Foreword by Rebecca Shahmoon Shanok About the Authors Authors' Note Acknowledgments Prologue to a Dream that Came to Be Introduction The Critical Need for Quality Early Child Care 1. The Little House on Village Avenue: What Makes a Good Child Care Center Quality Care Is Not Just Day Care: How a Good Early Child Care Program Prepares Children for Life The Toddler Classroom: Where a Skilled Child Care Professional Can Open Up the World to Children Translating Principles Into Practice in a Good Child Care Program High-Quality Child Care: Some Other Basics 2. The First Task of Early Child Care: Building a Trusting Relationship Between Caregiver, Child, and Family Attachment, the First Basic Need of All Children Creating a Stimulating and Nurturing Atmosphere in the Classroom How Can a Teacher Handle Aggression in Children? Flexibility and the Adult-Child Relationship: Why Rules and Schedules Need to Be Adapted Building Human Relationships in Every Classroom The Underlying Class Theme: We Are All People and I Am Somebody Making Parents Welcome: An Essential Component of the Relationship Between Caregiver and Child How Does Your Child Care Center Build Relationships Between Caregiver, Child, and Family? 3. The Second Task: Developing Wholesome Peer Relationships Among Children Why Building Peer Relationships Is a Necessity Among Children The Stages of Play Teaching Children to Resolve Conflicts: An Essential Task of Early Childhood Educators 4. The Role of Curriculum and Staff Development in Early Child Care The Importance of a Well-Planned, Appropriate Curriculum Building the Important S-A-Ts in Children: Separation, Autonomy, Trust Learning by Hands-On Experience Staff Development Is an Ongoing Process 5. The School as a Reflection of Our Diverse Heritage Diversity as a Natural Part of the Curriculum Handling Ethnic Stereotypes Among Children Cultural Diversity and Differing Expectations Working With Children of Different Cultural Backgrounds: Some Helpful Hints How Does Your Child Care Program Take Advantage of America?s Richly Diverse Cultural Heritage? 6. High-Quality Child Care as a Learning Experience Learning as a Natural Process Play Is the Work of the Child The Learning Centers The Daily Schedule All the Things They Were Learning Epilogue Appendix A: Rosa Lee Young Curriculum Outline Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Activities and Learning Experiences Throughout the Day Toddler Activities and Learning Experiences Throughout the Day Appendix B: Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children From Birth Through Age 8 (National Association for the Education of Young Children) Appendix C: Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia and the Hundred Languages of Children The Nine Baisc Principles of Reggio Emilia Notes Index
"Ask yourself the questions posed in this book, whether you are searching for child care or wondering why our smallest and most important citizens don't have more quality early education programs available in a more equitable manner. This is a great teacher's guide for those entering the field and a great staff development idea for ECE centers." -Denise Humphries, Preschool Principal John F. Kennedy American School, Queretaro, Mexico "I cannot think of anything pertaining to high-quality child care programs that isn't covered in this book. The organization is clear, consistent, and easy to follow." -Diane Salverson, Inclusion Specialist Early Childhood Direction Center, Buffalo, NY A guide to creating and sustaining a high-quality, successful early child care program! With most families today needing at least two sources of income, there is a critical need for quality, affordable child care throughout our country. This book discusses the qualities of an effective early child care program and the need to provide children with experiences that will prepare them for future emotional, social, and academic success. By examining high-quality early care within a real-life setting, this resource illustrates how to build a successful program, handle the inevitable challenges, and achieve and sustain positive results. Using their experience in child development and child therapy, the authors demonstrate how to: Create environments that foster healthy relationships for children and adults Build on children's sense of wonder and joy for learning in preparation for later academic experiences Use families' ethnic and cultural diversity as a teaching tool Maintain professional standards for administration and staff Developing Quality Care for Young Children is invaluable not only for early childhood educators, administrators, and trainers, but also for anyone striving to make a difference in the lives of our youngest learners.
Nettie Becker has devoted her entire professional life to working with young people, first as a teacher and counselor of high school students, and for the past 20 years in the field of infant and early child care. She has designed, set up, and implemented a movement program of adaptive physical education at a school for special children and has worked as a child development consultant for day care programs in New York City. She has also taught parenting classes in the continuing education department at Molloy College in New York. She currently conducts workshops in child development and movement through play for parents and their children in community library programs in Nassau County, New York. She has also introduced a community program for the parents of infants to help them engage with their babies through motor, sensory, and emotional stimulation in their first year of life. Becker is a fellow emeritus in early childhood group therapy at the Child Development Center of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services and was part of the program's continuing education committee that served as a consulting group for child care professionals. She is the coauthor of A Comprehensive Guide for Caregivers in Day Care Settings (1999). Becker holds a master's degree in professional studies, majoring in dance/movement therapy that combined movement and psychology in the development of young children. She is a full member of the Academy of Dance Therapists Registered and has also been trained in the Kestenberg movement profile analysis that evaluates movement patterns and personality. Paul Becker, a high school teacher for many years, is now a writer and editor. He is the author of many articles and has edited a number of publications in the field of education and public policy. Along with Nettie Becker, he is the coauthor of A Comprehensive Guide for Caregivers in Day Care Settings. For several years, he was the editor of Between the Lines, a newsletter for writers in New York and currently is the editor of a monthly newsletter on American industry for an economic research firm in New York.