Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments

Author:  Deb Curtis; Margie Carter   Publisher: Redleaf Press  Date: 2003

Description: Give children wondrous places to learn and grow! Drawing inspiration from a variety of approaches from Waldorf to Montessori to Reggio to Greenman, Prescott, and Olds the authors outline hundreds of ways to create healthy and inviting physical, social, and emotional environments for children in child care. Full-color photographs of actual early childhood programs demonstrate that the spaces children learn and grow in can be comfortable for children, teachers, and parents alike Margie Carter  serves on the adjunct faculty at Pacific Oaks College Northwest, Seattle, Washington. Deb Curtis works as a child care teacher at the Burlington Little School in Seattle. Their other books include The Art of Awareness, The Visionary Director, Training Teachers, Spreading the News, and Reflecting Children lives - from Amazon

While the early childhood field has formed standards to help in recognizing quality programs for children, practitioners seldom use values to guide in selection of materials or to help plan early childhood environments. This book draws on a variety of educational approaches, including Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia, to outline hundreds of ways to create healthy and inviting physical, social, and emotional environments for children in child care. Following an introduction, the book's first chapter offers an overview of the elements important to include in early care and learning environments. The remaining chapters each focus on an element introduced in chapter 1. Each opens with a "look inside" section, a short activity for self-reflection on the topic at hand. The "inviting learning" section considers the "micro" environment of the program, with examples of interesting materials and how their presentation invites discovery and learning. The chapters are: (1) "Laying a Foundation for Living and Learning"; (2) "Creating Connections and a Sense of Belonging"; (3) "Keeping Space Flexible and Materials Open Ended"; (4) "Designing Natural Environments that Engage Our Senses"; (5) "Provoking Wonder, Curiosity, and Intellectual Engagement"; (6) "Engaging Children in Symbolic Representation, Literacy, and the Visual Arts; (7) "Enhancing Children's Use of the Environment"; and (8) "Facing Barriers and Negotiating Change." Two appendices include a list of print, Web, and media-based resources, and some additional assessment tools for re-examining the early childhood environment. (HTH). - from Google Books

ISBN-10: 1929610297   ISBN-13: 9781929610297

Tags: Design, Early Childhood, Education Theory, Instruction Methods, Early Childhood Education, Resources, Transforming, Curricula, Decoration, Decorating, Equipment, General, Indoor, Outdoor, Invitation Tools, Invitation Tool, Materials, Organization, Reggio, Tools of Invitation