San Antonio College Library

Arranged by age, this collection offers ideas for activities that involve the environment, revolve around certain holidays, or are traditional crafts.

500 ready-to-use curriculum activities.

"When we look beyond lesson planning and curricula--those explicit facets that comprise so much of our discussion about education--we remember that teaching is an inherently social activity, shaped by a rich array of implicit habits, comportments, and ways of communicating. This is as true in the United States as it is in Japan, where Akiko Hayashi and Joseph Tobin have long studied early education from a cross-cultural perspective. Taking readers...

"Kindergarten is a unique year - a special opportunity in the lives of our children. However, in the last twenty years, the typical kindergarten curriculum has become teacher-centric, emphasizing academic development, sometimes to the detriment of the children's social and emotional development. Going to Kindergarten presents an insider's view of extraordinary teaching in one kindergarten classroom where children thrive." "Richgels, a teacher of educators,...

"For parents as well as for new and experienced teachers alike, Diamond lays out the logic behind the routines and rituals children need to thrive. Like Tracy Kidder's Among Schoolchildren, Welcome to the Aquarium offers a lyrical look at the hidden structures of life in an elementary school classroom, but from the perspective of an insider. The bigger issues addressed, such as the conditions that foster creativity and group feeling as well as the...

Enhance literacy skills, bring the magic of a good book to the classroom, and encourage active, healthy lifestyles in young children with this collection of 150 active learning experiences based on 70 popular children's books. Each featured book has activities to do with theme connections, lesson objectives, a vocabulary list, a concept list, and related children's books and music.

"The rich have always valued early education, and for the past forty years, millions of poor kids have had Head Start. Now, more and more middle class parents have realized that a good preschool is the smartest investment they can make in their children's future in a competitive world. As The Sandbox Investment shows, these families' needs are key to the growing call for universal preschool." "David L. Kirp crouches in classrooms where committed teachers...

Grade level: k, t.

This book uses the creative approach--letting the learning environment do the teaching--and speaks to college students as well as teachers in the field with practical applications based on current research. Each chapter is based on one of the learning centers in a preschool classroom, allowing readers to learn how to set up these centers in a self-directed environment. This approach encourages children ages 3 to 5 to become deeply involved in their...