Recent findings from the Kids Activity and Learning Study complement North Carolina's multidimensional approach to promoting school readiness by emphasizing the integrated nature of motor and cognitive development in early childhood. Children whose motor skills improved the most over the course of an academic year also tended to demonstrate the…

Blocks are one of the most popular playthings for children. The purpose of this article is to describe the use of block play in developing parent-child relations. This paper has two major parts. First, a brief historical overview highlights the critical roles of child's block play in learning and development. Block play contributes to children's…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) review in this topic area focuses on interventions that have a primary focus on outcomes associated with the school readiness of children with disabilities, including outcomes in the areas of cognition, communication competencies, literacy, mathematics achievement, social-emotional development and behavior,…

Child Care Choices is an example of new early childhood research based on a relationship between policy makers and researchers. It is also an example of large-scale longitudinal team-based research into early childhood in Australia. The ongoing study addresses the professional problem for practitioners and policy makers of the increasing use of…

In 1990, the National Education Goals were established by the President and the 50 state governors. Great attention has been given to Goal 1, dubbed the "readiness" goal: By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn. The Goal 1 Resource Technical Planning Groups were asked to suggest ways in which Goal 1…

This document contains a 44-page child assessment checklist developed by the Circle Preschool First Chance Project, a government-funded model program for integrating handicapped children into regular classes. Six skill areas of child development are detailed: language, cognitive, gross motor, fine motor, socio-emotional and self-help. Included are…

This classroom screening device was developed by the Circle Preschool First Chance Project, a government-funded program to integrate handicapped children into regular classroom activities, for use in preschools, nursery schools, Head Start centers and other agencies working with young children. It is designed to give a gross measure of a child's…

Presents six articles on brain research and child development: "Brain Research, Infant Learning, and Child Care Curriculum" (J. R. Lally); "The Thinking Brain" (P. Schiller); "Early Experiences Shape Social Development" (B. Caldwell); "Facing the Challenge of Motor Development" (P. Weikart); Language…

Traces encounters between mother and child that occur around nursing and feeding, which result in a powerful attachment. Identifies approaching solid foods and subsequent weaning as the place where detachment begins. Discusses locomotion as another way incremental steps toward independence are reached: crawling, walking, and pulling up with hands…

The paper describes the Early Childhood Handicapped Program of Kenosha (WI). The program focuses on receptive and expressive language, fine and gross motor skills, self-help skills, cognitive skills, perceptual skills, and social/emotional skills development. For admission into the program, children must exhibit significant delays in two or more…

This guide details eduational standards as a way to improve the overall quality of early care and education programs within Kentucky and to ultimately result in positive outcomes for all young children. These standards address the essential knowledge and competencies that children are expected to achieve at various ages and may be used as a…

This article describes the revised Transdisciplinary Play Based Assessment, a dynamic assessment for children functioning developmentally between infancy and six years that involves the child in play situations, which provide opportunities to assess cognitive, social-emotional, communication and language, and sensorimotor development. Its…