Advocacy as a Community Effort When communities work together with programs, early educators, schools, and families, advocacy for young children becomes a shared, personalized endeavor. Through formal and informal interactions, particular areas of strength and need become apparent that provide communities with the information they need to set priorities and distribute resources. Teachers and caregivers […]
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Providing Access to Curriculum Resources First, parents should be able to see printed information about the curriculum and relevant books, articles, or other references they can read or review at any time. If a purchased curriculum is being used, samples of teacher resource books, printed assessment materials, and examples of print materials that children use
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Informational and Interactive Events and Programs More From the Field Administrators work hard to help parents feel involved and connected in their child’s education. Preschool director Lynda Way talks about how to determine in which decisions parents can be involved and which they should not. Critical Thinking Questions Do you agree with Lynda’s position? Why
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Stop and Reflect Since a blog represents an online forum for sharing ideas or experiences with others and may be interactive, it has many potential applications. Can you think of a way you might use a blog in your classroom or care setting? Do you think there might be potential privacy issues associated with blogging
Blog Entry In this blog entry from the first week of the study a few of the children went with one of the teachers on a test run of the bus system to get maps from the City Visitor Center. Many of the subsequent posts were dictated by children to the teacher. The blog also
The Power of Documentation Making the curriculum visible in the classroom and other appropriate areas of the school sends a powerful message to allchildren, families, and communitythat what young children learn and do is important. As mentioned in Chapter 2, visual documentation of learning is a concept associated with and highly developed in the Reggio
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Developmentally Appropriate Accountability Assessment and communicating information about assessments is a focus in Chapter 12, but here it is important to note that early childhood educators are mindful of the developmental issues associated with accountability and standards. The NAEYC position statements provide clearly articulated guidance about: The types of assessment that are appropriate for young
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What are children like and how do they learn? The Curriculum Landscape: Major Models and Approaches Moneky Business / Thinkstock Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Describe the key elements considered in curriculum development and major research efforts that have affected curriculum. Describe the key features of classic curricula developed
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Five Key Questions As we proceed in our exploration of early childhood curriculum, five key questions provide the organizing elements for the twelve chapters in this text. Together, they represent a coherent philosophy of education and a practical framework for reflection: What is the purpose of curriculum? (Chapters 1 and 2) What are children like
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Reinventing the Wheel You will work with many people and resources to shape the early childhood curriculum of the future. Intergenerational professional relationships can be very important and helpful, as this is one of the ways in which we pass along practical curriculum wisdom (Henderson & Kesson, 2004) acquired over many years of teaching. As
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