A powerful, neuroscience-based approach to revolutionize early childhood learning through natural creativity, strong human connections, spontaneous free play, and more. All children are born wired to learn and to love. As young children explore the world and interact with others, their brains can naturally develop in incredible ways. And yet, despite our best intentions, early education often fails to fully encourage this natural learning and empathy. The Natural Laws of Children draws on current research in childhood development to share powerful insights on how to enhance learning for all kids, regardless of income or access to resources. This book tells the story of Céline Alvarez’s pioneering work in early childhood education. Over three years in a low-income school, Alvarez’s students achieved exceptional results in math and reading, as well as outstanding social and emotional skills. The Natural Laws of Children shares, in a clear and accessible way, the main scientific principles that underpin human learning to revolutionize early childhood education by supporting strong human connections, spontaneous free play, and more.

This textbook includes all 13 chapters of Français interactif. It accompanies www.laits.utexas.edu/fi, the web-based French program developed and in use at the University of Texas since 2004, and its companion site, Tex's French Grammar (2000) www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/ Français interactif is an open acess site, a free and open multimedia resources, which requires neither password nor fees. Français interactif has been funded and created by Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services at the University of Texas, and is currently supported by COERLL, the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning UT-Austin, and the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE Grant P116B070251) as an example of the open access initiative.

In this study, originally published in 1986, Professor Charles Read examines the ways in which pre-school and primary children create spellings – or misspellings, as they appear to be. He focuses on the hidden phonetic bases for some frequent patterns in young children’s spelling, both in and out of school. Professor Read examines children’s spelling in other languages (Dutch, French, Spanish) as well as in various dialects of English, in order to see the influence of other sets of speech sounds and other standard spelling systems. Overall, the evidence suggests that children are very much affected by phonetic characteristics, as they tend to spell alike certain classes of speech sound which are indeed phonetically similar. In devising spellings, children can be remarkably independent and inventive in an activity which for adults is anything but creative, and Professor Read suggests ways in which educators can build upon this creativity.