Resource/Activity Books

26 Write-On/Wipe-Off Activity Pages that introduce each letter of the alphabet

Kids go wild for letter learning with this animal-themed flip chart! The purr...fect circle time activity!

• A playful way to help students recognize and name initial letters, link letter and sounds, build oral language vocabulary, and develop concepts about print.
• Features step-by-step instructions for teaching phonemic awareness, letter formation, short and long vowels, and more.

Math crops up in everyday activities in so many ways. You can help preschoolers see math in the petals of a flower, the shape of a window, the bounce of a ball, the growth of a plant, and the repetition of a song. Instead of teaching math to preschoolers, you can be their guide as they experiment, think about problems, try solutions, gain understanding, and discuss their findings. Creative Investigations in Early Mathgives teachers practical ideas for intentionally fostering young children's hands-on explorations in the following areas:

• Number and number sense
• Computation
• Geometry and spatial sense
• Measurement
• Data collection and statistics
• Patterns and relationships

With your guidance, preschoolers can figure out how the world of mathematics works and how math works in their world.

Promote fine-motor development for special-education students in pre-kindergarten–grade 1 using Fine Motor Fun!

This 160-page resource book is packed with suggestions and reproducible activities that strengthen fine motor and visual perception skills.

An excellent tool for helping children with Dysgraphia, Perceptual Motor Difficulties, and Developmental Coordination Disorders, this book includes hundreds of developmentally age-appropriate activities such as:

• scissors skills
• lacing cards
• stencils
• finger plays
• stringing activities
• dot-to-dots
• tracing
• finish-the-picture activities
• mazes
• tactile and first-pencil experiences

This book supports NCTE and NAEYC standards.

Key Education products are intended to engage and educate young and special learners, as well as assist teachers in building a strong and developmentally appropriate curriculum for these children. The product line—comprised of teacher/parent resource books, photographic learning cards, and other activity- and game-oriented materials—is designed to assist in “Unlocking the Potential in Every Child.”

Preschoolers have a sense of wonder about so many aspects of their world. They enjoy demonstrating their knowledge to others, and they are challenged to use their brains in fascinating new ways every day. Whether they are making clay figures, rolling cars down ramps, experimenting with writing, or exploring nature, they are expanding their mental horizons constantly. Cognitive Development of Three- and Four-Year-Olds will help you understand typical milestones children tend to reach during the preschool years as they develop their ability to think, understand, and solve problems. As you examine classroom scenarios, you will gain insight into various ways young children express their developing cognitive skills and some challenges that tend to occur. You will also learn strategies for supporting and nurturing children's cognitive growth, especially in the following areas:

• Believing in magical thinking
• Expressing a sense of curiosity
• Understanding time concepts
• Developing spatial awareness
• Practicing problem solving
• Exploring creativity through art
• Developing mathematical thinking
• Investigating science questions
• Exploring the writing process
• Developing emergent reading skills

By guiding children to think creatively and critically, you will help them gain confidence and competence.

Part of the Gryphon House Growing Up in Stages series.

Whether you see a preschooler laughing or crying, hugging or tugging on a playmate, taking risks or seeking comfort from an adult, you know that they are developing their emotional skills and growing up in so many ways every day. And they need your help! Emotional Development of Three- and Four-Year-Oldsshares common milestones and typical scenarios to help you recognize various ways that preschoolers express their feelings and interact with others. You will also learn strategies for supporting and nurturing their growth, especially in situations involving the following types of emotional challenges and accomplishments:

• Expressing kindness and empathy
• Exerting independence
• Managing shyness
• Building confidence
• Testing limits and taking risks
• Expressing anger and frustration
• Dealing with fears and anxieties
• Sharing a sense of humor
• Handling conflicts
• Dealing with separation and loss

As you support preschoolers struggling to handle emotional challenges that occur during everyday interactions with adults and other children, you will help them learn the skills to navigate their emotional ups and downs in more positive ways.

Part of the Gryphon House Growing Up in Stages series.

Preschoolers tend to be social beings. Whether they are playing with dolls side by side, building block castles together, or rolling down hills with friends, most young children enjoy the company of others. Playing together comes naturally, but you can help them negotiate turn taking, learning how to mend hurt feelings, and practice communicating positively while they play. Social Development for Three- and Four-Year-Olds highlights the milestones children tend to reach during the preschool years as they develop socially. You will see classroom scenarios that can provide insights into some of the ways young children make social connections, express their preferences, and play together. You will also learn strategies for supporting and nurturing their growth, especially in situations involving the following types of social skills:

• Forming friendships
• Sharing and cooperating
• Building a sense of happiness
• Dealing with teasing
• Playing in rough-and-tumble ways
• Exploring diversity
• Developing gender awareness
• Listening actively
• Building verbal communication skills
• Using the imagination during play

As a guide and facilitator, you can share strategies that will help preschoolers learn to be cooperative team members and kind friends while having fun together.

Part of the Gryphon House Growing Up in Stages series.

Building on extensive feedback from the field as well as vigorous new research on how best to support infant and toddler development and learning, the authors have revised and updated the widely used Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale. ITERS-3 is the next-generation assessment tool for use in center-based child care programs for infants and toddlers up to 36 months of age.

ITERS-3 focuses on the full range of needs of infants and toddlers and provides a framework for improving program quality. Further, the scale assesses both environmental provisions and teacher-child interactions that affect the broad developmental milestones of infants and toddlers, including: language, cognitive, social-emotional and physical development, as well as concern for health and safety.

ITERS-3 is appropriate for state- and district-wide QRIS and continuous quality improvement, program evaluation by directors and supervisors, teacher self-evaluation, monitoring by agency staff, and teacher training programs. The established reliability and validity of the scale make it particularly useful for research and program evaluation.

While the approach to assessing quality and the scoring process remain the same for the new ITERS-3, users will find the following improvements informed by extensive use of the ITERS in the field and by the most recent research:

• Enhanced focus on interactions and the role of the teacher.
• Six new language and literacy Items.
• A new Item on beginning math experiences.
• Expanded age range to include children from birth to 36 months.
• A new approach to scoring based solely on observation of ongoing classroom activity (3-hour time sample).
• The elimination of the parents/staff subscale and teacher interviews, freeing up time for observing more actual classroom practice.
• Improved indicator scaling, providing more precise and useful scores for use in professional development and self-improvement.
• Reduced emphasis on the number of materials, along with greater emphasis on how materials are used to encourage learning.

Suitable for use in inclusive and culturally diverse programs, ITERS-3 subscales evaluate:

• Space and Furnishings
• Personal Care Routines
• Language and Books
• Activities
• Interaction
• Program Structure

A positive, strengths-based leadership system is the key to transforming the quality of early childhood programs. Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership lays out strategies designed to support program leaders in finding new ways to reduce the levels of stress on themselves and their staff, and move into a unified, engaging system for leading with passion, intention, and purpose.

Grounded in current research, the book incorporates decades-old best practices, making the strategies appropriate for leaders of all backgrounds. The book addresses common dilemmas:

• How do I motivate and inspire teachers?
• How can I be the most effective in observing and giving nonjudgmental feedback?
• How can I be more confident in my role as a leader?
• How can I manage my time more effectively?

Author Susan MacDonald's goal is to take leaders past their challenges with a vision of new possibilities so they can ensure a high-quality learning environments, fueled by positive, engaging energy.