Noting the ever-increasing need for quality day care, and the resulting necessity for child caregivers to address the complex development of social, emotional, and motivational structures within a child, this book offers a guide for understanding and fostering the emotional growth of young children. Following an introduction which defines emotion and emotion-centered curriculum, the book consists of two parts: "Emotions and Early Childhood: Old Questions and New Answers," and "Constructing an Emotion-Centered Curriculum." The chapters are: (1) "How Important Are Emotions in Early Childhood Education?"; (2) "Anger, Interest, Fear, and Joy...What Are Emotions For?"; (3) Young Children's Emotional Development: What Can We Expect?"; (4) "What Can Influence the Course of Early Emotional Development?"; (5) "The Emotion-Centered Curriculum: An Overview"; (6) "Creating a Secure Emotional Environment"; (7) "Helping Children To Understand Emotions"; (8) "Modeling Genuine, Appropriate Emotional Responses"; (9) "Supporting Children's Regulation of Emotions"; (10) "Recognizing and Honoring Children's Expressive Styles"; and (11) "Uniting Children's Learning with Positive Emotions." Contains 216 references. (AMC)