Building on extensive feedback from the field as well as vigorous new research on how best to support infant and toddler development and learning, the authors have revised and updated the widely used "Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale." ITERS-3 is the next-generation assessment tool for use in center-based child care programs for…

In this accessible and honest look at homeschooling, the author explores the diverse faces of homeschooled students and the ways in which it can help children with special learning needs. She corrects misconceptions through profiles of diverse families and addresses the changing and complex needs of children today. This book addresses the major…

This booklet discusses several topics related to friendships among children. Particular attention is given to the importance of children's friendships, the origin and development of friendships, adult influence on children's friendships, and ways adults can assist children in becoming friends. Adult intervention to end a friendship and ways to…

The information in this booklet has been developed in response to the many questions and concerns of parents whose children are nearly old enough to enter kindergarten in Nebraska. Questions answered include: What is kindergarten? When may a child enter kindergarten? Are children required to begin school when they turn 5-years-old? What about…

Explores several approaches to infant/toddler education and offers suggestions for developing an effective program that reflects the best of what is known about how infants and toddlers grow and learn. (RH)

Proposes some solutions for meeting child health and nutrition needs through school-based initiatives. Suggests that the School Lunch Program of the 21st century faces a different set of needs and challenges compared with the program of the 20th century. Argues that with increasing rates of childhood obesity, it is important that educators help…

Notes the difference between "properly" stimulated and "expensively stimulated" or "over" stimulated when it comes to providing an environment for infant brain development. Highlights the effectiveness of just talking to a child. Suggests that more important than a particular toy is that parents be attuned to the kind…

Provides information and suggestions to help parents and teachers deal constructively with the issues concerning AIDS and reduce the likelihood of conveying anxiety about the disease to very young children. (RH)

Describes characteristics of the normalized child, the ultimate goal of Montessori education. First outlines children's basic needs, then describes traits of the normalized child, including love of order, work, silence and working alone; mutual aid and cooperation; profound spontaneous concentration; obedience; independence and initiative;…

Discusses the lack of agreement among experts on the best way to deal with infant and toddler sleep problems. Includes discussion of the "family bed" and the science of sleep, acknowledging that each child is different and families must find a solution that works best for them. (HTH)

Based on the experiences of a child advocacy project in Tennessee entitled County Agents for Children, the guide -- over half of which consists of appendixes -- presents a general strategies and specific tasks for the child advocate volunteer or professional in developing community awareness. Specific ways to locate, organize, produce, distribute,…

This document compiles several fact sheets, in multiple languages, for mothers and parent educators providing information and answering questions concerning breastfeeding infants. The fact sheets are published in English, French, and Spanish, and cover the following topics: (1) "Recommended Practices To Improve Infant Nutrition during the…

Since children experience many losses, adults need a guide through the maze of thoughts and feelings that loss evokes for themselves and their children. This guide is intended to help parents, educators, clergy, and health care professionals handle children's loss and grief issues in an informed, open, and loving way, and to reduce the fear and…

As defined by the U.S. Agency for International Development, food security is attained "when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life." In this guide, Food for Education (FFE) is defined as a program using food as a resource to improve…

Because children experience grief in a variety of contexts, adults need a guide through the maze of thoughts and feelings that loss evokes for themselves and their children. This guide seeks to empower parents, educators, clergy, and health care professionals to handle children's loss and grief issues in an informed, open, and loving way, reducing…