In this issue...

New titles

One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Early Childhood Educators of Children Learning English as a Second Language, Second Edition by Patton O. Tabors

Literacies in Childhood: Changing Views, Challenging Practice, Second Edition edited by Laurie Makin, Criss Jones Díaz, & Claire McLachlan

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There's been a lot of coverage in the news lately about the value of play, including a recent article about a movement in Germany to return "kinder" to the "garten." In an age of growing pressure for academic achievement, can you nourish a child's natural instinct for play while preparing him or her for school success? These resources show you how.

Suzette Guiffré
Web Editor

Let children's natural interests and instinct for play lead literacy learning

In its recommendations for teaching young children early reading skills, the National Reading Panel advised educators to

• keep a sense of playfulness and fun; avoid drill and rote memorization

• use group settings that encourage interaction among children

• encourage children's curiosity about and experimentation with language and print

Take a look at these three approaches for examples of how to immerse children in early literacy by harnessing their natural interests and sense of play. (Be sure to download a free sample weekly planning guide from Betty Bunce's highly regarded play-based curriculum for language learning.)

FULL ARTICLE & FREE DOWNLOAD >>

Get expert training! Make the most of the tools in your early childhood program

This summer, early childhood programs have an unprecedented chance to get hands-on training on today's leading early childhood tools by the professionals who know the tools best.

We've combined the annual ASQ and ASQ:SE sessions with Toni Linder's summer institute for TPBA/I and added training on The Carolina Curriculum and AEPS (with the online AEPSinteractive), so you can get training on the essential tools in your program all in one setting.

At the Early Childhood Tools Institute outside Denver in July, the experts will help you make sure you are maximizing the tools in your program to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, tailor interventions, and show real progress for your children.

Register for training by May 5 to get your early bird discount; registration runs through May 21. (The first 100 registrants automatically qualify for a chance to win an early childhood resource library worth more than $350.)

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TOOLS INSTITUTE >>

Want to promote healthy early child development? Address maternal depression

If you want to promote healthy development and school readiness of young children, invest in the treatment and support of their mothers. That is the message the authors of a recent issue brief on Reducing Maternal Depression and Its Impact on Young Children want to send policymakers.

Research has shown that maternal depression is a significant risk factor affecting the well-being of young children. The brief authors, including Jane Knitzer, co-editor of Social and Emotional Health in Early Childhood: Building Bridges Between Services and Systems, say supporting mothers provides a "two-fer" effect: in aiding one generation, you are promoting the healthy development and school readiness of the next.

SEE WHAT THE AUTHORS RECOMMEND >>

What do you like (and what would you change) about your favorite assessment measure?

Help shape the next generation of early childhood assessment measures! Professionals and family members familiar with assessment measures such as AEPS, BDI, ECERS, and more are invited to rate their experience in a survey by the authors of LINKing Assessment and Early Intervention. The authors plan to report and summarize how well the measures meet eight critical standards in an updated edition of LINKing.

Your input will help guide other practitioners in their use of the assessments and inform the future work of the tool developers. Through June 30, 2008, the authors invite you to rate the measures you are most familiar with, and they thank you for your time. Ratings take less than 15 minutes to complete.

TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE >>

Selected upcoming conferences

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