Early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings offer an opportunity to provide children with a solid beginning in all areas of their development. The quality and efficacy of these settings depend largely on the individuals within the ECCE workforce. Policy makers need a complete picture of ECCE teachers and caregivers in order to tackle the persistent challenges facing this workforce. The IOM and the National Research Council hosted a workshop to describe the ECCE workforce and outline its parameters. Speakers explored issues in defining and describing the workforce, the marketplace of ECCE, the effects of the workforce on children, the contextual factors that shape the workforce, and opportunities for strengthening ECCE as a profession.

Effective training and workshops are easier than you think.

Theory meets practical tips in this guide for leaders of early childhood programs

Child-centered lesson planning provides a system to strengthen teaching. Great lesson planning helps teachers to choose a range of strategies that match what children are learning and doing-- from directed mini-lessons to facilitated group activities.

Noting that the early care and education environment is a vital contribution to children's learning, this book examines the early childhood learning environment with the vision of making it a place where young children will be physically, emotionally, esthetically, and intellectually nurtured. The chapters are: (1) "The Power of the Environment and Its Impact on Children"; (2) "Contemporary Childcare Spaces"; (3) "The Teacher's New Role: Designer"; (4) "Principles of Meaningful Environments"; (5) "Aspects of Quality Environments for Children"; (6) "Assessing What You Have"; (7) "Making a Plan That Works for You"; (8) "The Designer's Toolbox"; (9) "Enriching the Environment," including ideas for using displays, planning work and sitting spaces, and growing plants; and (10)"Extending Your Understanding," including classic resources about early childhood environments. Each chapter includes detailed illustrations and photographs to assist teachers in setting up a classroom. The book's 10 appendices include an inventory form, equipment checklist, team inventory, storage ideas, and an anthropometric chart for a child-scaled environment. (Contains 79 references.) (KB)

Using warmth and humor, this book offers techniques for dealing with the everyday stress of being a childcare professional. Written by a caregiver who’s been there, it describes the symptoms and causes of burnout, with advice to get through each challenge.

Solve toddler challenges with eight key mindshifts that will help you parent with clarity, calmness, and self-control. In Why is My Child in Charge?, Claire Lerner shows how making critical mindshifts—seeing children’s behaviors through a new lens —empowers parents to solve their most vexing childrearing challenges. Using real life stories, Lerner unpacks the individualized process she guides parents through to settle common challenges, such as throwing tantrums in public, delaying bedtime for hours, refusing to participate in family mealtimes, and resisting potty training. Lerner then provides readers with a roadmap for how to recognize the root cause of their child’s behavior and how to create and implement an action plan tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. Why is My Child in Charge? is like having a child development specialist in your home. It shows how parents can develop proven, practical strategies that translate into adaptable, happy kids and calm, connected, in-control parents.