If young children are to flourish and become happy, confident and motivated learners, they need to develop in an environment that gives them the opportunities and freedom to play and learn, along with the support of parents and practitioners who are flourishing themselves. This invaluable text looks at the conditions that enable all those engaged in the early years sector to flourish, covering themes such as the outdoor environment, the curriculum, parent partnership, equality and ethical practice. Divided into three sections, each part covers: Concepts: A consideration of how flourishing is framed by political, historical and policy frameworks. Practices: Exploring the issues that early years practitioners are faced with when engaging with parents and multi-agent professionals within their setting. Futures: Examining some of the long-term issues that may need to be revisited on a regular basis to enable continual and flourishing development to occur. With key points and reflective tasks, this book will be valuable reading to all students and practitioners working in the early childhood education and care sector who want to ensure that the children in their care are given the best possible start in life.

If young children are to flourish and become happy, confident and motivated learners, they need to develop in an environment that gives them the opportunities and freedom to play and learn, along with the support of parents and practitioners who are flourishing themselves. This invaluable text looks at the conditions that enable all those engaged in the early years sector to flourish, covering themes such as the outdoor environment, the curriculum, parent partnership, equality and ethical practice. Divided into three sections, each part covers: Concepts: A consideration of how flourishing is framed by political, historical and policy frameworks. Practices: Exploring the issues that early years practitioners are faced with when engaging with parents and multi-agent professionals within their setting. Futures: Examining some of the long-term issues that may need to be revisited on a regular basis to enable continual and flourishing development to occur. With key points and reflective tasks, this book will be valuable reading to all students and practitioners working in the early childhood education and care sector who want to ensure that the children in their care are given the best possible start in life.

Flourishing in the First Five Years: Connecting Mind, Brain, and Education Research to the Development of Young Children will take you on a fascinating journey of discovery about what you can do to experience the thrill of helping all young children realize more of their unique potential. Packed with practical strategies and inspiring research about how learning changes the brain this book will empower you with ideas you can apply right away that can positively change children s lives forever."

Flourishing in the First Five Years: Connecting Mind, Brain, and Education Research to the Development of Young Children will take you on a fascinating journey of discovery about what you can do to experience the thrill of helping all young children realize more of their unique potential. Packed with practical strategies and inspiring research about how learning changes the brain this book will empower you with ideas you can apply right away that can positively change children’s lives forever.

Far from offering a thin patina of "niceness" spread over standard educational philosophy, Steven Loomis and Paul Spears set forth a vigorous Christian philosophy of education that seeks to transform the practice of education. Beginning with a robust view of human nature, they build a case for a decidedly Christian view of education that still rightfully takes its place within the marketplace of public education.

Human beings have the most immature newborn and longest maturational schedule of any animal. Only 25% of the adult brain size is developed at full-term birth, and most of the brain's size and volume is co-constructed by caregivers in the first years of life. As a result, early life experience has long-term effects on physiological and psychological wellbeing. Contexts for Young Child Flourishing uses an evolutionary systems framing to address the conditions and contexts for child development and thriving. Contributors focus on flourishing-optimizing individual (physiological, psychological, emotional) and communal (social, community) functioning. Converging events make this a key time to reconsider the needs of children and their optimal development in light of increasing understanding of human evolution, the early dynamism of development, and how these influence developmental trajectories. There is a great deal of misunderstanding both among researchers and the general public about what human beings need for optimal development. As a result, human nature unnecessarily can be misshaped by policies, practices, and beliefs that don't take into account evolved needs. Empirical studies today are better able to document and map the long-term effects of early deficits or early assets, mostly in animal models but also through longitudinal studies. An interdisciplinary set of scholars considers child flourishing in regards to issues of development, childhood experience, and wellbeing. Scholars from neuroscience, anthropology, and clinical and developmental studies examine the buffering effects of optimal caregiving practices and shed light on the need for new databases, new policies, and altered childcare practices.

"The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them."--Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine" This is perhaps the most important mathematics book of our time. Francis Su shows mathematics is an experience of the mind and, most important, of the heart."--James Tanton, Global Math Project For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity's most beautiful ideas. In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award-winning mathematician and educator weaves parables, puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires--such as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love--and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how mathematics is intimately tied to being human. Some lessons emerge from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother's, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher's letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can--and must--be open to all.