NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
I offer five Rs—respect, responsiveness and reassurance, relationship, reciprocity, and reflection—to help you build trust and promote positive family engagement in your preschool classroom.
The following DAP snapshot and reflection touches on how one teacher built on preschool children’s funds of knowledge in the context of their neighborhood environments to enrich their science curriculum.
Even the smallest moment has great potential for learning. But what makes a moment “teachable,” and how can early childhood educators transform an everyday occurrence into such a learning experience?
Digital documentation such as photos, videos, and audio recordings offer windows into a classroom environment and can also help increase families’ respect for and understanding of the work a program does.
Media literacy education is much more than coviewing or teaching children how to decode a few media texts, question advertising claims, or stay safe online. It’s about opening the world—and all its possibilities—to them.
Educators can reflect on and plan anew how the appropriate use of digital technologies and media can promote young children’s learning and healthy development, particularly when embedded in strong relationships and joyful, engaging experiences.
However, decades of research and professional practice point to the potential of technology and media, especially when the content is of high quality and created for educational purposes with young children.
Authored by
Authored by:
Rachel Konerman, Jennifer Horwitz, Sarah Clancy, Carmen Rietta
Ferlady Wilhelm has worked in early childhood education for more than 15 years. She currently serves as director of early childhood and a pre-K teacher at St. Jerome Catholic School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
As we continue experiencing the effects of COVID-19, we have each reflected on how we used technology to stay connected and which lessons we brought back into our in-person classrooms.
What Is Developmentally Appropriate Technology for Preschool?
Teaching Young Children is NAEYC's magazine for anyone who works with preschoolers. Colorful, informative, and easy-to-read, TYC is packed full of teaching ideas, strategies, and tips.
Knowing that local field trips are a source of curriculum in early childhood education, two teachers venture to a theater with their class, then engage in a project about storytelling, performance, and stages.
Cross-area play is rooted in the idea that when children are given the freedom to experiment with materials in open-ended ways, their play can transform into elaborate, complex plots and offer rich developmental opportunities.
The books featured here provide a sampling of books and activities that can be used to introduce foster care and adoption into the early childhood classroom.
Stepping back from children’s play, rather than always inserting ourselves into it, gives us time to intentionally observe, listen to, and record children as they play.
Authored by
Authored by:
Krystina Tapia, Emma Pickering, Jesse Robert Coffino
Without the toys and supplies commonly found in a classroom, Denise O’Hara’s children relied on nature to spark their imaginations and activities. Through this series of photographs and captions, you’ll see some of their playful creations.
