This step-by-step handbook offers practical strategies for administrators, teachers, policymakers, and parents who want to shift from costly special learning programs for a few students, to excellent educational services for all students. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

For twenty-five years, Positive Discipline has been the gold standard reference for grown-ups working with children. Now Jane Nelsen, distinguished psychologist, educator, and mother of seven, has written a revised and expanded edition. The key to positive discipline is not punishment, she tells us, but mutual respect. Nelsen coaches parents and teachers to be both firm and kind, so that any child–from a three-year-old toddler to a rebellious teenager–can learn creative cooperation and self-discipline with no loss of dignity. Inside you’ll discover how to • bridge communication gaps • defuse power struggles • avoid the dangers of praise • enforce your message of love • build on strengths, not weaknesses • hold children accountable with their self-respect intact • teach children not what to think but how to think • win cooperation at home and at school • meet the special challenge of teen misbehavior “It is not easy to improve a classic book, but Jane Nelson has done so in this revised edition. Packed with updated examples that are clear and specific, Positive Discipline shows parents exactly how to focus on solutions while being kind and firm. If you want to enrich your relationship with your children, this is the book for you.” –Sal Severe, author of How to Behave So Your Children Will, Too! Millions of children have already benefited from the counsel in this wise and warmhearted book, which features dozens of true stories of positive discipline in action. Give your child the tools he or she needs for a well-adjusted life with this proven treasure trove of practical advice.

Contemporary Challenges in Teaching Young Children provides both veteran and aspiring early childhood educators with the information and tools they need to build on their understanding of developmentally appropriate practice. Teachers face many challenges, including family configuration, social and political stressors related to accountability requirements, funding shortages, and the resulting need to teach with fewer resources. This innovative book focuses exclusively on problem-solving at the classroom level and fosters creative methods of ensuring best practices are in place for all children, including those with limited experience in formal social settings and a lack of self-regulatory behaviors. Drawing on current research and their own wealth of experience, expert contributors cover topics from the critical importance of social-emotional learning to culturally responsive teaching to using technology to empower teachers and learners. Written in accessible, non-technical language, this book addresses complex factors affecting child development, guiding readers through the best strategies for tackling real problems in their practice.

This report outlines what is known about the requirements for optimal development during the first 3 years of life, considers the ways in which society might reverse the trends toward risk for families and children, and describes the necessary conditions for families to function well in the interests of their young children. Part 1 describes "the quiet crisis," documenting the conditions of children and their families from the prenatal period to age 3, and describing how the nation neglects children in this age group. Factors contributing to this crisis, including poverty, abuse and neglect, changing family structures, and adults' isolation are discussed. Part II discusses starting points for helping young children, specifically, promoting responsible parenthood, guaranteeing quality child care choices, ensuring good health and protection, and mobilizing communities to support young children and their families. Part III presents specific recommendations for action in the areas discussed in the preceding section. Four appendixes list consultants to the task force, papers commissioned by the task force, invitees to the task force's "Services that Work" Meeting, and biographies of task force members and staff. Over 150 references and an index of community programs for parents and young children are included. (HTH)

16 chapters of easy to implement routines, rhythms and schedules from birth through school-aged kids to help you streamline day-to-day life with kids.SECTION 1: SAMPLE SCHEDULES6 weeks to 3 months old3-6 months old7-9 months old9-12 months old12-18 months old18-24 months old2-3 years old4-5 years oldSECTION 2: TIPS AND TRICKSTips for managing the day with multiple childrenDaily Rhythms for an Only Child Ages 1-4 Years OldDaily Rhythms for Multiple Small Children Ages 0-5Sample Bedtime, Mealtime, and Playtime RoutinesTips for Keeping Kids Busy Throughout the Day

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

The book discusses the failed reform initiatives of the 20th century’s “one size fits all” model for American education. A recommendation is made to adopt a systemic change in how, why, and what we teach, which takes the form of a new whole-child framework. This new educational narrative fosters a more learner-centered, constructivist, interdisciplinary, and meaningful approach to learning. Positive education offers educators new strategies to develop character strengths and promote well-being in their students.