The pilot program, Morning at the Museum (MAM), was offered to children (ages 3-5) and their caregivers weekly for six weeks at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art (RHMAA). Both children and adults explored RHMAA through hands-on activities that encouraged play, movement, observation, music, and art-making. Each session explored a theme…

Debates on how best to educate young children have been raging over the last 100 years--more often fuelled by ideological preferences rather than empirical evidence. To some extent this is hardly surprising given the difficulty of examining pupil progress in a systematic and comparative way. However, the introduction of a new child-centred…

Today, in conjunction with the Alliance for Childhood, we are thrilled to release our new report "Reading Instruction in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lose." In the report we concluded that Common Core reading requirements for kindergarten are inappropriate and not well-grounded in research. Under Common Core, students are…

The Foundation Phase is a Welsh Government flagship policy of early years education (for 3-7 year-old children) in Wales. Marking a radical departure from the more formal, competency-based approach associated with the previous Key Stage 1 National Curriculum, it advocates a developmental, experiential, play-based approach to teaching and learning.…

It is difficult to get a good grasp of the topic of kindergarten entry assessment because there are such great differences in the purpose for the instruments, how they are constructed, and how the data is used. Even so, in many states and communities, there is cause for concern. Until the paradigm of education moves from a preoccupation with…

This study attempts to enhance the understanding of a music curriculum that represents holistic and meaningful learning for young children at a developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) classroom in Taiwan. The study participant implementing DAP was selected through purposive sampling by the Classroom Practice Inventory and pilot study. A…

In this updated version of their chapter from "Children's Play: The Roots of Reading" (published by ZERO TO THREE in 2004), the authors describe the recent attack on play, in both early childhood and elementary education. They provide a historical overview of the contentious relationship between play and cognitive development. The authors stress…

Kindergarten has changed radically in the last two decades in ways that few Americans are aware of. Children now spend far more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. The implications of these radical changes in early…

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

Examines the role of children's play as part of developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Suggests that schoolchildren's play is creative, and more complex than that of younger children. As work and play intertwine throughout the layers of the classroom, the combination helps them learn to manage time responsibly. (AA)

Argues that worksheets are limited teaching tools because they do not address preschoolers' developmental needs such as hands-on play. Presents characteristics of early learning that can be facilitated by play, which fosters children's social and language development, physical skills, and creative and critical thinking. Suggests that learning can…

This digest examines the value of outdoor experience for young children, reasons for its decline, ways to enhance school play spaces, and aspects of developmentally appropriate outdoor environments. Young children appear to benefit from being outdoors and especially need the broad experiential base provided by being outdoors. The richness and…

Introduces Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and explains how those practices are effective with five- through eight-year olds. Key elements discussed are: children learn by doing through active engagement, the idea of play with intent and purpose, and moving from the simple to the complex in planning for learning in active and engaging…

Explains how high quality early childhood programs address academics, including assessment, and are accountable to early childhood standards. Describes how the early childhood learning situation that looks very much like play is actually a carefully designed and organized learning environment that provides structure, stimulation, and support for…

Electronic Blocks are a new programming environment designed specifically for children between three and eight years of age. As such, the design of the Electronic Block environment is firmly based on principles of developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education. Electronic Blocks are the physical embodiment of computer…