You are here

Developing Quality Care for Young Children
Share
Share

Developing Quality Care for Young Children
How to Turn Early Care Settings Into Magical Places

Foreword by Rebecca Shahmoon Shanok



September 2008 | 200 pages | Corwin

"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.


 
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

“The book is well connected to literature, the author’s own research and perspective, and an eye toward the future with tools for creating places for child care that are good for kids. If only we could bottle up Rosa Lee Young and give it to all children.”

Kerry Williams, Learning Community Facilitator
Wayne State College

"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

"The book’s power is in its details which utilize nuance from the ‘small places,’ here a child care center. With detail of everyday moments in everyday lives, they breathe life into principles gathered from the study of many fields over decades. The Beckers provide the light of substance for child care workers, directors, teachers, graduate and undergraduate educators, policy makers, and children alike."

From the Foreword by Rebecca Shahmoon Shanok

Students in this course are developing their own programming, the text doesn't provide quite enough information for that project.

Dr Katy Gregg
Child and Family Development, Georgia Southern University
January 20, 2012
Key features
  • Most of the resources written about this topic are either solely theoretical or entirely practical. This book is unique because it presents both theory and practice in the context of a real setting and with real people. 
  • The state of child care in the United States is a very real, very big problem. This book gives teachers and administrators strategies for improving their practice.
  • The addition of chapter synopses and discussion questions will make it ideal for pre-service work.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Becker Introduction

Becker Chapter 1


For instructors

Select a Purchasing Option


Paperback
ISBN: 9781412965668
$33.95