The content of January’s “Curriculum, Assessment, and Teaching: Putting It All Together” cluster was culled from presentations at NAEYC’s 20^th National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. It includes a look at how creative and collaborative projects can address early learning standards, successful adult learning communities, and a report on how children’s fully developed play can enhance social development. Also included are ideas for incorporating arts into the STEM curriculum using Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood as a template, and a comprehensive approach to connecting young children with nature.

To subscribe, visit the Young Children website.

From the beginning of life, young children’s learning and activities depend on their cognitive capabilities and development. To cope with the environment they live in, children need to learn about their physical and social worlds; acquire language; regulate their bodies, emotions, and thoughts; and gain competence in literacy, mathematics, science, and other knowledge domains. This collection of readings from books and Young Children articles outlines important dimensions of their early cognitive development and describes approaches for promoting it. Recent Comprehensive Member Benefit. 

To view the table of contents and introduction, click on Preview Content.

Teaching Young Children is NAEYC's magazine for anyone who works with preschoolers. Colorful, informative, and easy-to-read, TYC is packed full of teaching ideas, strategies, and tips. The December 2011/January 2012 issue features articles on bringing nature into the classroom, starting an online blog, and shadow exploration with preschoolers.

To subscribe, please visit the TYC website or call 800-424-2460. 

New research in the early childhood education field continually highlights practices that more effectively support children’s learning. In this “Early Childhood Trends and Initiatives,” cluster, articles focus on current research, policy, and practice, and the relationships and connections between these three segments of the profession. Topics include the collection and application of classroom and school data, use of technology to enhance learning, intentional teaching practices, tailoring programs to fit a particular cultural group, the status of state funded pre-K programs, and an analysis of teaching practices for preschoolers.

To subscribe, visit the Young Children website.

From the editors of Early Childhood Research & Practice comes "Projects to Go,” a two-disc CD-ROM and DVD set. Disc 1 (CD-ROM) consists of a collection of articles about the Project Approach and 20 reports of projects conducted by teachers with preschool children. Disc 2 (DVD) shows the Project Approach in action with a video called Rearview Mirror: Reflections on a Preschool Car Project.

Intended for teacher educators, classroom teachers, early childhood students, directors, trainers, and professional development specialists, this two-disc set is a unique preservice and professional development resource for early childhood educators interested in project work. From the Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting. 

A teacher interacts with the children all day long. It’s how the warm and responsive relationships in which young children learn best are built. But interactions in which teachers intentionally promote learning can be few and far between. A “Powerful Interaction” may last only a few minutes, but in that time the teacher tunes out any distractions, tunes into the child, and then presents a learning experience tailored to that child at that moment. Written by the authors of The Power of Observation, this book will guide you through these three steps of a Powerful Interaction (Be Present, Connect, Extend Learning) in a series of self-guided lessons enlivened with tips, hints, invitations to reflect, and vignettes. Summer 2011 Comprehensive Member benefit. 

To view the table of contents and an excerpt, click on Preview Content.

Written for those entering the field or striving to grow within the profession, Stephanie Feeney helps readers understand the nature of the profession, what it means to behave in a professional way, and where they stand in their own professional journey. She devotes chapters to moral and technical competence and explains what the terms profession and professional mean. Complete with self-assessments and first-hand accounts, this book guides readers in understanding what it means to be an educator who embodies the highest standards of professionalism in their work with children, families and colleagues. From Pearson. 

In her new book, Ann Lewin-Benham presents 12 “best practices” inspired not only by Reggio, but also by play-based and Montessori approaches to early childhood education. Practices are demonstrated with classroom scenarios, dialogues of children and teachers, and work samples showing the outcome of using each practice. From Teachers College Press.

The September 2011 cluster of Young Children, “Fostering Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills in Young Children,” offers various approaches to build on children’s natural inquisitiveness. Articles cover implementing critical inquiry curricula, incorporating a metacognitive approach to reading comprehension in second grade, creating movement activities that enhance preschoolers’ working memory, using homemade toys to promote infant and toddler cognitive development, and more. 

To subscribe, visit the Young Children website.

Bestseller! With updated language and references to the 2011 Code of Ethical Conduct, this book, like the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, seeks to inform, not prescribe, answers to tough questions that teachers face as they work with children, families, and colleagues.

To help us all become well acquainted with the Code and use it in our professional lives, Stephanie Feeney and Nancy Freeman present a useful framework as well as helpful examples and questions to clarify key points about ethical conduct and to stimulate reflection and discussion on the critical issues that confront us all.

View a discussion on ethics with co-author Stephanie Feeney here.