Vibeka Mitchell is Navajo from Naschitti, New Mexico. She is a Head Start teacher with Youth Development Incorporated (YDI), located on the campus of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), in Albuquerque.
Message in a Backpack™ is a column that appears in Teaching Young Children. Print these documents out and send them home with children as a resource for their families!
Classroom-Based Assessment is an online mini-course for teachers of preschool children. In this course, you will learn about evidence-based assessment, as well as observation and documentation within the classroom.
Play and learn alongside your child. Our children are always watching us. When they see you making new discoveries, you are sharing a valuable lesson—that is, learning is a lifelong process.
Successful family engagement approaches make this work part of a coordinated school- or program-wide system. In our new book, Families and Educators Together, we include numerous, real-life examples and policies that serve as a user-friendly guide...
Asking a child about his behavior can stop the behavior as it is happening and get him to think about it. The best questions are ones that require more than a yes-or-no answer. Here are some examples.
As early childhood educators, we often have stories to tell about our own children as we play and learn with them at home. Here is a story from Julia Luckenbill about her family’s experiences with a rock hiding and finding activity.
NAEYC members have recommended many children's books and resources to help children who experience the death of a loved one. If you ever need to support a child at such a time, we encourage you to refer to this list of resources.
Supporting children and their families as they cope with the death of someone close to them is never easy. If you ever need to support a child at such a time, I encourage you to refer to this list of resources.
Informed and influenced by NAEYC’s forthcoming position statement on equity and diversity, this collection of articles contextualizes how educators of children from birth through third grade can advance equity and embrace diversity.
Guided play is a powerful tool educators can use to help preschoolers and kindergartners learn essential knowledge and skills in the context of playful situations.
NAEYC hosted a webinar on the powerful impact of play-based learning. Watch the recorded presentation as our presenters, psychology expert Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and policy analyst Shayna Cook, dig into the latest research on why play is critical to children’s
