Discusses the author's personal background as it affects her views on early childhood education. Describes her 12 beliefs in praise of developmentally appropriate practice. Beliefs include: (1) the theoretical foundation of developmentally appropriate practice is valid; (2) developmentally appropriate practice encourages academic rigor; and (3)…

This article describes developmentally appropriate activities that can be used in large physical education classes (40+) to teach students about physical fitness concepts. Students should learn the "hows" and "whys" of being physically fit, including health- and skill-related fitness knowledge and the Principles of Training. Some activities in…

Several major goals of early childhood professionals are to help children learn to work with others, care for others, verbalize feelings, support friends, show kindness and exhibit other character skills and traits. When these life skills are lacking, it affects the ways in which children interact with one another and form relationships with peers…

As Universal Pre-K efforts sweep the nation, so does the development of state standards that define the skills and the knowledge that young children should be developing. The goal of these standards is to ensure the school readiness of all students. While the goals mentioned in this article are taken from the New Jersey Department of Education's…

Provides a description of five levels of curriculum integration at the middle level, specifically: departmentalization, reinforcement, complementary or shared units, webbed, and integrated themes. Discusses curriculum integration in relation to preservice and inservice programs, common planning time, team composition, time issues, and…

Discusses early reading and writing learning as embedded in a larger system of oral communication, and considers the content and valuable dispositions of early literacy instruction. Describes essential early literacy teaching strategies, including rich teacher talk and storybook reading. Includes examples of interactive storybook reading and…

Challenges the thinking about planning activities for children around holidays in Head Start programs. Discusses the role of holidays as family events and the difficulties surrounding teaching preschoolers the meaning of holidays. Suggests ways to use holidays as an opportunity to truly expand children's knowledge using child development…

Considers theory, standards, guidelines, and rationale for technology in the preschool environment. Examines practices of 12 diverse preschool sites and derives 4 models that enable early learners to engage and experience technology within a developmentally appropriate learning environment. Focuses on technology-infused preschool models for…

Maintains that research fails to capture the diversity in teaching. Advocates caution in assuming one correct child rearing or educational practice. Discusses whether categories such as developmentally appropriate practice or developmental stages are facts of nature, interpretations, or perspectives on social processes; and whether developmentally…

Presents a model for using computers with 3- and 4-year-olds, and another for children 5 to 8. Covers developmentally appropriate computer activities, parent support, benefits to children, enlisting support from the school community, setting up a computer study group for school personnel, and teacher training through computer experience,…

In the primary grades, literacy teachers often face dual and competing challenges. On one hand, they are expected to provide developmentally appropriate practice in a contextually-sensitive manner. On the other hand, they are often charged with using packaged literacy curricula that contains components that are developmentally inappropriate for…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the critical attributes of mathematical software designed for children between the ages of four and seven. This study sought to offer guidelines that will assist software designers in the design of developmentally appropriate educational software. In addition, teachers and parents may benefit from this…

A teaching master at a community college in Central Ontario implemented a practicum designed to increase the rate of child-directed activities in early childhood education programs. The primary goal was to increase awareness of early childhood educators, parents, and board members regarding the benefits of child-directed activities at early…

This study examined kindergarten retention rates and their relationship to teacher beliefs and classroom practice. Data from a sub-sample of 22 teachers in a rural Georgia school district, who were classified as exhibiting either high or low levels of developmental appropriateness in their teaching, suggested that teachers whose practices were…

Recognizing the many outside pressures early childhood teachers face from parents, students, administrators, and policymakers, this article contends that early childhood teacher preparation must encourage and support leadership by promoting autonomy for teachers. The article asserts that teacher educators must consider developmentally appropriate…