"Why do some children succeed while others fail? The story we usually tell about childhood and success is the one about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs. But in this book the author argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control. The book introduces us to a new generation...

Learning to Lead combines theory and practice with important topics such as human development, diversity, anti-bias, and social change. New to this edition is information on leadership connections in school-age care and nurturing leadership in children. Each chapter is designed to prompt self-evaluation and personal leadership development.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In the tradition of Paul Tough's How Children Succeed and Wendy Mogel's The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, this groundbreaking manifesto focuses on the critical school years when parents must learn to allow their children to experience the disappointment and frustration that occur from life's inevitable problems so that they can grow up to be successful, resilient, and self-reliant adults. Modern parenting is defined by an unprecedented...

Use loose parts to spark children's creativity and innovation. Loose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. Alluring and captivating, they capture children's curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and motivate learning. The hundreds of inspiring photographs showcase an array of loose parts in real early childhood settings. And the overviews...

This book presents in-depth background information and strategies to help pre-service and practicing teachers understand, prevent, and address the behavior problems found so often in today's primary schools and child care centers. The evidence-based techniques provided here--brought to life in vignettes drawn from Barbara Kaiser's 30 years in the field--work with the most difficult behaviors and benefit every child in the classroom.

Examine the work of five groundbreaking education theorists: John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky, in relation to early childhood. Theories of Childhood provides a basic introduction to each theorist and explains the relationship of theory to practice and its impact on real children, teachers, and classrooms. This edition reflects current academic learning standards and includes new understandings of Vygotsky's...

Explores the question of why play is called the work of children, and considers the role of fantasy play in the psychological, intellectual, and social development of youngsters, discussing their language, lore, and literary efforts.