Resource Books

A beginner's primer to providing professional child care for infants! The elements of a quality learning environment are not the same for every age. What works for preschoolers does not always work for toddlers, and what might be appropriate for toddlers is not necessarily the best arrangement for infants. Complete with tips for creating a developmentally appropriate environment and experiences that stimulate infants' muscles and minds, Focus on Babies gives you the tools to craft a quality learning environment that's as unique as the needs of the babies in your care.

Get ready for fun! These new and classic games, each with a noncompetitive twist, are sure to get children up and moving. You'll find everything you need to know to play over 100 great games, including outside games, musical games, circle games, concept games, and cooperative games. Every game provides benefits for children by supporting cognitive, social/emotional, and physical development. Perfect for rainy days, sunny days, and every day, each game in this book offers heart rate raising, team-building, friend-filled fun! 144 pages.

Learn what makes boys tick (and run and jump and yell), and discover how to actively engage the boys in your early childhood classroom with simple effective strategies that support boys' learning. Using the latest brain research to explore and explain the differences in how boys and girls learn, 'Wired to Move' provides early childhood educators with facts and strategies to actively engage boys in an early childhood setting. It addresses the unique needs of African-American and Hispanic or Latino boys while offering guidance for encouraging family engagement and parent participation. Filled with practical strategies that teachers can easily implement in even the stickiest situations, it includes numerous resources including book lists, websites, and parent handouts to further assist parents and educators create a "boy-friendly" environment. Paperback.168 pages.

The movement to connect young children with nature continues to grow, as more parents and educators become passionate about bringing learning outdoors and letting children explore outside the bounds of traditional lessons. In the full-color Learning Is in Bloom, teachers and caregivers will find 40 hands-on activities effective in engaging young children in investigating nature, both indoors and outdoors, on the school grounds, and on excursions around the neighborhood. Through fostering a love of nature, the activities promote all areas of early childhood education and development. Readers will learn how to support child-directed explorations within all kinds of learning in a nature-rich setting, including: Science investigations, Mathematical thinking, Art explorations, and Literacy development.

Best-selling, award-winning authors Pam Schiller and Clarissa Willis have teamed up to create this collection of 100 literacy lessons, designed to introduce children ages 3-6 to a variety of literacy concepts and build important literacy skills. Each of these simple, fun lessons offers adaptations for children with special needs, including: visual and hearing impairments, cognitive challenges, motor delays, speech/language delays, and emotional/behavior issues. The first page of each two-page lesson features a learning objective, a literacy activity, extension activities, a daily reflection, and vocabulary. The second page has adaptations specific to the literacy lesson for children with special needs.

This resource book is packed with opportunities to build confidence and to enhance language, coordination, social interactions, and problem-solving skills. A must-have for anyone caring for a child between the ages of two and three. Turn ordinary, everyday routines into fun learning experiences! 256 pages.

Parents and caregivers often seek ways to stimulate their little learners, but don't know where to start. While many conveniences have come our way in the digital age, none has made the process of guiding children through their years of growth and development any quicker, easier or less complex. Fun Baby Learning Games brings a new approach to having fun and learning: incorporate theory and research-backed activities in a fun and engaging way, help your infant or toddler nurture his/her skills and reach emerging milestones, foster development in one or more of the five areas of development - cognitive, motor, social/emotional, language, and self-esteem. Age focus: birth to 3 years. 240 pages.

With more than 125 activities, Science Adventures opens up a world of exploration through nature activities in urban, suburban, or rural settings. From Big Step Measuring and Rocks That Write to The Ant Restaurant and How Far Can You Squeeze a Squirt?, the engaging activities in Science Adventures make exploring the environment fun and easy! The authors have adapted the kindergarten science standards set by the National Academy of Sciences to make them developmentally appropriate for preschool children. Each chapter focuses on one of these standards, and the activities within each chapter progress from simple to more complex. Many of the activities feature suggestions for including families, adaptations for English language learners, modifications for children with special needs, or appropriate ways to use technology with young children. The activities also incorporate assessment components and ways to relate topics across curriculum areas.

Each booklet contains 6 observation sheets, 1 scoring summary sheet, and 8 note-taking pages, these are the forms needed to conduct the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS) Infant observation. These forms are part the infant version of the trusted, widely used CLASS® tool, the bestselling classroom observation tool that CLASS® Infant tool was developed for use with children from birth to 18 months and assesses 4 dimensions of teacher-child interactions: relational climate, teacher sensitivity, facilitated exploration, and early language support. Set of 5.

