Administration & Program Development

It's a common dilemma in early childhood classrooms: How to provide new, interesting experiences on a shoestring budget. This book offers low-cost ideas for gathering and creating rich explorations in learning centers by vividly describing the unique ways teachers can use found and recyclable materials to encourage cognitive development and creative exploration in young children. In addition to photographic examples, the book offers tips on how to source, select, and integrate materials into a center;… More »

Play is learning! But play in the early years is endangered by the emphasis on push-down academics, mounting parental expectations, and pressures on early childhood teachers to prepare young children for the rigors of kindergarten and beyond. With all of that, gains made by play experiences, including readiness skills and social-emotional development, have fallen away. Young children learn best through play. This book helps educators understand the different types of play and the rich opportunities… More »

For experts in the field of early care and education, defining and providing technical assistance can be as difficult as nailing jelly to the wall. Learn to effectively coach, mentor, and train early childhood teachers and administrators with guided experiences, strategies, and activities to provide technical assistance in specific program areas like parent involvement, science, outdoor play, music. and art. 144 pages. Paperback.

Beginning a new business venture can be a daunting task, and setting up an in-home child care program can be especially challenging. After the licenses have been applied for and acquired, what comes next? Now, an expert on the subject provides advice, tips, information, and activities for setting up a child care program and running it smoothly. From creating a healthy, safe environment for children to developing engaging activities that can be used to shape daily plans, Family Child Care Basics… More »

The Visionary Director, 2nd Edition: A Handbook for Dreaming, Organizing, and Improvising in Your Center. Create a larger vision in your child care program and perform your job as a center director with motivation and creativity. Early childhood leaders Margie Carter and Deb Curtis provide inspiration and support as you put your dreams and goals into action. Updated and revised to reflect current best practices, this book reflects new requirements and initiatives in early childhood programs. You… More »

This award-winning 10-step guide lets you work with portfolio assessment at a comfortable pace, breaking the process down into easy-to-manage steps. 192 pages.

Open the door to teaching infants, toddlers, and two-year-olds successfully with these 300 activities linked to the latest development in child development. Observe what your children are already doing, then give them varied opportunities to develop at their own pace. This book outlines a typical development sequence in ten domains: social/emotional, fine motor, gross motor, language, cognitive, sensory, nature, music and movement, creativity, and dramatic play. Chapters on appropriate curriculum… More »

This uniquely comprehensive manual is a clear, easy-to-read handbook that provides specific guidelines for virtually every aspect of early childhood administration. Contents include: sample criteria, procedures for program development, schedules, applications, and evaluation forms. An invaluable tool for every child care facility manager.

Provides real-world answers for directors who work in the field of early childhood education. Addresses key issues such as training staff, handling discipline, dealing with parents, and creating partnerships in the community. For anyone who is a director or wishes to someday become a director, this book is the ultimate "can't-do-without-it" survival kit.

With 52 weekly plans, this book makes it easy to come up with appropriate learning experiences that children will love. This essential classroom resource covers every topic and other things that you probably never thought of. 384 pages.

This new revised edition features over 350 all-new activities with over 750 activities in all. A must-have for all preschool teachers. Includes activities for every area of the curriculum, including language and literacy, math, science, dramatic play, and movement and music. The focus on concepts and skills provides a flexible format to strengthen skill areas for one child or the entire group. 512 pages. By Pam Schiller and Joan Rosanno.

The literature-based activities in this book help children who have been through a trauma. With activities and exercises that can be used in conjunction with 50 children's books, teachers can use the discussion starters, writing activities, and art activities to promote children's ability to cope and heal. Addresses numerous crises that can affect a child, including earthquakes, epidemics and mass casualty incidents, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and major storms, shelter experiences, volcanic… More »

With forms, worksheets, staff-training workshops, and task lists, as well as helpful guidelines and insights, this groundbreaking guide is filled with practical advice for every program director. Learn how to create a Disaster Readiness Master Plan and implement it; train teachers and administrators how to react in a catastrophic event; educate parents about your disaster plan to reduce panic; create planned evacuation routes and notify local emergency management agencies of your plans; and complete… More »

Providers can easily set goals to incrementally improve business practices that will result in better communication with parents, financial stability, reduced risk in operating a home business, and compliance with legal requirements. Using a 7-point rating scale (inadequate to excellent), this easy-to-use assessment instrument measures: qualifications and professional development, income and benefits, work environment, fiscal management, recordkeeping, risk management, provider-parent communication,… More »

Over 100 inspiring and engaging stories help you learn to create a welcoming classroom culture, develop routines for self-regulation, and use observation and reflection to enhance experiences for the children in your care. The authors share engaging and inspiring stories of teachers who are using this approach. This edition has been updated to examine how to work with mandated curriculum, rating scales, and assessment tools, while practicing reflective, child-centered teaching. Paperback. 300 pages.

Looking through an aesthetic lens of nature, color, furnishings, textures, displays, lighting, and focal points, educators will learn to determine a classroom's level of aesthetic beauty. ROSIE then provides images and examples to assist in turning learning spaces into inspirational environments in which children can grow and learn.

The third edition contains updated guidelines on the development and evaluation of the health and safety of children in all types of early care and education settings--child care centers and family child care homes. Features 10 chapters of 650+ standards including a new Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs standards. Chapters: Staffing / Program Activities for Health Development / Healthy Promotion and Protection / Nutrition and Food Service / Facilities, Supplies and… More »

This book will take educators step by step through the process of managing assessment. It explains the terminology involved, shows how to turn 'observation' into 'assessment' and outlines how to manage and interpret all the information gathered. An essential book for all early childhood educators. 128 pages.

Using a 7-point rating scale (inadequate to excellent), this easy-to-use instrument assesses 25 items grouped into 10 categories: human resources development, personnel cost and allocation, center operations, child assessment, fiscal management, program planning and evaluation, family partnerships, marketing and public relations, technology, and staff qualifications. 2nd Edition.

Feel confident and competent when it comes to choosing and implementing the most appropriate technology tools for your early childhood classroom!

101 Tips for creating collaborative relationships between after-school programs and school leaders. Despite the day-to-day accomplishments that can be enjoyed by after-school program directors and staff members, there often can be an equal number of challenges. One key to clearing these daily hurdles is by building bridges between your after-school program leader and the school principal. Author Paul Young provides suggestions in 10 areas, including tips that enhance student learning, tips that… More »

Developed by the nationally respected expert who helped establish Reading First and Early Reading First, CHELLO is the only observation tool specifically designed to rate the early literacy environment in home-based child care settings. A reliable, field-tested tool derived from the bestselling, classroom-focused ELLCO, CHELLO has been carefully tailored to assess environments that include children of all different ages, from birth to 5 years. Administrators, program directors, and researchers will… More »

Birth - 5 years. The CHELLO is the only observation tool designed to rate the early literacy environment in home-based child care settings. A reliable, field-tested tool derived from the bestselling, classroom-focused ELLCO, CHELLO assesses environments that include children of different ages, from birth to 5 years. Use CHELLO to develop accurate profiles of materials and practices in family/group child care settings, help providers improve their literacy supports and interactions with children,… More »

Birth - 5 years. This User's Guide will help professionals administer the CHELLO, a reliable, field-tested observation tool for assessing the early literacy environment in home-based child care settings. The guide contains explicit instructions on conducting the observation, photographs that illustrate successful and unsuccessful environments, practical strategies to support literacy development in home-based settings, and information about the psychometric properties of CHELLO. This manual is… More »