Noting the challenges presented for kindergarten teachers by current demands for accountability based on standardized measures that ignore diversity, this book presents ideas for implementing a developmentally-appropriate kindergarten curriculum within the constraints of American public schools. Following introductory remarks, the book is organized into four sections. Section 1 presents an overview of emergent teaching. Section 2 presents the stories of four kindergarten teachers, along with sections reflecting about the events in those and other teachers' stories in order to build a collective theory regarding the emergent curriculum for kindergarten students. Section 3 addresses factors related to implementing the emergent curriculum, including the classroom setting, teacher behaviors that support the emergent curriculum, building a community of learners, and assessment of learning. Following each chapter in this section are reflections providing another perspective on the content. Section 4 discusses issues related to working with colleagues to advocate for change. (Contains 168 references.) (KB)