Praise for the first edition:"The key advantage to this book is the way in which it is easy to read and the amount of information it provides with regard to the role of play in supporting young children's learning." Karen Phethean, University of Winchester"This book is excellent. It is an invaluable resource for both qualified and trainee early years practitioners. Tina Bruce has a real talent with how she expresses ideas. The concepts are presented in an accessible way. The material is suitable across a range of levels of study." Caroline McGrath, Programme Manger for Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies, City of Bristol College in partnership with the University of Plymouth"I would always recommend books by Tina Bruce to my students as she is highly accessible, combining theory and practice closely together. They are attractively laid out and are therefore popular with students." Maureen Brookson, University of East AngliaProfessor Tina Bruce CBE, an acknowledged expert on play, clearly presents the key ideas and demonstrates the best practices for cultivating play in an Early Years setting. The book covers historical perspectives, how we can observe and study play, and the role of play in learning, developing abstract ideas, helping children to relate to one another. She shows that play helps children to achieve the highest form of learning in early childhood.This new edition of Learning Through Play will provide students and practitioners with an invaluable guide to the core values behind play, the importance of play for children from 0 to 5 years old, and practical schemas for getting the best out of play in an Early Years or Educational setting.It will be an ideal text for those studying play at levels 3 and 4, Foundation Degrees, Undergraduate Early Childhood Studies and Primary Education courses, Post-graduate study and for those working in an Early Years setting.

New edition of the highly respected textbook that presents the key ideas and best practices for students working in this area.

"Maguire-Fong has updated her groundbreaking book designed to assist pre- and inservice professionals working with infants and their families. Each chapter draws from research and real-life infant care settings to provide valuable insights into how to design an infant care program, plan curriculum, assess learning, and work with families"--

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

This is the second edition of the practical, easy-to-read, research-based guidebook that shows professionals and parents how to talk to and play with young children, ages 0-6, in ways that directly support their emerging language skills.

This is a book about the process of finding user-friendly and purposeful ways of observing and planning that will help those who are working with young children in a variety of settings to look with insight at children, providing what they need in order to develop and learn optimally. By examining the historic background of observing and planning, and describing examples of good practice in different group settings, this book will help to monitor a child′s progress - what is needed now and to work out what is needed next. The real life case studies from various settings including day care, nursery school, primary school, private sector and Soweto examine different observation techniques, looking at their strengths, drawbacks and use in everyday practice. Examples from the UK and internationally illustrate the history and importance of observation in a range of contexts, while a glossary clearly explains the key terminology. All the examples given in this book can be used with different National Framework documents worldwide, bearing in mind however the authors′ belief that curriculum frameworks must be used as a resource and never as a limiting straitjacket. Drawing on key theory and research, the book′s chapters cover: Flexible planning Record keeping Working with parents Using technology. Full colour photographs, illustrations and useful charts and diagrams make this an accessible and engaging resource that will no doubt be invaluable to any early years practitioner. This book was originally published as Getting to Know You - part of the 0-8 series.

The long-awaited new edition of NAEYC's book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs is here, fully revised and updated! Since the first edition in 1987, it has been an essential resource for the early childhood education field. Early childhood educators have a professional responsibility to plan and implement intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that promote the social and emotional development, physical development and health, cognitive development, and general learning competencies of each child served. But what is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)? DAP is a framework designed to promote young children's optimal learning and development through a strengths-based approach to joyful, engaged learning. As educators make decisions to support each child's learning and development, they consider what they know about (1) commonality in children's development and learning, (2) each child as an individual (within the context of their family and community), and (3) everything discernible about the social and cultural contexts for each child, each educator, and the program as a whole. This latest edition of the book is fully revised to underscore the critical role social and cultural contexts play in child development and learning, including new research about implicit bias and teachers' own context and consideration of advances in neuroscience. Educators implement developmentally appropriate practice by recognizing the many assets all young children bring to the early learning program as individuals and as members of families and communities. They also develop an awareness of their own context. Building on each child's strengths, educators design and implement learning settings to help each child achieve their full potential across all domains of development and across all content areas.