Self-regulation is a critical emergent developmental competency that lays the foundation for children's later psychosocial health and academic achievement. Recent work indicates that physical activity and energetic play opportunities support children's self-regulation in the early childhood classroom. Many early childhood programs offer…

Character strengths improve performance and well-being but are rarely studied among early childhood educators. This qualitative study describes how in-service early childhood educators (n = 17, United States) resolved workplace challenges following a character strength application intervention. During professional development, teachers learned to…

During the preschool years, children develop several inter-related skills including motor skills and communication skills. In this article, we highlight several communication teaching strategies and describe how practitioners can promote communication skills of preschoolers with disabilities by providing them with multiple opportunities to…

Young children's self-regulation and problem-solving skills are significant predictors of school success. While early childhood educators shape the development of these skills, providing effective and timely assistance can be challenging. Drawing on complementary theories of Vygotsky, Pekrun, and Lerner, this article chronicles the instructional…

Selective mutism is a relatively uncommon, yet significantly impairing anxiety disorder that causes difficulties in young children when communicating in social situations (such as school) even though they speak normally when they are comfortable (such as at home). Early childhood educators play a unique role in helping to identify selective…

Proficiency in fundamental motor skills (FMS) is important for both the health and the overall growth and development of young children. To identify factors that facilitate the development of FMS, the study provided preliminary data on the effect of videomodeling (VM) on the acquisition of FMS by typically developing young children. Participants…

Research demonstrates young children with autism and other developmental disabilities can benefit from participation in play activities with peers. Play provides opportunities to increase social skills across developmental domains in an integrated manner and provides opportunities to develop a sense of belonging and friendship; these goals…

During early childhood, practitioners and family members are often tasked with determining optimal approaches to support social skill development in young children with developmental disabilities in inclusive and self-contained settings. Eight different evidence based approaches are highlighted (social narratives, scripting, pivotal response…

The purpose of this paper is to describe effective methods of developing pretend play that is intrinsically motivating for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using the topic of circumscribed interests. Children with ASD often develop very specialized interests, known as Circumscribed Interests (CI). However, their limited and…

Writing is a critical emergent literacy skill that lays the foundation for children's later literacy skills and reading achievement. Recent work indicates that many early childhood programs offer children materials and tools for engaging in writing activities but teachers rarely are seen modeling writing for children or scaffolding children's…

This manuscript focuses on neuroscience research that may have applicability for early childhood educators. Beginning with cautions about the usefulness of neurosciences, we offer reviews of several ideas that can inform the practice of early childhood educators. We begin with the understanding that reading is not innate, meaning that every brain…

Discusses environmental education, noting that teachers' science backgrounds are not nearly as important as their showing interest in children's experiences and discoveries, respect for environment, and encouragement of close observation of the world. Suggests that to help children understand and appreciate nature, teachers can focus on having…