Written by a retired kindergarten teacher with 25 years of experience, this paper presents the text for a video demonstration of at-home sensory activities to stimulate development in children from birth to age 5. The introduction notes recent research indicating that learning begins at birth, and explores the effect of early stimulation on…

This Spanish-language handbook, which was written by a retired kindergarten teacher with over 25 years of experience, is intended to help parents and caregivers prepare their child for formal schooling. It describes 260 learning activities, each based on a different developmental concept, and most requiring materials usually found in the home. An…

Many early childhood educators are beginning to experiment with and use portfolio assessment. Teachers are also observing young children at play and documenting their play activities for assessment purposes. Close observation of sociodramatic play gives teachers accurate perspectives on young children across the developmental domains of…

This document is the second volume of a three-volume set comprising a workshop leader's guide designed to help in-service providers conduct workshops on early childhood education for teachers, administrators, and others associated with Chapter 1 programs. The guide contains step-by-step procedures for preparing, organizing, and presenting a…

This practicum was designed to increase the ability of staff to incorporate basic health and safety activities appropriate for preschool children into the curriculum of a program that works with children and families in both center- and home-based settings. The primary goals of the practicum were to increase the number of activities offered and to…

This conference focused on the central role of play and arts throughout the early childhood years, the unique learning styles of young children (ages 3-8), and children's developmental needs. Special emphasis was placed on curriculum, assessment, the essential role of the arts in learning, multicultural awareness, needs of special populations, and…

In recognition of the close relationship between motor skill and cognitive development in the first 2 years of life, this guide presents 78 developmentally appropriate activities that parents and teachers can use to enhance infant and toddler motor development. Activities are categorized by age group as follows: (1) 16 activities for newborn to…

A composition instructor became interested in the playfulness of electronic discourse and how it might reshape student composition. He noticed that playfulness sets many hypertexts off from their better-behaved print ancestors, suspecting that the playful elements of student hypertexts were more than mere "play," that they opened writers…

This book describes the emergence and early development of pretend play in its sociocultural context. It traces the development of pretend play in nine children growing up within educated, middle-class European-American families. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the social and cultural aspects of pretend play. Chapter 2 describes the children and…

This guide was designed to expand teachers' vision of symbolic play and to assist teachers in providing an appropriate play environment. The guide maintains that teachers of young children should consider symbolic play an essential element in the total learning environment. It presents ways for teachers to: (1) set up physical areas; (2) acquire…

This digest examines research on preschool programs that include children with and without disabilities. Recent research suggests that children with disabilities are able to take advantage of experiences that promote typical development. One study found that children with disabilities enrolled in integrated programs demonstrated higher levels of…

A program to identify culturally-diverse adolescents with the potential of becoming gifted adults is described, and instructions for conducting theater activities are presented. "Talent Search and Development Model Project" of the New Haven Connecticut School System involves middle schools serving primarily Black and Hispanic (bilingual)…

Nine papers comprise the proceedings of a 1988 North Carolina symposium on early childhood education. The first paper, "Preschool Assessment" (Nancy Johnson-Martin), focuses on norm-referenced psychological assessment to determine eligibility and programming needs. "Appropriate Use and Interpretation of Assessments of Young…

The present study describes the initial use of a measure for assessing children's imaginative predispositions and reports findings of significant relationships between oral reports of imaginativeness and selected individual and family variables. Subjects were 50 preschool children 4 to 5 years of age. Variables investigated were number of parents…

Social responsibility is a difficult but essential aspect of being a professional educator. The contributors to this volume hope that the social policy debate within the education profession will be encouraged. The book provides practical assistance for educators in developing curriculum and instruction programs that foster creativity and critical…