Resource Books

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 »

Challenging behaviors can derail an early childhood classroom, and punishment and exclusion aren't the answer. Young children need support and instruction to help them learn how to cooperate, listen, share, interact positively with their peers and with adults. Where to start? Effective Discipline Policies will be your go-to resource. Craft a developmentally appropriate, consistent, effective behavioral guidance policy. Create a system that supports young children's social-emotional competence. Provide… More »

Conflict is common. This resource book, "Finding Your Way Through Conflict" by Chris Amirault, Ph.D.and Christine Snyder, M.A., explores conflict resolution through self-reflection, understanding, meaningful conversations, and relationship building. Focusing specifically on conflict in and early childhood environment by providing step-by-step strategies to assist with management and resolution. A few of the scenarios in the book include The Discombobulated Team, The Intent/Impact Disagreement,… More »

This book emphasizes creating positive relationships with parents and families as the foundation for strong, ongoing partnerships between parents and families and after-school programs. This edition includes revised and expanded learning activities and answer guides to reflect current issues and concerns; revised and expanded handouts; enhanced and expanded tools for assessing parent needs and concerns; new and expanded tip sheets for building connections with parents and families; and a selected… More »

The GIANT Encyclopedia of Lesson Plans has more than 250 complete lesson plans covering topics from colors and numbers to seasons and nursery rhymes. Each lesson plan is complete with learning objectives, a circle or group time activity, book suggestions, snack ideas, five learning center activities, assessment strategies, and related songs, poems, and fingerplays. With easy-to-use lesson plans for more than an entire school year, this book belongs on every teacher's bookshelf! 574 pages.

A young child's brain grows at a phenomenal rate in the first years of life. Revised and updated to reflect the latest research on how children learn, 125 Brain Games for Toddlers and Twos is packed with everyday opportunities to contribute to brain development. Each game is accompanied by an annotation on the latest brain research and how the activity promotes brain power in the critical period between twelve and thirty-six months. Paperback. 144 pages.

Movement-inspiring activities reinforce key literacy and math concepts! Young children learn best when they connect physical activity with learning! Up, Down, Move Around is packed with fun, simple math and literacy activities that will have your children jumping, shaking, rolling, dancing, and clapping as they learn! From the Syllable Freeze Dance to a Math Orchestra, children ages 3 to 6 will actively explore letters and numbers as they develop number sense, practice counting and rhyming, and… More »

You can't stop a disaster from happening, especially when Mother Nature is the force behind it. But, you can limit the amount of time your early childhood program is closed, pick up the pieces, and return to normal as quickly as possible. The key to serving children and their families again quickly is advanced planning. Preschool Preparedness for After a Disaster, the third book in the Preparing for the Unexpected Series, will help your center get up and running after the worst has happened. In… More »

"Teaching Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder" is a straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to working with children who have autism. It explains the major characteristics associated with autism and helps teachers understand the ways children with autism relate to the world. Each chapter offers specific strategies for teachers to use, including setting up a proactive preschool environment, helping children learn life skills, managing behavior, helping children with autism communicate,… More »

The resource you need to encourage a child's development in a variety of domains through block play. This book is full of photos that illustrate block play in real classrooms and stories from teachers who have successfully used block play to encourage children's development in a variety of domains. Age focus is 2 - 8 years. Paperback. 200 pages.

An essential resource all teachers can use. Tips and techniques on dealing with daily routines and schedules, managing behavior issues, and building a caring community in the classroom. 224 pages.

With the 100 activities included in this resource, teachers can easily incorporate learning about animals into any curriculum. Each activity features learning objectives, vocabulary, related children's books, materials, preparation (if necessary), directions, and an assessment component.

Children learn best through hands-on exploration, observation, and discovery. With more than 100 activities, this book gives them the opportunity to actively engage, experiment, create, and discover the exciting world of science. Children will have fun developing problem-solving skills while becoming comfortable with exploring their world.

As child-care professionals, we don't like to think about what might go wrong - whether a disaster is natural or human made. The key to serving children and their families again quickly is advanced planning. This might seem daunting, but emergency preparedness, response, and recovery are easier when you break them down. In approachable, bite-sized pieces, emergency-preparedness expert Andrew Roszak, JD, MPA, EMT-P, shares advice from his more than 20 years of experience in disaster recovery to help… More »

Classroom-tested and teacher-approved, these activities help children ages 3-6 learn all about numbers. With 100 engaging and fun activities, Learn Every Day® About Numbers offers everything a teacher needs to build a foundation for future math learning. Each activity offers learning objectives to meet standards, a materials list, related children's books, and an assessment component to measure children's learning. 128 pages.

With this book, teachers, parents, after-school caregivers, and anyone working with children will encourage creativity, promote the process of art exploration, and appreciate the significance of the resulting art. Each art experience has three parts; it is introduced by a simple activity, progresses to a more experienced level, and finishes with a more intricate primary art experience. Paperback.184 pages.

Updated to reflect the latest research about how children learn, the revised edition of 125 Brain Games for Babies is a fun-filled collection of ways to develop the brain capacity of infants. Included are everyday opportunities to nurture brain development in the critical period from birth through twelve months. Each game and sensory experience presented includes an annotation on the latest brain research and how the activity promotes brain power in babies. Paperback. 144 pages.

No education professional wants to think about an active shooter on campus. Recent tragic events illustrate a clear and imminent need to prepare educators for these threats. Public institutions are required by law to follow rules and regulations to train for emergency responses, and several states have enacted or are considering enacting regulations specific to early childhood programs. "Preschool Preparedness for an Active Shooter," the first book in the new Preparing for the Unexpected… More »

100 easy-to-do activities give children a peek into the lives of their creepy-crawler friends. Each activity features learning objectives, vocabulary, related children's books, materials, preparation (if necessary), directions, and an assessment component.

Babies are naturally active, and their movements help them explore their environment. They first move involuntarily, based on reflexes, and then learn to move more independently as their bodies grow stronger and they begin to investigate the world around them. You can encourage their muscle development, strength and balance with simple activities done with infants as young as six weeks old. Paperback. 96 pages.

Many Languages, One Classroom applies the latest information about best practices to all aspects of a preschool program. Designed to fit any preschool curriculum, this book addresses state standards and benchmarks of standard quality programming. Organized by interest areas and times of the day, you'll find everything you need to help English language learners during dramatic play, outdoor play, reading, science, blocks, and circle time. Each chapter is broken down into several sections: the environment,… More »

30 Fun Ways to Learn with Blocks and Boxes is full of small group and individual activities that explore construction, collaborative play, and basic math concepts. From building basic models and mazes to constructing complex stairs and bridges, these activities ignite children's imaginations and engage their creativity and critical thinking. 80 pages. Paperback.

Dig In: Outdoor STEM Learning with Young Children provides strategies, ideas, real-life examples, and information to help you get children outside and learning, all while meeting required early learning standards and objectives. Explore the Learning Life Cycle and discover fresh ideas for engaging children in deeper explorations and experiences outdoors that will stick with them into kindergarten and beyond. Have more aha moments, seize learning opportunities, invite questions, and investigate answers… More »

Rainy Day Activities has everything you need to make being stuck inside fun! This resource is filled with quiet games to create relaxing moments, active games to get the wiggles out, and games that require no materials at all. 64 pages.