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.

PreK & up. Self-directed, open-ended activities incorporating daily events and ordinary materials help children easily learn science and math. 246 pages.

Because their vocabularies haven't yet caught up with their thoughts and emotions, young children often struggle to communicate. Sign language can help them express themselves effectively to adults and peers--without the emotional outbursts caused by frustration! This book features the latest research to equip educators and caregivers with the tools and resources to teach young learners how to effectively communicate. Paperback. 208 pages.

Create readers while creating art! Contains activities that reinforce letter recognition and pre-reading skills. 160 pages.

The engaging, exciting introduction to early math concepts will be a sure-fire hit with young children. They can go on geometric shape hunts, measure with pompoms, or find the missing numbers. Includes activities that relate to the National Standards in the back of the book. 208 pages.

50 great ways to create with lace, string, fabric, glue, and other simple materials. Encourage children to experience the joy of exploration and discovery with this view series by MaryAnn Kohl. Make art fun and accessible to children of all ages with these creative, easy-to-do activities! Paperback. 64 pages.

Did you know that emotions boost our memory? Or that small muscle exercises help the brain develop? Early experiences contribute to the structure of the brain and its capacities. The quality, quantity, and consistency of stimulation will determine, to a large extent, the number of brain synapses that are formed and how those connections will function. This is true for both cognitive and emotional development, and the effect is lifelong. Start Smart offers simple, straightforward ways to boost brain power with active exploration, repetition, sensory exploration, and direct experience. Revised to reflect the latest research about how children learn, the new edition of this classic bestseller offers explanations on how and why these activities help the brain develop. 160 pages. Paperback.

Take your children beyond the ordinary and into the amazing world of art! Children will explore and create with activities such as hair dryer painting, lawn prints, and face and body paint recipes. Paperback. 132 pages.

Most preschool teachers have musical instruments in their classrooms, but may not realize they can use them for science explorations. In this book, discover 100 activities that let children ages 3-6 explore the science of music and sound using materials easy to find for a preschool classroom. Children will use their bodies to create sounds, explore the relationship between size and pitch, investigate how tempo affects the way we listen to sounds, create musical instruments, and much more. From the drops of rainwater to the tinkling of wind chimes, the science of sound is all around. You will indulge young children's curiosity and engage them in scientific inquiry as they explore, listen, observe, experiment, think, and discuss different kinds of sounds and the tools for making them. Paperback. 200 pages.

"Around the Family Table" contains 365 intriguing questions guaranteed to spark lively discussions between parents and children. Families can establish a valuable, enriching tradition of spirited mealtime conversation that will bring them closer with every question. Paperback. 160 pages.

Children discover the magic of science as they learn about their bodies. Over 280 instantaneous activities and ideas promote skills such as observation, inference and prediction. A vital resource for developing a basic foundation in scientific concepts.

Contains over 600 activities written by teachers illustrating new ways to use everyday items to create fresh exciting projects. Also includes management techniques and helpful tips for working with kindergarteners. 640 pages.

Over 600 attention-grabbing activities to help turn stressful moments into fun learning experiences. Teachers will be able to use the transition activites in this book to fill a spare minute, help children calm down, wait for another activity, and much more. Through play, children learn to comuniate, interact,and expand their cognitive thinking horizions. 576 pages.

Available in packages of 5 booklets, each with 6 observation sheets and 1 scoring summary sheet, these are the forms needed to conduct the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS® ) observation. These forms are a part of CLASS®, the bestselling classroom observational tool that measures interactions between children and teachers -- a primary ingredient of high-quality early educational experiences. With versions for toddler programs, PreK (in English and Spanish), and K-3 classrooms, the reliable and valid CLASS® tool establishes an accurate picture of the classroom through brief, repeated observation and scoring cycles and effectively pinpoints areas for improvement. Set of 5 booklets with 8 pages each.

What do children need to learn first? Their ABCs? Their numbers? As it turns out, the "what" children need to develop is their social intelligence and emotional intelligence, the essential building blocks for all future learning. Best-selling author Pam Schiller provides information, activities, and experiences that develop the seven skills children need in order to become successful learners. These include the ability to relate to and play with others, express feelings, and understand how others feel. Strengthen the foundation children need to become successful learners with the seven key components in this practical, easy-to-use book! The Seven Key Components for School Readiness and Success: Confidence, Curiosity, Intentionality, Self-Control, Relationships, Cooperation, and Communication. Paperback. 128 pages.