Describes child care practices in Xian, China. Focuses on scheduling, cleanliness, curriculum, and student behavior in a day care center. (RJC)

Describes activity boxes which can be used in early childhood classrooms to further curriculum and development goals. Activity boxes are containers filled with related objects categorized by color, shape, or material which encourage children to explore, sort, and manipulate real things. Discusses goals and lists contents for 24 activity boxes.…

Provides an overview of past and present early childhood education in the Czech Republic and describes current kindergarten programs. Discusses recent issues, such as decentralization of kindergarten, changing kindergarten curricula, inclusion of special needs children, options for kindergarten programs, and parent involvement. Concludes by noting…

Presents ideas for teaching social competence through an integrated curriculum in Head Start programs. Suggestions include planning a grocery store trip, using play to show children how to get along, honoring diverse families in the classroom, bringing diverse community helpers into the classroom, selecting a child of the week, and examining…

Asserts that the Head Start years are critical for establishing a foundation for later school and life success. Maintains that learning to use computers does not need to occur at this time. Advocates activities that: are hands-on; are enjoyable and fun for young children but increase in difficulty for older children; create important memories; and…

Discusses preschool education in the People's Republic of China. Describes the developments that have occurred in the last 15 years, such as the effect of the 1 child policy and what parents now expect preschools to emphasize as a result of this policy. Discusses how the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky form the foundations for the preschool…

Provides a historical overview of the research concerning young children's school attendance. Notes that the research favors developmentally appropriate practices and shows that, overall, child-initiated environments are associated with higher levels of cognitive functioning. Stresses the importance of preparing early childhood teachers to…

Examines how young children's everyday group experiences contain important opportunities for adults to model and teach skills and understandings that can lead to a more peaceful world. Presents specific ideas for creating a peaceful atmosphere in the classroom and embedding peace concepts into the early-childhood curriculum, including the use of a…

This study sought to descriptively evaluate the performance of fundamental gross motor skills among Head Start children. Levels of performance were compared and contrasted with performance profiles of the Test of Gross Motor Development. Findings suggest that Head Start curriculum should focus on the importance of developing fundamental gross…

Discusses three ways for kindergarten teachers to respect the process and products of art activities in their curriculum: using artwork as material for instruction, play, and creative display. Considers how these uses enrich the child's experience of the early childhood environment and curriculum. (JPB)

Reviews the literature on contemporary early childhood education, categorizing perspectives on early childhood curriculum according to their core epistemological and ethical views about the mission of institutions of early childhood education. Identifies four perspectives guiding the curricula: idealism, empiricism, developmentalism, and…

Examines an initiative to introduce a multicultural- and whole-language-based early childhood curriculum in a private school in New Delhi, India. Considers the planning of the change from traditional education; the creation of an activity room for free play; parental responses to the new program; and factors that facilitated the change process.…

This study argues that maximizing early childhood educators' abilities to create social opportunities for co-construction of knowledge rests on two understudied assumptions, one theoretical and one empirical. Theoretically this study rejects the notion of language as an impartial conveyor of knowledge in favor of one in which math and language…

In the present study, three different pre-school settings were investigated. The dual aim of the study was to analyse the teachers' ways of relating to the computer as a tool in pre-school activity, and to describe the three learning environments focusing upon how the computer was used. Data were collected at three Swedish pre-schools, where one…

This brochure provides information for parents on selecting a good early childhood program for their preschool-age child. The brochure describes how 3- and 4-year-olds learn, and gives examples of how a developmentally appropriate program approaches intellectual, social, motor, and language development in 3- and 4-year-olds. The brochure also…