustrating and annoying, but never boring. This article discusses the characteristics and vulnerabilities of the gifted. The author offers some…